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PASADENA, Calif. (Jan 1, 1995 - 23:00 EST) -- Two painful mistakes
aside, nothing Northwestern did in the Rose Bowl marred its amazing
transformation from chump to Big Ten champ. Third-ranked Northwestern
put on a memorable show in its first bowl game since 1949, only to lose
Monday to a Southern California that salvaged a season of bitter losses
with a 41-32 victory. Southern California, ranked 17th, didn't get
suckered by Northwestern's mystique or ground down by the Wildcats'
running game and 300-pound linemen. Instead, the Trojans cranked up
their passing attack and stiffened their defense, scoring on a 53-yard
fumble return by Daylon McCutcheon and securing victory with an
interception by Jesse Davis in the final minutes.
Those two turnovers, so uncharacteristic of Northwestern this season,
made all the difference in a game that saw a Rose Bowl record
performance by USC All-American receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who had 12
catches for 216 yards and a TD. "This was a great football game, and our
guys deserved it," said USC coach John Robinson, beleaguered by
criticism on campus after losses to longtime rivals Notre Dame and UCLA.
"We knew going in we were definitely the straight men, but not now. We
wanted to come out and take the initiative, but they did a great job of
coming back."
Brad Otton, who usually alternates quarters with Kyle Wachholtz, played
the whole game, keeping the Trojans moving and completing 29 of 44 for
391 yards and two touchdowns. "I went to coach Robby," Johnson said,
"and I said, 'Let me and Brad take care of things.' Once I realized Kyle
wasn't going, it was time for me to jump on the bandwagon with Brad."
Johnson, named the game's MVP, easily broke the 176-yard receiving
record set last year by UCLA's J.J. Stokes.
Steve Schnur completed 23 of 38 passes for 336 yards for the Wildcats,
including 145 yards to D'Wayne Bates. Darnell Autry carried 32 times for
110 yards and three touchdowns. It was the 13th straight game in which
he has rushed for more than 100 yards. Otton opened the game with a
13-yard pass to LaVale Woods, kept finding receivers down to the 1 with
a surprising no-huddle offense, then handed off to Woods for a touchdown
leap to cap an 83-yard drive. Northwestern (10-2) came back to tie the
game on a 68-yard drive that ended with Autry bulling in for a touchdown
from 3 yards out. USC (9-2-1) made it 14-7 early in the second quarter
when Johnson caught three straight passes for 46 yards and Otton found
fullback Terry Barnum in the corner of the end zone for a 21-yard TD.
Johnson expressed resentment at all the attention directed toward
Northwestern, whose purple-clad fans made up nearly a third of the
100,102 in attendance at the Rose Bowl. "They wanted purple this and
purple that," Johnson said. "They had it until midnight, and then their
dream was over."
After Northwestern's replacement kicker Brian Gowins missed a 37-yard
field goal attempt, USC made it 17-7 on Adam Abrams' 30-yard field goal.
Northwestern, which thrived this year by scoring on other teams'
turnovers, lost the ball with 2:56 left in the half when Brian Musso
fumbled trying to get more yards on a pass across the middle. It was
only the 13th turnover in 12 games for Northwestern, which had 32
takeaways on other teams. McCutcheon picked up the ball and ran down the
sideline for the score and a 24-7 USC lead. "No one gave us any
respect," McCutcheon said, "and I think it got some of the players down,
and some of the players fired up. We were ready to play this game, and
we just wanted to end all that mess. "We're tired of hearing about
Northwestern. Everyone thought Northwestern was going to win this game,
and we had a lot to prove- especially after that UCLA loss."
Northwestern coach Gary Barnett rued his team's mistakes. "When you turn
the ball over, you're playing against two forces -- yourselves and USC,"
Barnett said. "We turned the ball over twice, and we haven't done that
all year. People have committed those errors against us, and we took
advantage of them. You're not going to win bowl games playing this
caliber of football." A fumble by Woods on USC's 34 with 12 seconds left
in the half led to a 29-yard field goal by Gowins that cut the deficit
to 24-10. Northwestern chipped away at USC with an 18-yard field goal on
the opening drive of the second half to make it 24-13, then caught USC
by surprise with an onside kick the Wildcats recovered on their 48. The
Wildcats scored quickly on Autry's 9-yard run. A 2-point pass conversion
failed, but suddenly the Wildcats were back in contention at 24-19 with
8:17 left in the third quarter. That shift of momentum changed two
minutes later when Otton drilled a pass over the middle to Johnson, two
steps ahead of the nearest defender around Northwestern's 40, and
watched Johnson race untouched for a 56-yard touchdown and a 31-19 USC
lead (video).
Northwestern, which came from behind to win four games during the
regular season, came back again with another surprise. Schnur faked an
end-around and threw a 46-yard pass that Bates leaped for and caught
between two defenders on the USC 26. Five plays later Schnur sneaked
over the goal line on a 1-yard run that cut the lead to 31-26.
After Northwestern's defense forced the Trojans to punt from their own
7, Autry completed a 57-yard drive with a 2-yard TD scamper that put the
Wildcats ahead for the first time, 32-31, with 13:01 left in the game (video).
A 46-yard field goal by Abrams four minutes later put the Trojans back
on top, 34-32. The Wildcats appeared to be driving toward another score
with 6:42 left when a second huge turnover stopped them -- the
interception by Davis, who returned the ball 39 yards to Northwestern's
31. That led to a 2-yard TD leap by Delon Washington that put USC safely
ahead 41-32 with 2:55 left (video).
The Rose Bowl championship went a long way toward dimming the memory of
USC's losses to its archrivals and should take some of the heat off John
Robinson. Forty-six years after its only other bowl game, a Rose Bowl
victory, Northwestern sought to put the last wonderful touch on one of
college football's greatest and most improbable seasons.
The purple-clad Wildcats, pushed around like 98-pound weaklings by their
Big Ten brethren for years, humbled traditional powerhouses Notre Dame,
Michigan, Penn State, but couldn't quite catch up to USC. Yet this
Northwestern team, coming off 3-7 and 2-9 seasons the last two years,
could feel nothing but pride in the way it played right to the end.
Northwestern hadn't had a winning season since 1971- before any of the
current players were born -- and on this day it came close to winning
the Rose Bowl. So close, that Barnett didn't hesitate about the chances
of coming back. "We have proven," he said, "that when we can play
together and recreate the chemistry we had this year, anything's
possible."
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Attendance- 100,102
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
USC- Woods 1 run (Abrams kick)
NW- Autry 3 run (Gowins kick)
Second Quarter
USC- Barnum 21 pass from Otton (Abrams kick)
USC- FG Abrams 30
USC- McCutcheon 53 fumble return (Abrams kick)
NW- FG Gowins 29
Third Quarter
NW- FG Gowins 28
NW- Autry 9 run (pass failed)
USC- Johnson 56 pass from Otton (Abrams kick)
NW- Schnur 1 run (Gowins kick)
Fourth Quarter
NW- Autry 2 run (run failed)
USC- FG Abrams 46
USC- Washington 2 run (Abrams kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
USC- Washington 16-51
NW- Autry 32-110, Schnur 3-13
Passing
USC- Otton 29-44-391
NW- Schnur 23-39-336
Receiving
USC- Johnson 12-216, Barnum 4-42, Miller 3-50, Cashman 3-19, Woods
2-21, McWilliams 2-20, Washington 2-18
NW- Bates 7-145, Autry 6-38, Musso 5-91, Beazley 1-16, Drexler 1-16,
McGrew 1-11, Hartl 1-10, Brown 1-9
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