The Irish beat the Trojans for the eighth straight time, thanks to an emerging defense
By Brian McMahon
1990 Scholastic Football Review
Larry Smith has enjoyed phenomenal success as head football coach at the University of Southern California. In his first three years, he guided the Trojans to three Rose Bowls, a 21-1-1 record against the PAC 10, and a .766 winning percentage overall.
But don’t for a minute think that the fact he hasn’t beaten Notre Dame in that time doesn’t bother him. Although he did beat the Irish in 1982 while at Arizona, he has had no luck against Notre Dame during the Lou Holtz era; and it’s hurt, too.
In 1988, Smith’s team was ranked number one going into the last game of the season against the Irish. Southern Cal’s hopes for a national championship were blown away in their own back yard when the Irish ran off with a 27-10 victory. Last year, Smith came to South Bend hoping to return the favor against the top-ranked Irish, but they lost a heartbreaker, 28-24.
This year, things looked good for Smith and the Trojans as kickoff approached. His quarterback, Todd Marinovich, was one year wiser after throwing three interceptions in South Bend thirteen months previous. The sophomore threatened to light up a less experienced Irish secondary than the one he exploited for 33 completions and 333 yards on a cold, rainy October day last season at Notre Dame.
Smith’s tailback, Mazio Royster, was averaging 132 yards per game since taking over the starting role after the Trojans’ fifth game. His club had just beaten crosstown rival UCLA the week before. Clearly, Larry Smith’s house was in order.
The same couldn’t be said for Lou Holtz. The Irish had slipped from the nation’s top spot seven days prior when they lost in the closing minutes to Penn State at home. His top player, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, was questionable with a thigh bruise that had kept him from the second half of the Penn State loss. The prospect of playing without Ismail was upsetting, considering the Irish had lost both games he missed due to injury.
There was also concern that the Irish might not yet have recovered from that last-second loss to Penn State. Rookie quarterback Rick Mirer had a bad day against the Nittany Lions and USC is not exactly an ideal place to regain one’s confidence.
Then there was the question of how the Irish would react now that the national title was out of reach.
“How will we respond? I really don’t know,”…