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| UCLA quarterback John Barnes tries to scramble away from USC linebacker Willie McGinest during the 1992 USC-UCLA game. |
Little did he know that one year later he would be the Bruins' starting quarterback and help produce one of the greatest moments in the history of the UCLA-USC rivalry.
When he came out of high school, Barnes was not offered a scholarship to play at any college in the country to play football so he enrolled at Saddleback College, a community college in Mission Viejo, California.
After spending a year there, he transferred to Western Oregon University, a Division II school located in Monmouth, just one hour southwest of Portland, where he was able to walk on to the football team.
But after just three games, the coaching staff told Barnes that they were going to move him to tight end, which made him consider giving up football.
Eventually Barnes would not give up football as he transferred to his university, the University of California in Santa Barbara, or UCSB, where he threw for over 2,100 yards and 21 touchdowns as he lead the Gauchos to a 5-3 season in the Division III ranks.
However after the season, UCSB would shut down the football program leaving Barnes once again without a school to play for.
But when he heard that Tommy Maddox was leaving UCLA to enter the 1992 NFL Draft, Barnes decided to take a chance and walk on to the Bruins football team.
Head coach Terry Donahue allowed for Barnes to be on the team but it would take a miracle for Barnes to get on the field as he was behind three quarterbacks as the 1992 season began.
But over the course of the first five games of the season, all three quarterbacks got hurt, and with nobody left, Donahue was forced to start Barnes as the Bruins traveled to Pullman to take on the Washington State Cougars.
Barnes didn't last long as he threw a pick six in the first quarter which lead to him being benched as the Bruins fell to the Cougars 30-17.
One month later, Barnes would get a second chance as he came off the bench and helped threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Stokes and lead the Bruins on a 10-play, 58-yard drive to set up Louis Perez's game-winning field goal as time expired to give UCLA a 9-6 victory over the Oregon Ducks.
Based off this performance, Barnes would be named the starter for the Bruins' last game of the regular season as they 5-5 UCLA prepared to play their most hated rival, USC who entered the game ranked #15 with a 6-2-1 record and a likely bowl appearance.
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| UCLA running back Kevin Williams(20) carried the ball 23 times for 99 yards and scored two touchdowns. |
The Trojans scored first when a 12-play, 47-yard drive lead to a 36-yard field goal by Cole Ford to give USC a 3-0 lead.
The Bruins would respond with a 13-play, 80-yard drive which culminated with an 18-yard touchdown run by Kevin Williams to give UCLA a 7-3 lead, which wouldn't have been possible if not for Williams recovering a fumble following a 14-yard catch by Stokes on 3rd & 12 from the UCLA 45-yard-line.
After the Williams touchdown, the Bruins used a pooch kick on the kickoff to make sure Curtis Conway did not have a chance for a good return.
What happened was a bizarre turn of events as the ball bounced between several USC players and was recovered by UCLA defensive back Donovan Gallatin for an "onside kick" to give the Bruins the ball at the Trojans' 32-yard-line.
However, the USC defense allowed only two yards on three plays, forcing the Bruins to settle for a 47-yard field goal by Perez which extended the UCLA lead to 10-3 with 2:47 left in the 1st quarter.
USC would get the ball back at their 39-yard-line and drive to the UCLA 36-yard-line when the Trojans went their bag of tricks and pulled out a reverse pass play as Conway appeared to be run an end-around, only to stop and fire a pass for quarterback Rob Johnson, who made the catch and then ran into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown that with Ford's extra point tied the game at 10 with 1:14 to go in the 1st quarter.
The game remained tied until midway through the second quarter when Stokes made his presence felt with a 57-yard touchdown catch from Barnes to give the Bruins the lead once again at 17-10.
The Trojans would strike back with an nine-play, 67-yard drive that was capped off with an one-yard touchdown run by Johnson to tie the game at 17 with 3:22 to go in the first half.
For the rest of the second quarter and the early part of the third quarter, the game was a stalemate as neither team could mount a serious scoring threat.
Then in the middle of the third quarter, the Trojans made an huge play in special teams as Zuri Hector blocked an UCLA punt which was recovered in the end zone by teammate Bruce Luzzi for an USC touchdown to give the Trojans a 24-17 lead with 8:50 left in the third quarter.
Following an UCLA punt, the Trojans got the ball at their 20-yard-line and proceeded to drive 80 yards in 10 plays which ended with a 32-yard touchdown run Estrus Clayton which extended the Trojans' lead to 31-17 with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
The score remained 31-17 in favor of USC as the game went into the 4th quarter.
Up to this point, Barnes had been solid as he had thrown for 181 yards and a touchdown pass plus zero interceptions.
But in the fourth quarter, he would go off, with a little help from Stokes.
First, Barnes directed a seven-play, 69-yard drive which culminated with Barnes hitting a wide-open Stokes for a 29-yard touchdown to cut the Trojans' lead to 31-24 with 12:49 left in the game.
Then after the Bruins forced an USC punt, Barnes got the ball back at his 20-yard-line and immediately went back to Stokes as they connected on a 14-yard pass to begin the drive which was followed up with a 59-yard pass from Barnes to Stokes to give UCLA a 1st & goal at the Trojans' seven-yard-line.
From there, Williams would carry the ball three straight times with the last one being for an one-yard touchdown that with Perez's extra point tied the game at 31 with over seven minutes to go.
The Bruins' defense would force another USC punt on their ensuing possession, only for the Trojans to pin the Bruins at their four-yard-line with under six minutes to play.
Williams carried the ball twice for six yards setting up a 3rd & 4 situation when Stokes signaled to Barnes that he was going to run a streak route to which Barnes obliged.
Barnes hit Stokes in stride at the 25-yard-line, enough for the 1st down, but Stokes didn't stop there as he was able to outrun the rest of the USC defense for a shocking 90-yard touchdown to give UCLA a 38-31 with 4:14 left in the game.
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| UCLA wide receiver J.J. Stokes(18) caught six passes for 236 yards and scored three touchdowns. |
The Trojans got the ball back at their 31-yard-line with enough time to drive for a touchdown and go for a two-point conversion to win the game if they desired since there was no overtime in college football in 1992.
Three plays gained the Trojans only four yards, setting up a do-or-die 4th & 6 with 2:10 remaining.
That is when Johnson and found tight end Yonnie Jackson for six yards and a Trojans 1st down at their 41-yard-line.
Three plays later, the Trojans faced another 4th down situation, this time at thier 48-yard-line and needing three yards to pick up the 1st down.
Lined up in the shotgun, Johnson surprised the Bruins by going deep for Johnnie Morton, who made a 39-yard catch to give USC a 1st down at the UCLA 13-yard-line with a little over a minute left.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Johnson scrambled for 12 yards to the one-yard-line, setting up 1st & goal where Johnson snuck it in for his third touchdown of the game and making it 38-37 with 41 seconds left.
Head coach Larry Smith decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win as he called for Johnson to run the same play the Trojans had run on 4th & 6 where Johnson hit the tight end.
But this time the UCLA defense stood tall as linebacker Nkosi Littleton knocked down the pass making it incomplete and keeping it a 38-37 game.
The Trojans would attempt an onside kick but to no avail as the Bruins would recover, allowing for Barnes to take a knee and run out the clock to give UCLA a 38-37 win and a fairy tale ending for Barnes as he finished the game with 385 yards on 16-of-28 passing and three touchdown passes as the Bruins finished the season with a 6-5 record as they would not receive a bowl invitation.
The loss to the Bruins would mark the beginning of the end for Smith as head coach as the Trojans would lose their next two games, 31-23 to Notre Dame, and 24-7 to Fresno State in the Freedom Bowl to finish the season with a 6-5-1 record, leading to Smith's dismissal after six seasons at Southern Cal where he complied a 44-25-3 record.
As for Barnes, he would graduate from UCLA in the spring of 1993 and would travel to Italy where he played one more year of football before returning home where he accepted a job at a software company in the Bay Area and settling down with a wife and two kids.
Where he may have disappeared from the world of football, he still has his name etched in UCLA football lore with his performance against USC in 1992.
(Here are some highlights from that game).
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