Friday, November 20, 1998
Neck-at-neck thriller curdles Trojan blood with Bruin win
COLUMN: Game in 1993 only one of seven nails in USC’s defeated
coffin
With all the talk lately of the UCLA-USC rivalry and the "big
game" coming up this weekend, I thought I would talk about the
first Bruin-Trojan game I experienced as a journalist.
Of course, as a football fan I saw many games over the years –
my favorites being the Rodney Peete victories over Troy Aikman. But
a sports writer must be unbiased in his or her coverage. So in the
string of seven consecutive Bruin victories over the Trojans, the
third was the most memorable to me.
So there I was on Nov. 20, 1993, sitting in the press box at the
L.A. Coliseum for the 63rd annual meeting between the Bruins and
the Trojans. I had no idea what I was about to experience.
The day was sunny and warm – 79 degrees in fact – with light
winds blowing at about 5 miles per hour.
At the time, the No. 15 Bruins (7-3, 5-2 Pac-10) came into the
game one full game behind No. 19 ‘SC (7-4, 6-1) in the Pac-10
standings. Because of this, the Trojans controlled their own
destiny in the Rose Bowl Race.
A Trojan victory or tie would give them the berth, but a Bruin
victory would give UCLA the berth due to tie-breaking rules. The
first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition.
So all around, this game was pretty important.
"There was a definite sense of urgency on the field in that
game," former Bruin tailback Thaddeus Massey said recently, "which
meant no excuses would be allowed for anything. We were under the
mentality that ‘we had to win at all costs.’"
In the middle of the third quarter, the Bruins were leading
17-14 and were driving. The Bruins had scored first … and second
… and third for a 17-0 lead. Nonetheless, they were now looking
to regain their composure after giving up two straight touchdowns.
Bruin quarterback Wayne Cook hit All-America candidate J.J. Stokes
for a 17-yard scoring completion on second and 10 for a 24-14
advantage and a firm grip on the Rose Bowl berth awaiting the
victor.
However, on the next series, Trojan quarterback Rob Johnson
threw five-for-seven on a 1:44 drive spanning eight plays and 72
yards capped by a six-yard touchdown pass to Brad Banta.
That brought the game to 24-21 UCLA. Nervous time.
After the teams exchanged punts, the Bruins faced a third down
and 10 situation from their own 27.
Cook took the snap from the shotgun. He spotted Kevin Jordan and
hit him on the run for a 43-yard gain. That play brought up a first
and 10 from the Trojan 20-yard line. Following a completion and a
face mask penalty against USC, the Bruins has a first and goal from
the seven.
A 4-yard completion to Mike Nguyen would then set up fourth and
goal from the three. If the Bruins elected to go for the score,
their success would put the game out of reach. Conversely, a failed
fourth down attempt would leave UCLA with only a three-point
advantage.
Therefore, coach Terry Donahue elected to ride the foot of Bjorn
Merten. And Merten was up to the task, notching a 17-yard field
goal for a 27-21 lead with 6:15 to play.
A USC touchdown and conversion would give the Trojans its first
lead of the game but they were unable to move the ball and had to
punt.
Following another Darren Schager punt for the Bruins, USC would
have one last crack at the game’s grand prize – a trip to the
"Granddaddy of them all."
Southern Cal begins the drive at their own 19 with 2:30 on the
clock.
On third and eight from his own 21, Johnson hits All-America
candidate Johnnie Morton for a 33-yard completion. Bruin cornerback
Teddy Lawrence would make the stop at the UCLA 46.
At this point, the crowd of 93,458 was getting quite antsy. The
media were the same way. Everyone in the stadium had their eyes on
the east side of the Coliseum field.
"Everybody was feeling anxious, from the coaching staff on
down," Massey said. "This game was to determine more than just the
L.A. City champion.
This was for the Rose Bowl and they were making the winning
drive on us."
The winner of this game would go to the Rose Bowl and ‘SC could
smell the roses, down only six with about 2 minutes to go.
On the very next play, Johnson made another exception completion
to Ken Grace for a 43-yard gain. Lawrence and safety Marvin Goodwin
would combine on the touchdown-saving tackle at the UCLA 3-yard
line.
"When they got the first down at the three, we all started
praying. It was a battle in the trenches. Our front wanted to stop
Walters and their line wanted to punch it through the end zone.
"It was just about who wanted it more."
Following this play, the press box cleared. All the writers,
assuming USC was destined for victory, headed for the field.
Apparently they wanted to avoid the swarm of Trojan fans that would
inevitably rush the field after the victory.
But that’s why they play the games.
USC called timeout with 1:16 remaining. Trojan tailback Shawn
Walters took the Johnson hand-off and broke left behind his left
guard. Bruin nose guard George Kase was there, however, and stopped
Walters for no gain.
The Bruins called timeout with 1:05 remaining.
Donahue wanted to keep time on the clock in case the Bruins
relinquished the touchdown and needed a quick score of their
own.
"During the timeout," Massey said, "we were all praying. We were
just hoping for a stop."
Following the timeout, Walters got the handoff again and
followed his left tackle this time for a gain of one. Bruin
linebacker Jamir Miller was there to stop Walters in his
tracks.
UCLA called timeout again for the same reason.
OK, so now it was third down and goal from the two. And since
passing is what had gotten the Trojans so close on this drive coach
John Robinson decided to go to the air again. After all, this was
four-down territory for each team and one timeout remaining with 56
seconds showing on the clock.
And now, the play. Johnson lined up under center, took the snap,
dropped back, threw the ball and completed the pass to …
Goodwin.
With just 50 seconds on the clock, the Bruins had pulled out
another thriller on the Goodwin interception. Game, set and match
Bruins. The "grandchildren" were headed for Pasadena.
"That interception was the biggest play in UCLA-USC history,"
Massey said, "because it was for all the marbles. Half of our team
was in tears and their whole team was in tears following the play.
"That play was the nail in the coffin."
Prayers answered.
Carter will come off injured reserve on Friday in a final
attempt to earn back his spot in the defensive secondary with
fellow columnist Evan Lovett in today’s Blood Bowl against Southern
Cal. He’s also the fourth-string waterboy, so send any comments,
cruel jokes, or poppy seeds to [email protected]. Cinque
Carter
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