It was the greatest win in Fresno State history, and just maybe one of the most embarrassing losses for Southern Cal.
Inspired by their chance to play one of the nation's traditional football powers and motivated even more by comments by Southern Cal's quarterback, the determined Bulldogs upset the 23rd-ranked Trojans 24-7 in the Freedom Bowl Tuesday night."This is certainly, historically, the greatest win in FSU history by far," Bulldogs coach Jim Sweeney said after his team dominated USC on both sides of the ball. "I felt like we were in control of the ball game."
They were.
The Bulldogs (9-4) physically dominated the Trojans (6-5-1), rolling up 405 yards of total offense to 183 for USC.
Ron Rivers rushed for 108 yards on 19 carries for Fresno State, which had 241 yards on the ground and 164 passing by quarterback Trent Dilfer. The Bulldogs, who didn't have a single turnover, sealed the victory with two drives for touchdowns in the final 3:35 of play.
Somewhat amazingly, Fresno State's much maligned defense, which had allowed nearly 30 points a game and was ranked 98th out of 107 nationally, almost completely shut down the Trojans and also came up with four turnovers.
Most notably, the Bulldog defenders put the clamps on USC quarterback Rob Johnson, who had said that the Trojans wanted to put the Bulldogs in their place and "beat them bad," and were playing them only because it was a bowl game. He added that USC would never schedule Fresno State.
The Bulldog defense held Johnson to seven completions in 18 attempts for 95 yards, sacked him three times and intercepted him three times.
Said Fresno State safety Sam Watson, who had one interception: "They have been talking all week how we shouldn't be on the field with them. That just motivated us more."
Sweeney, who earlier in his career went 0-7 against Southern Cal while coaching at Washington State, had difficulty believing he had finally beaten the Trojans.
"I never dreamt I'd get a chance to play USC again. They owned my house, my home, my children," joked Sweeney, who has coached the Bulldogs for the past 13 years.
Asked what the victory over USC, which was favored by eight points, meant to him, Sweeney laughed and replied, "It means the coach will be rehired and he'll be a lot easier to live with. . . . It means I won't have to sneak around and hide at the national coaches' convention."
The loss, meanwhile, certainly didn't do anything good for Larry Smith's job security at USC. The Trojans lost four of their last five games, including defeats by rivals UCLA and Notre Dame.
"I don't control my critics. I'm not going to worry about them," Smith said after the game. "They probably give you too much blame when you lose and too much credit when you win."
Although Fresno State showed it definitely belonged on the same field with USC, Smith still backed Johnson's opinion that the Trojans should not schedule the Bulldogs.
"Our fans don't like us playing FSU. We have everything to lose and nothing to gain, so why schedule them?" Smith said.
However, the Trojans coach also said: "I think Fresno State played an excellent football game. I love Jim Sweeney and he has a great program. The way they played tonight, they would stack up against anyone in our (Pacific-10) conference."
Johnson said his earlier critical remarks about Fresno State came after he had said a number of positive things, but he added, "They (the Bulldogs) were popping off."
Nose guard Zack Nix, middle linebacker Chris Peters and end Nick Serfas spearheaded the Fresno State defensive effort, while James Burton and Brian Porter also chipped in with interceptions.
Southern Cal played the second half without wide receiver-return man Curtis Conway, who suffered a strained right knee.