A light rain fell over the Rose Bowl Saturday night as Eddie Czaplicki took his place just behind USC’s 45-yard line. He didn’t expect to be needed, not with USC driving early in the fourth quarter against UCLA. But an ill-timed, third-down sack had knocked the Trojans out of field goal range. Now it was up to the best punter in college football to salvage the situation, like he had so often during USC’s season.
It was a critical moment in the crosstown rivalry, with the Trojans trailing 13-9, in need of a spark.