Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 8, 1995

Quick now, name the leading college football rusher in Southern California. . . .

It isn’t who you think it is. . . .

It is George Jones of San Diego State. . . .

Jones has rushed for 1,458 yards, third-highest total in the nation and 39 yards ahead of Karim Abdul-Jabbar of UCLA. . . .

Not yet the household name that former Aztec Marshall Faulk became, Jones is a 5-foot-9, 210-pound junior transfer from Bakersfield College. . . .

Against Fresno State, Jones ran for 270 yards and five touchdowns. . . .

“George has a relentless approach to running the football,” Aztec Coach Ted Tollner said. “He keeps hammering and hammering at you.” . . .

*

USC will take a Pacific 10 Conference title and Rose Bowl bid any way it can, but the glamour will be missing when the Trojans try to reach their goal against Oregon State at Corvallis on a cold and wet Saturday night before upward of 20,000 fans. You never know, it might even be raining. . . .

This is the second year in a row that the Trojans are playing the Beavers on the road, something that doesn’t make much sense. . . .

Oregon State already has thrown a touchdown pass in 1995, equaling its 1994 total. . . .

The UCLA game isn’t until Nov. 18, but the Tommy Trojan statue on the USC campus was covered this week. . . .

“We’ve played with the heart of a champion the last two games, but not with the efficiency of a champion,” Coach John Robinson said. . . .

According to Super Prep magazine, Northwestern’s 1993 and ’94 recruiting classes were the 26th and 35th best in the nation, respectively. . . .

However, Bluechip magazine ranked the 1993 class 61st best. . . .

The Wildcats’ star sophomore tailback, Darnell Autry from Tempe, Ariz., was a highly recruited prep sought by several Pac-10 schools. . . .

When Coach Gary Barnett introduced himself to the Northwestern student body at halftime of a basketball game four years ago, he talked about “taking the purple to Pasadena.” . . .

The Wildcats had won a total of nine games the previous five years under Coach Francis Peay. . . .

A victory at Dyche Stadium against Iowa on Saturday will give the Wildcats nine this season. . . .

Kerry Collins’ work with the Carolina Panthers convinces me that I was right last year when I put the Penn State quarterback on the top of my Heisman Trophy ballot. . . .

Minnesota Viking defensive coordinator Tony Dungy should finally land a head coaching job in the NFL next year. . . .

Are you starting to get the feeling that this isn’t the San Diego Chargers’ year? . . .

XTRA trivia expert Steve Hartman notes that the Chargers and San Francisco 49ers could become the first Super Bowl opponents to fail to reach the playoffs the following season since the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos in 1988. . . .

On the day that the Browns announced that they were moving to Baltimore, the Indians sure did cheer up Cleveland sports fans by announcing huge increases in ticket prices at Jacobs Field. . . .

Former USC, UCLA and Occidental track and field coach Jim Bush remains active. . . .

Bush is training 400-meter runner Quincy Watts, hurdler Robert Reading, sprinter Bryan Krill and decathlete David Bunevack, among others. . . .

Bush is predicting that Watts, the former Trojan, will become the first repeat Olympic 400-meter winner next summer at Atlanta. . . .

USC graduate Lisa Leslie and her U.S. Olympic women’s basketball teammates will conduct a clinic at Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. . . .

*

The skills of Daniel Zaragoza, 35, have eroded, but he is still very much the warrior. . . . Zaragoza, bloodied from five cuts, won the World Boxing Council super-bantamweight title for the third time Monday night at the Forum on a split decision over Hector Acero-Sanchez. . . .

“What kind of a fight was it?” Zaragoza’s adviser, Rafael Mendoza, asked soon after the decision was announced. . . .

Mendoza was in Zaragoza’s corner during the introductions but refused to watch the fight. . . .

Instead, the former Mexico City sportswriter paced the lobby during the 12 rounds. . . .

“I can’t bear watching Zaragoza anymore,” Mendoza said. “Every fight is such a war with him. I would get too nervous. He takes a lot of punishment, but he gets in his shots too. I could tell tonight by listening to the crowd.” . . .

The nice thing about being a college football fan is that your favorite team isn’t likely to move to another city.