The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 46

CooAnaclco (Timco Sunday, November 24, 1985 CCtt 111 Bruins Go From the Ruins to the Roses iiji ijihhhihii i in ii m.i i ii urn M.m '-r-ynip USC Is Victor but Not Quite Spoiler, 17-13 rr Jim Murray Tollner Rolls Dice, Hits Seven Listen! Do you like guys who hide under the bed when they hear a noise in the attic? Who get up and close the window when they hear screaming in the alley? Or do you lean to guys who throw away a pair of treys on the chance they might catch aces? Who say, "Hit me!" when they've got 17 showing. Like guys who go out with their boots on and their guns out? Guys who take the wood out on par-5s even if there's water in the back? Your guy this week is USC Coach Ted Tollner. Tollner walked tall down Main Street at high noon Saturday. He told UCLA, "Make my day!" and blew them right out of the Rose Bowl for a few hours, until Arizona State blew them right back in. Here was the situation: There were 3V6 minutes to play in the ballgame, UCLA leading, 13-10, and USC had the ball on the UCLA six-yard line, fourth down and two to go.

A guy with the gout could have kicked the tying field goal from there. A tie would have blocked UCLA from the Rose Bowl as effectively as would a loss. A tie could have resulted in the familiar old headline, "UCLA Loses To USC, 13-13." It was a time for Coach Tollner to say, "I pass." To say, "I'll play these." To take the sure thing. A tie could have made not only his day but his season. He scorned the tie.

He'd dance with his sister some other time. In the best traditions of Wyatt Earp or Billy the Kid, he went for his guns and came up shooting. UCLA bit the dust, 17-13. Please see MURRAY, Page 13 Rodney Peete sneaks across in Only his helmet is visible as USC's J7W7 Bruin David Norrie fumbles when the grasp of UCLA's Ken Norton Associated Press third quarter. UCLA recovered.

By MAL FLORENCE, Times Staff Writer USC Coach Ted Tollner said he made a gut decision before the UCLA game Saturday. And in a critical situation, Tollner didn't waver. As it turned out, it may have been the most important decision that Tollner has made since he became USC's coach in 1983, for it was the key element in providing the Trojans with a 17-13 upset win that nearly knocked the Bruins out of the Rose Bowl before a crowd of 90,064 at the Coliseum. Nearly, that is, but not quite. UCLA backed into the Rose Bowl when Arizona upset Arizona State, 16-13, Saturday night at Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State, which lost to UCLA during the season, as did Arizona, needed a win or a tie to reach the Rose Bowl. USC was outplayed by UCLA for most of the game, but in the waning minutes the Trojans surged to the UCLA six-yard line and had a fourth-and-two situation. Tollner probably wouldn't have been criticized had he elected to go for a tying field goal, considering the distance remaining for a first down. But the Trojans disdained the field goal, and redshirt freshman quarterback Rodney Peete rolled out for three yards and a first down. Four plays later, with UCLA grudgingly giving ground, Peete sneaked the remaining few inches into the end zone for the winning touchdown.

Only 1 minute 13 seconds remained in the game. "I made the decision before the game," Tollner said. "Our objective was not to take UCLA out of the Rose Bowl with a tie. Our objective was to win. I had hoped, though, that I wouldn't have to make that decision." UCLA still had an outside chance to come back after Peete scored.

But quarterback David Norrie's second-down pass from his own Please see USC, Page 12 Wildcats Kick Out Sun Devils By BOB OATES, Times Staff Writer TEMPE, Bruins had two shots at the Rose Bowl Saturday afternoon and eveningand blew the first one, losing to USC. But they hit the next time when Arizona upset Arizona State in the nightcap, 16-13, on two big fumbles and two fourth-quarter field goals by Max Zendejas, including one that flew 57 yards. Zendejas' big kick came on his second try. He had missed from 52 yards, but a dead-ball foul against Arizona for illegal procedure voided the play. His game-winning 32-yard kick with 1:43 left followed an Arizona State fumble by quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst, who lost possession at the Sun Devil 20 when sacked.

Asked why the Sun Devils were trying to throw the ball in the final minutes of a 13-13 game when a tie would have taken them to the Rose Bowl Van Raaphorst said: "The coach (John Cooper) made the calls." Arizona Coach Larry Smith, grateful, said: "I thought sure they'd sit on the ball. I was surprised they kept throwing." Either a win or tie would have Please see ARIZONA, Page 20 sacked by Marcus Cotton in the 7 JAYNB KAMIN Los Angeles Timet (41) for the winning touchdown. Arizona Finds the Way to Lift Bruins' Spirits By TRACY DODDS, Times Staff Writer In the momenta after UCLA lost to USC at the Coliseum Saturday afternoon, nothing else mattered to the Bruins. It was a very quiet locker room. They had self-destructed.

Fumbled away three sure scores. What's to say? They had blown the chance to make history by being the first UCLA team ever to beat USC four straight, and they had blown the chance to earn their own way into the Rose Bowl game. They were in no mood to specu-Please see UCLA, Page 13 linebacker Brian Bosworth said. "They were totally frustrated." When the Cornhuskers finally scored, it was their defense that did it. Defensive tackle Chris Spach-man returned a fumble 76 yards for a touchdown with 26 seconds remaining.

All that did was spoil the Sooners' shutout in a 27-7 victory before a chilled crowd of 75,004 at Owen Field. It did not spoil the Sooners' post -game celebration, which was highlighted by an invitation from the Orange Bowl Committee to Please see OKLAHOMA, Page 10 Hawkeyes Get Trip to Rose Bowl From Times Wire Services Third-ranked Iowa and No. 5-ranked Oklahoma clinched the titles in their conferences Saturday as the New Year's Day bowl situation solidified. Iowa (10-1) defeated Minnesota, 31-9, to win the Big Ten championship and earn a trip to the the Rose Bowl against UCLA on New Year's Day. UCLA, which lost to USC, 17-13, needed Arizona's 16-13 upset of Arizona State Saturday night to back into Pasadena as the Pacific 10 representative.

Arizona State (8-3) will go to San Diego to play Arkansas (9-2) in the Holiday Bowl Dec. 22. Oklahoma (8-1) upset No. 2-ranked Nebraska, 27-7, to win the Big Eight title and move into the Orange Bowl at Miami on New Year's night against No. 1 -ranked Penn State (11-0).

After the loss, the Cornhuskers (9-2) accepted an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 at Tempe, against No. 6-ranked Michigan (9-1-1). The Wolverines beat 12th-ranked Ohio State, 27-17. Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said he couldn't believe there were Please see BOWLS, Page 20 CALIFORNIA Fresno State Dec.

14 at Fresno vs. Bowling Green CHERRY Maryland Dec. 21 at Pontiac, Mich, va. Syracuse 1NDEPEN0NC6illH Pec. 21 at Shreveport.

la. vs. Minnesota Dec. 22 at San Diego vs. Arizona State LIBERTY Baylor Dec 27 at Memphis vs.

ISU (if not in Sugar) ALOHA West Virginia Dec. 28 at Honolulu vs. Alabama FLORIDA CITRUS Ohio State Dec. 28 at Orlando, Fla. vs.

Brigham Young SUN Georgia Dec. 28 at El Paso, Tex. vs. Arizona ALL-AMERICAN Michigan State Dec, 29 at Birmingham, Ala. vs.

Georgia Tech FREEDOM Washington Dec. 30 at Anaheim vs. Colorado or Tennessee GATOR Florida State Dec, 3 1 at Jacksonville, Fla. vs. Oklahoma State BLUEBONNET Air Force Dec 3 1 at Houston vs.

Texas-Texas loser PEACH Illinois Dec 31 at Atlanta vs Army COTTON Texas-Texas winner Jan 1 at Dallas vs. Auburn FIESTA Michigan Jan. 1 at Tempe, Ariz. vs. Nebraska ORANGE Penn State Jan.

1 at Miami ys. Oklahorna ROSE Iowa Jan 1 at Pasadena vs UCLA SUGAR Tennessee or LSU or Alabama Jan. 1 at New Orleans vs. Miami United Preu International Keith Jackson outruns Nebraska's Dennis Watkins on way to 88-yard touchdown run on Saturday afternoon in Norman, Okla. Oklahoma Pushes Its Way Into Showdown for No.

1 By RANDY HARVEY, Times Staff Writer NORMAN, was about to kick off to Nebraska for the sixth time Saturday, when a large orange balloon floated onto the field and landed at the feet of one of the Cornhuskers, tackle Todd Carpenter. Carpenter fielded the balloon on one bounce and smothered it in his hands. The orange balloon burst, the same way Nebraska's bubble had burst moments earlier when the Sooners took a 27-0 lead with a little more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. "Their offense gave up when we got our 27th point," Oklahoma HOW THE OTHER TOP TEAMS FARED Lakers, Clippers Win The Lakers rout Portland, 130-113, and the Clippers, with Norm Nixon back, defeat Milwaukee, 116-112. Please see Page 2.

INDEX Big Ten Pages 4, 5 Pacific 10 Page 6 Southwest, South. Page 8 Southeast Page 9 East Page 11 Scores Page 20 Summaries Page 21 17. LSU 10 Notre Dame 7 Please see Page 9 1 8. Arkansas 15 SMU 9 Please see Page 8 1 9. Texas 53 TCU 6 Please see Page 8 11.BYU 38 Utah 28 Please see Page 7 Texas 17 15.

Baylor 10 Please see Page 8 16. Tennessee ...42 Kentucky 0 Please see Page 9 4. Miami (Fla.) ...24 Colorado St. 3 Please see Page 8 6. Michigan 27 12.

Ohio State 17 Please see Page 4 Iowa State 15 7. Oklahoma State 1 0 Please see Page 10 1. Penn St 31 Pitt Please see Page 1 1 5. Oklahoma 27 2. Nebraska 7 Please see story above 3.

Iowa 31 Minnesota 9 Please see Page 4 Kings Lose in Minnesota The Kings see their record fall to 5-14-1 as they are beaten by the Minnesota North Stars, 4-2. Please see Page 2..