Columnist Steve Guiremand: Huskies’ Lambright, Trojans’ Hackett feeling the heat

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Oct. 30, 1998 | 10:36 a.m.

Steve Guiremand's college football notebook appears Friday. Reach him at steveg@lasvegassun.com or 259-2324.

UNLV head coach Jeff Horton should count his lucky blessings that he isn't coaching at the University of Washington or USC these days.

A football coach with a 13-game losing streak at one of those two schools, who play in a crucial Pac-10 game Saturday at the Coliseum, would be demoted to mowing the practice field lawn by now.

Horton, meanwhile, had the largest turnout at his booster luncheon in five years this week, in a strong show of support for his beleagured program.

Husky coach Jim Lambright and Trojan coach Paul Hackett only can dream of such loyal fans.

Washington is 5-2 and 3-1 in the Pac-10 heading into Saturday's game. But because the Huskies were lucky to survive a no-time-left, failed two-point play to beat improving Oregon State, 35-34, last week in Seattle, Lambright finds himself getting toasted on local sports talk shows, Internet chat rooms and in letters to the editor. The topic? Lambo has to go.

Lambright, who signed a five-year contract in January that pays him about $566,000 per year, was asked Monday if he was worried about his job security, especially considering the surprising resignation of Auburn's Terry Bowden a few days earlier.

"I don't listen to it, I really don't," he said. "I have one job, and that's to work with the players and try to create wins.

"I've had one son die (last winter) and two others who are dying (of an incurable disease) and if you think for one second that I will think one bit like Terry Bowden, you've got a lot of thinking to do. Because this is a great job and I'm working with great people."

Still, a loss to USC Saturday could really turn the heat up on Lambright. The Huskies travel to Oregon next week, then host No. 2 UCLA before ending the season at arch rival Washington State. A 5-6 season could be a real possibility.

Meanwhile, Hackett, brought in by athletic director Mike Garrett to turn things around after the messy firing of John Robinson, has begun to feel the heat around Troy despite a 5-3 record.

Hackett promptly ended his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback luncheon this week when a booster questioned whether he was trying not to lose games instead of trying to win them.

Trojan followers were upset by Hackett's decision to not go for it on 4th-and-goal at the Oregon eight with four minutes to go last week and his team trailing by a touchdown, 17-10.

Hackett opted to go for a meaningless field goal with the hope his defense could stop one of the nation's most potent offenses on the road. They didn't and the Trojans never got the ball back in a 17-13 loss.

More than a few USC supporters are still in a state of shock that the Trojans blew a three-touchdown lead to Cal in the final 15 1/2 minutes of a 32-31 loss at the Coliseum a few weeks ago.

If USC (5-3) falls to the Huskies Saturday -- it's Homecoming for the Trojans and Washington's defense (31 sacks in last three games) has embarrassed much better offensive lines than USC's lately -- there's a very good chance Hackett and company will be home for the holidays for the third straight year. USC would need to win two of its final three games -- at Stanford, at UCLA and at home against Notre Dame -- to have the winning record needed for bowl eligibility.

You have to go all the way back to the mid-1960's (1963-65) for the last time USC went three straight seasons without a bowl berth. And those were the days when only the conference champion moved on to post-season competition.

The tailback on those teams? Mike Garrett.

Pukefast

Memo to Sports Illustrated: For those of us who enjoy reading while eating our Wheaties for breakfast each morning, please refrain from using photos like the one you ran in your Oct. 26th issue showing UCLA quarterback Cade McNown barfing all over the Rose Bowl field.

I'm sure Cade's mom and dad would appreciate it, too.

Once around the WAC

AIR FORCE: Cornerback Tim Curry blocked two more kicks in last week's 42-21 win at Tulsa to give him an amazing nine for his college career.

BYU: Ronney Jenkins' 250-yard performance against San Jose State was the second best in school history, trailing only a 272-yard output by Eldon "The Phantom" Fortie in 1962.

COLORADO STATE: Defensive end Joey Porter leads the WAC and the nation with 12 1/2 sacks.

FRESNO STATE: Bulldogs have forced at least one fumble in every game this season.

HAWAII: Quarterback Dan Robinson set a school-record with 57 pass attempts (completing 21 for 247 yards and three touchdowns) in 30-20 loss to New Mexico. However, he was sacked once and knocked down 21 more times.

UNLV: Senior Joe Kristosik continues to lead the WAC and is third nationally in punting with a 46.3 average.

NEW MEXICO: Senior tailback Lennox Gordon became the ninth player in school history to eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark in his career.

RICE: Owls (2-5, 2-2 WAC Mountain) take a six-game road losing streak to Colorado State (7-2, 4-1) Saturday.

SAN DIEGO STATE: Former star running back Marshall Faulk became just the third player in school history to have his number (28) retired, joining quarterback Todd Santos (8) and wide receiver Haven Moses (25).

SAN JOSE STATE: After allowing 332 more yards on the ground at BYU last week, Spartans rank last in the WAC and 110th among 112 Division 1-A teams in run defense, yielding an average of 265.4 yards per game.

SMU: Mustangs, who have allowed just 25 points in their last four games, still find themselves huge 18-point underdogs at Air Force this week.

TCU: Frogs rank dreadful 109th nationally in passing offense, averaging just 92.6 yards per game.

UTEP: Miners are just 2-19 in WAC road games in 5 1/2 seasons under Charlie Bailey.

TULSA: Freshman quarterback Robert Stevenson, who will make his first college start Saturday against UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium, has played a total of just 13 snaps in his career.

UTAH: Running back Mike Anderson leads the WAC in rushing with a 119.7 yards per game average and has topped the 100-yard mark in four consecutive games.

WYOMING: Cowboys quarterback Jay Stoner has been sacked just four times in 228 pass attempts this season.

Once around the nation

ACC: Clemson hosts North Carolina State Saturday in what has been labeled the Textile Bowl. Both schools have textile management programs. Since the Textile Bowl moniker surfaced in 1981, Tigers have weaved a 12-5 advantage in the series.

BIG 12: The Daily Oklahoman, quoting "a source close to the Oklahoma football program," said Oklahoma regents would vote 5-2 to oust coach John Blake if a vote was taken this week. Blakes's record is 9-21 midway through his third season at OU.

BIG EAST: Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer holds 6-5 record against West Virginia's Don Nehlen. The No. 20 Hokies host the No. 21 Mountaineers Saturday in a key conference matchup in Blacksburg.

BIG TEN: Wonder why defending co-national champion Michigan (5-2, 4-0) has struggled at times this season? Well, Wolverines are last in the Big Ten in turnover margin at minus 7.

BIG WEST: Nevada wide receiver Geoff Noisy, who broke the NCAA career reception mark in last week's 58-23 win at Idaho, has caught at least five passes in a remarkable 29 straight games.

CONFERENCE USA: Southern Miss quarterback Lee Roberts has 15 touchdown passes heading into Saturday's game at Alabama and needs just two more to break the school's single-season record set by Brett Favre in 1988 and tied by Roberts last year.

MAC: Marshall (8-0, 6-0) can clinch its second consecutive East Division title Saturday at Bowling Green (2-5, 2-2).

PAC-10: UCLA (6-0, 4-0) has had 36 plays of 20 yards or more this season, including 13 that have resulted in touchdowns. Those figures should rise dramatically Saturday at the Rose Bowl when Bruins host Stanford (1-6, 0-4).

SEC: Georgia two-way star Champ Bailey had a season-high 102 plays --- 76 on defense, 15 on offense and 12 on special teams --- in last week's 28-26 win at Kentucky.

WAC: Remember when this was a wide-open passing conference? Three teams rank in Top 20 nationally in rush offense led by No. 1 Air Force (306.7 yards per game). Rice is sixth (292.6) while TCU is 17th (220.7).

INDEPENDENTS: The last time Notre Dame, which hosts Baylor Saturday, played the Bears was in 1925, 73 years ago. Notre Dame's nickname in those days was the "Ramblers." ND won, 41-0.

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