European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday june 29, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 25commentary in Sci a Smith rushes through Europe Rit au.4k.11 l i a. I Southern Cal football coach Larry Smith could title his summer video a emr. Smith goes to eur fog w while Over Here teaching at a Safe a football clinics Smith has tackled a map full of towns Oslo Frankfurt by life Trier Luxembourg Rothenburg Rhein main Heidelberg Chicksands London Paris. If Smith has any Energy left upon flying Back next week his sequel will be Larry does America these Are the stops he Hopes to enjoy with his us trojans a the Meadowlands to play Syracuse in the kick off classic on aug. 31. A los Angeles to play Penn state on sept. 15, Washington state on oct. 6, Arizona on oct. 20, Cal on nov. 3 and notre Dame on nov. 24. A Seattle to play Washington on sept. 22. A Columbus to play Ohio state on sept 29. A Stanford to play the Cardinal on oct 13. A Tempe to play Arizona state on oct 27. A Corvallis to play Oregon state on nov. 10. A Pasadena to play Urcla on nov. 17. Europe is Nice especially since Smith and his wife Cheryl Are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary along the Way. Then again football is the Center of this sojourn. Safe flew him Over to teach air Force coaches. And that wedding Date Isnit really until december. But what College coach has time for quiet evenings in december not the Southern Cal coach. Not Smith who has filled his last five decembers preparing teams for bowl games in 1985 and �?T86 while at Arizona and from 1987 to �?T89 while at us. Smiths late year planning worked in 1989. After two straight Rose bowl losses his trojans won the Pasadena prize Over Michigan 17-10. The Victory gave us a 9-2-1 record and a no. 8 ranking in the a poll. Which brought up a related topic As Smith sat in the Rhein main hotel lobby tuesday night 12 hours before catching a flight for his Chicksands classes. What about a playoff to Dwarf the polls a i think within five years Well be seeing some kind of playoff a said Smith. A fans want it. The Media want  not that Smith wants it. He contends that most coaches and University presidents want to avoid playoffs because of pressure at exam time. He noted that playoffs would push the season to late january crowd Bucky Fox Inga second month into the College basketball season. Up. A that  be Good a he said. Despite his displeasure Smith sees playoffs As inevitable. Ditto the super conference which would Corral around 50 of the top teams and Lead to nil style playoffs. A super conference and playoffs a lock. If Smith does no to like it at least he a bracing for it. Still that a a few years away. When Smith returns to his los Angeles Campus in a couple of weeks he has More pressing matters. Such As beating Syracuse in the opener. And beating Urcla and notre Dame. And winning a fourth straight Pac-10 title and ticket to the Rose bowl. Typical Calendar items for a us coach. A i done to think there Are any drawbacks a Smith said of the pressure at a school that has won three a National championships plus recognized National crowns Larry Smith in five other years. �?o1 knew of the nigh expectations when i took this Job. But those High expect ions Are my High  such As a my goal is to coach a National  that a a big reason he left Arizona after the 1986 season for us where he can recruit the nations Best. The trojans had some of the Best players last season. Safeties Mark Carrier and Cleveland Colter were All americas from the previous season who were just two reasons us was supposed to contend for the �?T89 National championship. But the trojans lost their opener to Illinois. They led then no. 1 notre Dame 24-21 in the fourth Quarter Only to lose 28-24. That october loss at South Bend was Uscz a seventh straight to notre Dame. Not a pretty Streak in one of the greatest rivalries. Smith said trying to beat the Irish is a a Challenge because we want to win so  but have a stroke Over it he  admit to that a i done to Lay awake at night worrying about  us plays notre Dame at the . Coliseum this ear. That seems to be the Only Trojan advantage. While Smith laments losing five starters on offence and 10 on defense a including juniors Carrier and Junior seau to the nil draft a he includes notre Dame in his top 3 of 1990. The other two Are Florida state and Miami. Smith also predicts Good seasons from Michigan Penn state Auburn and Texas a amp a. His dark horses Colorado Nebraska and Ohio state. If Southern Cal sneaks into anybody a preseason top 10, Smith says he can to figure Why. He Points to his Young squad with Only 26 of 92 scholarship players As juniors or seniors. Smith also knows that a flood of Talent keeps washing up on uses Shore. A a it a the Best team Speed since we be been there a he said. Namely Ricky Ervins. The senior tailback led the Pac-10 in Rushing last season plus produced 126 Yards and the winning touchdown in the Rose bowl. Smith likes his Only returning defender inside linebacker Scott Ross. And Don Gibson a nose guard coming Back from knee and ankle injuries. And Mark Tucker an All America candidate at guard. As usual the critical Guy is the quarterback Todd Marinovich. He a a Redshirt Sophomore who came through with 19 touchdown passes and a 62-Perccnt passing rate in his varsity debut. A the has an Opportunity to be a great quarterback a said Smith. A the could pass for 70 percent. We be told him we expect 70 percent and 25 touchdown passes. We need that to be  Smith 50, is from Van Wert Ohio. He attended West Point one year then transferred to play football at Bowling Green in Ohio. He entered the coaching profession and Rose to head coach at Tulane where he turned the Green wave into a bowl team. Same with Arizona. After winning the Rose bowl with us All Smith needs is to beat notre Dame and to top the polls. But for now let the Man relax. A emr. Smith goes to Europe is still playing. The stars and stripes drag races steer into Gie Belstadt by Randy Barnett motor sports editor the Hanau Auto racing association Marathe oldest club of its Type in Europe will stage its 21st annual sum Mema Tio nals drag racing program saturday and sunday at the Gie Belstadt army Airfield. Jerry Lackey harass longtime president says that More than 150 cars Are entered for the High Speed program and that classes include it bracket Modinet Standard Street altered Competition altered and dragster. Wong with these classes Lackey said a Java will run the second round of the not car Magazine Street nationals. The first round under the direction of be German drag racing club was sched Jed Tor june 10 but was rained out. A third round will be held aug. 11-12 at Zel Tweg Austria then the fastest 40 cars will Battle it not m the hot car finale aug. 17-19 at Bockenheim. Of the 150 cars entered for the summer no Ronals this weekend at Gie Belstadt 55 Are dragster Type cars Lackey s mile As Many As 100 Street Legal cars of be participating in the hot car nation american drag racer Harlan Thompson prepares to go in his 2,50#-Horaepower Fanny car along with final elimination races sunday several demonstration runs will feature pro comp class cars. Harlan Thompson of Foniri n.j., who drives a top fuel funny car will also make two demonstration runs sunday. The program will close with German racer Rico Fitin his 5,000-horsepower Jet drag Thompson who holds most of the Ziajor recon european drag strips is a special Hara guest who has performed previously at the clubs top events. He drives a $70,000 Dodge Daytona funny car whose 500-cubic-Inch Chrysler Hemi engine develops More than 2,500 horsepower. Thompsons funny car which does the Quarter mile in 5.8 seconds is hitting about 250 Mph when it crosses the finish line. The engine costs about $30,000 and it runs on Nitro methane fuel. For this weekends program the Gates open at 9 . On both saturday and sunday deadline for weekend racing re Guistra a amps Randy Barnett in last years summer nationals event. Tion is 11 . Saturday and time trials Start at noon saturday and sunday. Final elimination races begin at 1 . Sunday. Admission for saturday is 10 Marks and the Cost is 15 Marks on sunday. Tickets for either Day Are Good for the pit area where fans May see the cars and talk to the Drivers. The Gie Belstadt army Airfield is located about 12 Miles South of Wurzburg on National route 19. The autobahn exit for Gie Belstadt is Wiir Burg Heidingsfeld