CBS SportsLine wire reports
Sept. 12, 1998

LOS ANGELES -- R. Jay Soward, decked out in a white, silky suit, thought he had an "OK" game.

"OK" translated into 256 total yards,

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including a pair of touchdown receptions and a 74-yard punt return for another score Saturday night in the No. 22 USC Trojans' 35-6 victory over San Diego State.

"I felt slow tonight. My performance was OK. I dropped the ball, I had a touchdown called back and I made blocking mistakes," he said. "But I did what I had to do to make sure my team won."

Paul Hackett, who saw the Trojans improve to 2-0 in his second game as their coach, obviously was more impressed by Soward than Soward was.

The coach chuckled as Soward came into the interview room in his flashy duds, saying, "He dresses like he plays."

"He played marvelous. R. Jay creates energy, even stimulates the defense on the sidelines," Hackett said. "Getting the ball in R. Jay's hands is a priority, and we'll continue to do it, and figure out new ways to do it."

SOWARD MISSED THE TROJANS' OPENING GAME, a 27-17 victory over Purdue two weeks ago. Hackett had suspended him for one game because Soward had academic problems last spring.

But living up to his billing as a big-play threat, Soward had the ball nine times against the Aztecs (0-2) and averaged 28.4 yards each time he handled it.

The wiry junior has scored 21 touchdowns for USC, averaging one touchdown about every five times he has touched the ball.

Soward had four receptions for 94 yards against San Diego State. He scored on pass plays of 53 and 8 yards from Mike Van Raaphorst and had another apparent TD, a 24-yard reception, called back. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder also rushed three times for 69 yards and returned a kickoff 19 yards, in addition to the long punt return.

Chad Morton rushed for 110 yards on 23 carries

Chad Morton helped add to the Aztecs' long evening with a 12-yard score. (AP)

and scored on a 12-yard run for the Trojans, who built an early lead then put the game away with two touchdowns in the final quarter.

The Trojans sputtered on offense much of the evening, including being called for 15 penalties for 114 yards, and Adam Abrams missed three field goals.

However, their defense, led by David Gibson's three sacks and one fumble recovery, kept the game in hand, limiting the Aztecs (0-2) to a second-quarter touchdown.

THE LOSS SPOILED THE RETURN of San Diego State coach Ted Tollner, who was fired as the USC coach after a 7-4 season in 1986.

Tollner said the Aztecs' inability to make plays and the Trojans' overall team speed "was too much for us."

"We're still struggling on offense. We did some good things but there was no consistency and we kept putting our defense in difficult situations. We hung in there at 21-6 for awhile without really making any plays."

USC led 21-6 at halftime, but the lead could have been larger if the Trojans hadn't misfired on other scoring chances.

"I was not comfortable with the game until the fourth quarter," Hackett said.

Soward appeared to have scored on the 24-yard pass on the Trojans' first possession, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty. San Diego State also drew a dead-ball penalty on Aztecs cornerback Tairou Smith, who also was ejected from the game.

Unable to put the ball back into the end zone, the Trojans settled for a 39-yard field goal try by Abrams, but he missed to snap a personal string of 12 consecutive successful attempts.

The Trojans went up 7-0 on Morton's run on their next possession, but the third time they had the ball, Abrams missed another field goal, this time from 29 yards. Abrams later missed a 44-yarder.

SOWARD'S LONG TD PASS FROM VAN RAAPHORST early in the second quarter put USC up 14-0. The Trojans cashed in a fumble by the Aztecs' Brian Russell, recovered by Aaron Williams at the San Diego State 33, for Van Raaphorst's second touchdown pass to Soward to open a 21-0 lead.

Van Raaphorst finished 13-of-26 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Carson Palmer, who came in late in the third quarter, was 5-of-8 for 50 yards, with one interception and a 10-yard touchdown to Billy Miller.

The Aztecs' only touchdown came on a 31-yard pass from Russell to Damon Gourdine just before halftime.

Starting quarterback Spencer Brinton completed just 1-of-4 for 5 yards before Russell replaced him. Russell went 8-of-21 for 89 yards.

Tollner had a 26-19 record at USC from 1983-86, including a 9-3 record and a 20-17 Rose Bowl upset of fifth-ranked Ohio State.

The Aztecs-Trojans game was the second ever between the schools. They tied 31-31 in the 1992 Holiday Bowl in San Diego.