USC’s Johnson Earns Himself a Passing Grade

SAN DIEGO —  Rob Johnson, a public administration major at USC, was asked to grade his work Saturday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“A quarterback’s job is to win,” Johnson said after the Trojans and San Diego State played to a 31-31 draw. “We tied. So I deserve a C. It’s an A, C, or F thing.”

Others believed Johnson was downgrading himself after he completed 20 of 33 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns on opening day of his sophomore season.

He also fumbled twice to set up 14 Aztec points, but helped to resurrect the USC passing game that had been on a year’s hiatus.

Reggie Perry, the starter in 10 of the 11 games, threw only three touchdown passes last season.

Johnson’s favorite receiver, Johnnie Morton, had three touchdown catches to equal a school record.

The last time Morton scored, Todd Marinovich was the quarterback. It was against UCLA on Nov. 17, 1990, at the Rose Bowl.

“Rob reminds me of a right-handed Todd,” Morton said. “He’s got great touch, good timing, and a nice release. With more experience, he’ll have the leadership, too.”

Johnson seemed to know every move Morton made, and it was not by accident.

“I was able to work out with Johnnie and most of the other receivers during the summer,” Johnson said.

“Today, Johnnie would come to me and tell me when he thought he could beat a guy. Then he would do it.”

Three times, Morton beat the coverage for scoring catches of 24, 17 and 19 yards.

“It’s hard to look at your individual achievements when you don’t win,” said Morton, a junior from South Torrance.

“In the first half, the whole team was explosive and quick. In the second half, we sputtered.”

Johnson’s other scoring pass was 22 yards to another wide receiver, Curtis Conway, during the first quarter. Conway also crossed the goal line for what would have been a 34-yard play during the third quarter, but Morton was called for an illegal block.

On the next play, Johnson passed to Morton to give the Trojans their last lead of the day, 28-24.

“Their wideouts are as good as any we’ve ever played against,” Aztec Coach Al Luginbill said. “Johnson threw some nice shots. He put the ball right where it had to be four or five times when the coverage was there.”

But Johnson couldn’t complete a pass during the Trojans’ first four possessions during the second half when their 21-7 lead turned into a 24-21 deficit.

“They kept coming at us,” Johnson said. “We had a little lull and they responded.”

On a day that their losing streak was ended at six games, the Trojans’ winless streak was extended to seven.

“I feel empty,” Conway said. “We might as well not play a game if it’s going to be a tie.”

Of course, there are a couple of ways at looking at the unusual happenings of the last four minutes.

If it had been ruled that Trojan wide receiver Larry Wallace had possession of the ball--instead of juggling it--before going out of bounds, USC would have had a first down on the one-yard line.

The Trojans had to settle for Cole Ford’s 32-yard field goal that made the score 31-31 with 5:36 left.

“I thought Larry had the ball,” Johnson said. “Maybe we need instant replay.”

If Aztec field-goal kicker Andy Trakas hadn’t missed from 30 yards with 54 seconds left or from 55 yards on the last play, San Diego State would have ended its 13-game winless streak against Pacific 10 Conference teams.

“It probably was a great game to watch,” Johnson said. “But we’re not happy, and neither are they.”