November 26, 1994

Notre Dame at Southern Cal Final Stats

By Annette Brawley, The Scholastic 1994 Football Review

The billboard in Los Angeles in 1993 featured University of Southern California Head Coach John Robinson promising to beat Notre Dame. That game was not even close. Notre Dame won 31-13. Robinson got everyone’s attention in 1994 by promising to resign if his team lost to Notre Dame. Once again, Robinson ate his words. Well sort of – Notre Dame played USC to a 17-17 tie. Robinson would have to wait another year for a victory.

The bizarre 17-17 dogfight at L.A. Coliseum in 30-degree whooshing winds left Irish and USC fans alike scratching their heads. It was a stupid, little kick that did it again, that cost Notre Dame the football game and ended the season on an appropriately disappointing note.

With less than six minutes to go, Notre Dame attempted a field goal which would have put them ahead by ten and iced the game. “Yeah, I think I can make it,” said senior walk-on Stefan Schroffner. Poor Schroffner. What was he supposed to say,”Ah, well coach, there’s no way… ” None the­ less, the Irish who had been charging down field, in great field position, decided to kick a 37-yard field goal rather than go for it on fourth down and short When was the last time the Irish did not go for it on a fourth and short deep in the opponent territory? USC pushed the Notre Dame offensive line back­ wards, blocking the kick and returning it deep into Notre Dame territory. A quick Trojan touchdown tied the game at 17 and although Notre Dame and USC each had another possession, it still ended in a draw.

The game between Notre Dame and USC marked the 66th meeting between the two teams. The Irish were riding an 11-game winning streak against the Trojans, the longest winning streak by either team in the history of the series, and were looking to make it 12 in a row. However, the Trojans were ranked 17th in the AP poll, and 1994 was Southern Cal’s best chance for a victory over Notre Dame in years.

Despite the fact that many expected USC to win, Notre Dame was upbeat going into the game and looked forward to re-igniting the rivalry which had begun to fade over the years due to Irish domination. “The rivalry be­tween Notre Dame and Southern Cal has produced more All-Americans, more National Champions, and has had more national television coverage than any other rivalry in college football,” Lou Holtz said. “The team’s attitude was good going into the game. We were excited about the game because it was USC, they were a ranked team, and it was on prime time television.” Holtz said the players were ready for the Trojans. “The USC game is such a big rivalry in college football; it’s the game of all games. It’s the game where you play the hardest and hit the hardest,” senior Jeremy Nau said.

But being ready to play did not eliminate all the pre-game butterflies. “I was a little ner­vous before the game because I knew it was my last regular season game in a Notre Dame uniform. A lot of the nervousness had to do with the fact that it was against USC. The senior class didn’t want to be the one to break the winning streak,” senior Charles Stafford said.

From the beginning of the game, the Irish outplayed the Trojans. Notre Dame put their first points on the board only five minutes into the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Irish running game had amassed 45 yards, while the defense held USC’s offense to negative two yards rushing. In the second quarter, Ron, Powlus’ 11-yard touchdown pass to Ray Zellars put the Irish up 10-7. The touchdown pass was Powlus’ 19th of the year, which set a new Notre Dame record for the most touchdown passes in a season. The game had its other high notes as a revived Lee Becton ran fora season-high 156yards, reminding fans of his marvelous performance last season.

Aside from the blocked kick, perhaps a second turnaround point in the game occurred with the Irish deep in their own territory midway through the second quarter. With the ball on the Irish two, Powlus threw a great pass to Charles Stafford who might have made it to the end zone, had he made the catch. One play later, in a rare occurrence, Powlus fired to Oscar McBride, who would have had the first down had he not dropped the ball also. Instead of a probable score, the Irish found themselves punting.

And before the Irish could say “shanked kick,” Rob Johnson had already driven the Trojans to a touchdown.

Considering the way the entire football season went, some of the Irish players were not surprised with the outcome of the game.”We weren’t happy with the outcome. I’m not surprised with the way the game ended, though. It fits with the way the whole year went,” Stafford said.

“It was a big let down the way the game ended,” Nau agreed. “Basically the whole season was a let down. In the big games, we were always right there, about ready to win, but then the big plays went against us and we couldn’t pull out the win. In the past, we’ve been able to overcome adversity and make the big plays go our way, but not this year.”

Holtz agreed with his players. ”The USC game was frustrating. With six minutes to go we were about to go up by two scores·, and the next thing we know, they’ve tied the game. It’s been a very frustrating year. We could have easily been 10-1 this year, but things didn’t go our way. We aren’t making any excuses for that,” he said.

One thing the Irish did do well was to give John Robinson more fits. Robinson had prepared his resignation speech if the Trojans lost to the Irish again, this year on their home turf. “So what will Robinson do now?” people wondered after the game. The answer: he waits until next year’s defeat to resign.