COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : USC : Trojans Suffer From ‘Stupidity’

Some of USC’s lapses this season may stem from a lack of “football sense,” Coach Larry Smith said this week.

“There are certain things that aren’t physical,” said Smith, whose team will play 10th-ranked California Saturday at Berkeley. “If it’s third and 23 and I’m a linebacker and I’m dropping back, I could (not) give a damn if they complete a flat pass for eight or 10 yards. But if I suck up on it and give up a curl route 20 yards deep, that’s stupidity.

“We have got to start thinking and (gaining) football sense. That comes from maturity and teaching and experience and finally getting it through your thick head that you don’t do dumb things like that.”

Quarterback Reggie Perry was much better after halftime in USC’s last two games, completing 33 of 47 passes (70.2%) for 368 yards, more than a third of his season total of 1,005 yards, with no interceptions.

Cal Coach Bruce Snyder said that the Bears’ Troy Auzenne, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound senior from Bishop Amat High in La Puente, is “the best left tackle for pass protection that I’ve seen in our league.”