- In the heat of Gordon Adams' first game as starting quarterback
for Coach John Robinson's USC Trojans, there were 95,049 screaming
Tennessee fans rooting against him.
And, with only 10 seconds left and the Trojans at midfield in a tie game,
they called timeout and Adams approached the sidelines.
Expecting a play call from Robinson in a tense moment to open the 1980
college football season, Adams instead remembers Robinson saying: "Isn't
this great? This is what we play for, and why we come to USC -- to be in
situations like this."
The Trojans, on the ensuing pass play, picked up the necessary yards to
set up Eric Hipp's game-winning, 47-yard field goal with no time left to
beat the Volunteers, 20-17, which is considered one of the most dramatic
finishes in USC football lore.
"I remember strolling over to the sidelines and seeing John Robinson
there with a big smile on his face," said Adams, a fifth-year senior and
former Trojan walk-on, following a stellar career at Newport Harbor High.
Adams, on scholarship his last two years, breathed a sigh of relief in
1979 when local product John Elway committed to Stanford.
"Once Paul McDonald graduated, I was the backup (quarterback) and felt I
could beat out those guys who had been recruited at that point," Adams
said, "but if Elway had (selected USC), there's no question he was a
prize recruit and would've started as a freshman in 1980 after McDonald
graduated."
Thrilled that Elway chose Stanford, Adams made the most of his starting
opportunity, while fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming a third
generation Trojan.
In Week 8 of the '80 campaign, Adams was voted Chevrolet Player of the
Game against Stanford, a 34-9 road victory for the Trojans on national
television. The next week against Washington, however, Adams blew out his
knee on a goal-line play at the end of the first half and missed the rest
of the season, which included games against UCLA and Notre Dame.
The Trojans that year were banned from postseason bowl games because of
Pacific 10 Conference penalties, but finished 8-2-1 and extended the
school's unbeaten string to 28 games in Week 8 against Stanford. The
20-10 home loss to Washington snapped the streak.
In 1978 and '79, Adams didn't start, but was part of USC's Rose Bowl
winning teams, including the '78 squad that captured a national
championship after beating Michigan, 17-10, in the Rose Bowl with Trojan
offensive linemen Anthony Munoz, Brad Budde and Pat Howell clearing the
way for All-American tailback Charles White.
