The Stakes Are High for USC Today : Trojans Must Beat the Irish to Keep Pac-10 Hopes Alive

SOUTH BEND, Ind. —  A possible national championship won’t be at stake when USC and Notre Dame resume their traditional rivalry today at Notre Dame Stadium.

Pride and prestige are, of course, motivating factors. But there’s something else. The game may ultimately affect the Trojans’ prospects of returning to the Rose Bowl.

Arizona is the only unbeaten Pacific 10 team, with a 2-0 record. UCLA, USC, Washington and Arizona State all have one conference loss. The other conference teams have been virtually eliminated.

Obviously, if Arizona wins its remaining five Pac-10 games, it will represent the conference in the Rose Bowl.

So Arizona has to lose a league game if the race is to get tighter. In that case, the scenario for USC would get complicated.

If Arizona and USC tied for the league championship, each team with one loss, a tiebreaking procedure would be invoked to determine the Rose Bowl representative.

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition.

Since Arizona and USC aren’t scheduled this season, a point system then would be used--four points for a conference victory, three for a nonconference win.

Discounting tie games, Arizona would finish with 33 points by virtue of six conference and three nonconference wins. USC has the capability of winding up with 34 points, providing it beats Notre Dame today.

The Trojans will play one more conference game than the Wildcats, eight to seven, but lag behind Arizona in nonconference points.

There are numerous other possibilities, but the bottom line is that USC probably will have to win all of its remaining games to stay in the Rose Bowl running.

The Trojans, 3-2 overall, are favored by a point today over the Irish, 2-3, in a matchup of teams that emphasize running.

The Notre Dame attack is primarily geared to the quick bursts of tailback Allen Pinkett, the school’s all-time leading ground gainer. USC counters with the tandem of senior Fred Crutcher and ever-improving freshman Aaron Emanuel.

Crutcher is averaging 4.53 yards a carry, and Emanuel is rolling along at 5.41.

USC has been effective on defense against running teams and is ranked seventh nationally, having limited opponents to only 82.8 yards a game. That statistic is a bit misleading, though, because USC hasn’t encountered a power running team the caliber of Notre Dame, with Baylor as a possible exception.

Notre Dame has yielded an average of 199.8 yards on the ground, 4.0 a rush. Those figures would indicate that the Irish are soft in rushing defense. Not necessarily, since Notre Dame has played Air Force and Army, wishbone teams that are dedicated to the ground game.

If USC and Notre Dame offset each other on the ground, the quarterbacks may determine the outcome.

Sean Salisbury has been inconsistent for the Trojans, and Notre Dame’s Steve Beuerlein hasn’t been as accurate this season. Beuerlein has completed 49.6% of his passes, compared to 60.3% last season.

Salisbury needs to complete only three more passes to become USC’s all-time leader with 300 completions. Beuerlein needs 25 more completions to move ahead of Terry Hanratty, who had 304, on Notre Dame’s all-time list.

Both teams have skilled receivers, Hank Norman and Randy Tanner for USC, and Reggie Ward and Tim Brown for Notre Dame.

There is a certain mystique about this game. Dan Devine, former Notre Dame coach, obviously recognized that in 1977 when his team changed jerseys just before the kickoff and emerged in emerald green shirts.

The Irish then proceeded to thrash the Trojans, 49-19, on their way to the national championship.

Gerry Faust used the same ploy in the last meeting between the teams here in 1983. His green-clad team beat USC, 27-6.

More greening of the Irish today?

Faust said his team will be attired in traditional blue jerseys at kickoff time.

Trojan Notes Kickoff for today’s game is 11 a.m. PDT and a capacity crowd of 59,075 is anticipated. The weather forecast is is for sunny skies with the temperature in the 60s. . . . The game is usually televised nationally, but it won’t be this year because of USC’s probationary status with the NCAA. . . . The game will be shown on tape delay, though, Sunday at 4 p.m. on Channel 2. . . . Although Notre Dame has won the last two games, USC has won 11 of the last 15 meetings. Notre Dame leads in the series, 29-23-4. . . . John McKay, USC’s former successful coach, will be at the game. McKay, now an executive with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, may be called upon for a pregame speech to the team. McKay’s Trojan teams dominated the Irish from 1967 through 1975. . . . USC Coach Ted Tollner said there is a possibility that nose guard Tony Colorito will play. He is suffering from a sprained left ankle and won’t be a starter.

USC punter Chris Sperle is averaging only 36.9 yards, including a 7-yard shank that positioned Stanford for its only touchdown last Saturday. But Sperle and backup punter Troy Richardson have had 11 of their 19 punts returned for a total of just 15 yards. . . . USC leads the Pac-10 and is ranked fifth nationally in total defense, having allowed an average of 254 yards a game. USC is ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense with an average of only 12 points allowed per game. The Trojans have allowed only two touchdowns in the last 10 quarters. . . . USC split end Hank Norman is only 13 catches away from becoming USC’s all-time leading receiver, replacing Jeff Simmons, who had 106 catches. . . . Notre Dame has won only once in 13 games after trailing at halftime during Gerry Faust’s 4 1/2 seasons as coach. USC has shut out opponents in the first quarter this season, and has allowed 27 points in the second.