1976 USC Trojans football team

1976 USC Trojans football
National champion (multiple selectors)
Pac-8 champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 14–6 vs. Michigan
Conference Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 2
AP No. 2
1976 record 11–1 (7–0 Pac-8)
Head coach John Robinson (1st season)
Captain Ricky Bell
Vince Evans
Eric Williams
Home stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 94,500, grass)
1976 Pacific-8 football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 USC $ 7 –0 –0  11 –1 –0
No. 15 UCLA 6 –1 –0  9 –2 –1
Stanford 5 –2 –0  6 –5 –0
California 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Washington 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Washington State 2 –5 –0  3 –8 –0
Oregon 1 –6 –0  4 –7 –0
Oregon State 1 –6 –0  2 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their first year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–1 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, defeated Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 386 to 139.[1] The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.

Quarterback Vince Evans led the team in passing, completing 95 of 77 passes for 1,440 yards with ten touchdowns and six interceptions. Ricky Bell led the team in rushing with 280 carries for 1,433 yards and 14 touchdowns. Shelton Diggs led the team in receiving with 37 catches for 655 yards and eight touchdowns.[2]

The team was named national champion by Berryman, Billingsley MOV, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, and Matthews, all NCAA-designated major selectors.[3]:114

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 11 Missouri* No. 8 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 25–46   49,535
September 18 at Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR W 53–0   40,600
September 25 at Purdue* No. 19 Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN W 31–13   65,425
October 2 Iowa* No. 13 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 55–0   55,518
October 9 vs. Washington State No. 11 Kingdome • Seattle, WA W 23–14   37,268
October 23 Oregon Statedagger No. 7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 56–0   53,216
October 30 California No. 4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 20–6   60,323
November 6 at Stanford No. 4 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA W 48–24   76,500
November 13 Washington No. 3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 20–3   49,264
November 20 at No. 2 UCLA No. 3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell) ABC W 24–14   90,519
November 27 No. 13 Notre Dame* No. 3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Rivalry) ABC W 17–13   76,561
January 1 vs. No. 2 Michigan* No. 3 Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) NBC W 14–6   106,182
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Purdue

1 234Total
• USC 7 01410 31
Purdue 7 060 13

[4]

Notre Dame

1 234Total
Notre Dame 0 0013 13
• USC 0 773 17
  • Date: Saturday, November 27
  • Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Ricky Bell was held to 75 yards on 21 carries but USC's passing game thrived with Vince Evans completing six of his 14 passes for 106 yards with Randy Simmrin hauling in six passes for 121 yards and Evans' touchdown pass.

[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Southern California Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ↑ "1976 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Sep 26. Retrieved 2018-Sep-23.
  5. ↑ "Trojans Trip Up Error-Prone Irish". Ocala Star-Banner. November 28, 1976. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
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