University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Welcome Aztecs In Southern California Clash
September 15, 1999 | Football
Sept. 15, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The No. 17 USC Trojans are far from overconfident about Saturday's battle with local rival San Diego State.
"It's a little bit scary just because they want revenge against us," Trojan tailback Chad Morton said.
Last season, USC routed the Aztecs, 35-6, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans also are coming off a bye week - not exactly a momentum builder after embarrassing Hawaii in a 62-7 season-opening victory.
Furthermore, Morton realizes what it means to a be a smaller intrastate program playing in the home stadium of a national power.
"A lot of these guys are from L.A. They probably love playing in the Coliseum against us," added Morton. "A lot of them probably wanted to go to USC and they couldn't, so it's their chance to show that they belong here.
Coach Paul Hackett's club features Morton's ground attack and the explosiveness of wideout/kick returner R. Jay Soward, who scored three times and had 256 all-purpose yards in last year's meeting.
The Aztecs (1-1) come off last week's 38-10 loss at Illinois, which extended their non-conference, road-game losing streak to 25. San Diego State has also lost its last five meetings against Pac-10 teams.
"You are what your record is," said Aztec coach Ted Tollner, who held the same job at USC from 1983-1986. "You can talk all you want, but the bottom line is you line up and play some people that are highly respected and either you can compete or you can't."
San Diego State's running back tandem of Larry Ned and Jonas Lewis has accounted for 252 of the team's 309 rushing yards. In '98, Lewis and Ned combined to rush for 1,659 yards and 11 touchdowns. Each averaged over five yards per carry and as a tandem put up 184.4 yards per game.
The matchup marks the third meeting between the schools. They also met on Sept. 5, 1992, and ended up with a 31-31 tie in the season opener. The Aztecs came from 14 points down in the second half, thanks to running back Marshall Faulk, who finished with 220 yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns.
