Trojans Look Hot At Corners

Washington State University quarterback Ryan Leaf drops back to pass. Receiver Shawn McWashington comes open over the middle.

Leaf throws.

Out of nowhere, here comes USC cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. The pass is intercepted. The Trojans win. McCutcheon raises his arms in a triumphant pose.

Not to worry, WSU fans. It’s only a video game.

“We just got this new game, it’s NCAA College Football,” McCutcheon said Wednesday, three days before his 23rd-ranked Trojans play the Cougars in Los Angeles. “It’s fun, just because you know different guys that play on different teams.”

Such video games, up-dated annually to reflect changes in personnel, are a hit with many college football players. Individual players are graded in several areas using a 100-point scale. A preseason All-American like McCutcheon might be given a 90 rating for his cover skills, for example.

This week, McCutcheon couldn’t resist pitting his Trojans against the Cougars.

“It was a pretty good game,” McCutcheon reported. “Of course, the Trojans had to win.”

And how did a certain USC cornerback fare? “

I think he had one interception and probably a couple of tackles,” McCutcheon said. “Hopefully that will come true.”

Not if McWashington has any say in the matter. The WSU senior spent part of his summer in Los Angeles and worked out at USC, as did McCutcheon. A recovering Nintendo addict, McWashington disputes the game’s player ratings, among other things.

“When McCutcheon and them are playing video games, they’re not using me right - I’ve got big-play video game potential,” McWashington said. “Man, they got me like the possession receiver. I’m averaging like 16 yards a catch.”

Sounds like a realistic game.

McWashington, after all, averaged only 13.1 yards per catch in 1996. And in WSU’s recent season opener against UCLA, McWashington averaged less than 10 yards for each of his five receptions.

McWashington caught three passes for 21 yards in last year’s USC-WSU game, won 29-24 by the Trojans. McCutcheon, meanwhile, came up with two interceptions.

If McCutcheon is to duplicate that performance this week, it will be within the framework of a modified defensive scheme. USC is blitzing more this season, a tactic that puts more pressure on McCutcheon and the Trojans’ other talented cornerback, Brian Kelly. By WSU’s count, the Trojans blitzed 33 times during Saturday’s 14-7 season-opening loss to Florida State. McCutcheon said he expects that trend to continue.

“We have to mix it up so our defense isn’t so predictable,” he said. “I think we have a pretty good secondary out there, so we’re able to do a little more up front and put some guys up there on the line and stop the run.

“It’s a bigger challenge for the corners and the safeties, but hopefully, we’ll be able to come through and make those plays.”

Quotable

“Manning runs a little better, and Leaf’s a little bigger and stronger. But I respect Manning. He’d throw a touchdown pass and there was no boasting or flaunting. Leaf was taunting, waving his arms, trying to get recognition.” - UCLA linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo, who has lost to Tennessee’s Peyton Manning and WSU’s Ryan Leaf.

Willingham vows to stay

Stanford has restructured Tyrone Willingham’s six-year contract, making it more attractive for the coach to stay.

Widely considered a strong prospect for an NFL head-coaching job if Stanford has a successful season, Willingham said he will not entertain NFL offers after this season or any season for the length of his Stanford contract, which runs through the 2001 season.

“I’m off the market,” Willingham said flatly. “I think I made it clear.”

Sophomore blues for Smith

There is a terrific trio of sophomore quarterbacks in the Pac-10, and two had good starts to the 1997 season.

Washington’s Brock Huard completed 18 of 23 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns as the Huskies routed BYU. Stanford’s Chad Hutchinson threw for 302 yards in a victory over San Jose State.

But Arizona’s Keith Smith fumbled twice and was generally ineffective, contributing greatly to the Wildcats’ 16-9 loss at Oregon. When trying to come up with a reason, he said he was mysteriously “hesitant.”

“I hate even talking about it anymore,” Smith said. “I just want to throw that game in the trash, because that’s what it was - garbage.

“This game, I’m telling you, we’re going off.”

The Wildcats are 29-point favorites against Alabama-Birmingham.

Around the conference

USC cornerback Ken Haslip and backup quarterback Quincy Woods will play receiver against WSU. Haslip and Woods bolster the Trojans’ depth at receiver after Larry Parker and Rod Perry Jr. required season-ending surgery… . ABC field reporter Lynn Swann played catch with USC quarterback John Fox for a few minutes on the field before Saturday’s game. “He just came over and said, ‘Can I catch?’ I said, ‘Sure,”’ Fox said. “I didn’t think it was a violation.” … UCLA coach Bob Toledo continues to put a positive spin on his team’s 0-2 start. “I keep mentioning that in 1993, we lost the conference opener and we lost the second game, and then we won eight games,” Toledo said. “We’re not dead and buried.”

, DataTimes