1979 USC Trojans football team

The 1979 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–0–1 record (6–0–1 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 389 to 171.[2] The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.

1979 USC Trojans football
National champion (Football Research)
Rose Bowl champion
Pac-10 champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–16 vs. Ohio State
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
1979 record11–0–1 (6–0–1 Pac-10)
Head coachJohn Robinson (4th season)
Captains
  • Dennis Johnson
  • Charles White
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 94,500, grass)
1979 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 USC $ 6 –0 –1  11 –0 –1
No. 11 Washington 5 –2 –0  9 –3 –0
Arizona 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –1
Oregon 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
California 5 –4 –0  6 –6 –0
Stanford 3 –3 –1  5 –5 –1
Arizona State † 3 –4 –0  6 –6 –0
UCLA 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Washington State 2 –6 –0  3 –8 –0
Oregon State 1 –7 –0  1 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • † – Arizona State later forfeited 5 wins (3 in conference) due to NCAA sanctions[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

Quarterback Paul McDonald led the team in passing, completing 164 of 264 passes for 2,223 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. Charles White led the team in rushing with 332 carries for 2,050 yards and 19 touchdowns. Dan Garcia led the team in receiving with 29 catches for 492 yards and three touchdowns.[3]

The team was named national champion by the College Football Researchers Association, an NCAA-designated major selector.[4]:114

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 8at Texas Tech*No. 1
W 21–752,991
September 15at Oregon StateNo. 1
ONTVW 42–532,000
September 22Minnesota*No. 1
W 48–1461,766
September 29at No. 20 LSU*No. 1
W 17–1278,322
October 6Washington StateNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 50–2155,117
October 13StanfordNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
T 21–2176,067
October 20at No. 9 Notre Dame*No. 4
ABCW 42–2359,075
October 27at CaliforniaNo. 3
W 24–1476,780
November 3ArizonaNo. 3
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 34–762,054
November 10at No. 15 WashingtonNo. 4
ABCW 24–1760,527
November 24UCLANo. 4
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell)
KABCW 49–1488,214
January 1vs. No. 1 Ohio State*No. 3
NBCW 17–16105,526
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Notre Dame
1 234Total
• USC 0 71421 42
Notre Dame 0 779 23
  • Date: October 20
  • Location: South Bend, Indiana
  • Source:

Washington
1 234Total
• USC 0 1077 24
Washington 3 077 17

[5]

Roster
1979 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 33 Marcus Allen So
TE 89 Hoby Brenner Jr
G 71 Brad Budde Sr
WR 86 Ray Butler Sr
C 68 Chris Foote Sr
G 64 Roy Foster So
TE 85 James Hunter Jr
C 66 Bruce Matthews Fr
QB 16 Paul McDonald Sr
T 72 Don Mosebar Fr
T 77 Anthony Muñoz Sr
WR 26 Danny Garcia Sr
T 68 Keith Van Horne Jr
RB 12 Charles White Sr
WR 8 Kevin Williams Jr
 Defense Herb Ward DB #23????
Pos.#NameClass
LB 51 Chip Banks So
DT 94 Bryon Darby Fr
S 47 Joey Browner Fr
LB 54 Steve Busick Jr
LB 87 August Curley Fr
CB 40 Jeff Fisher Jr
LB 56 Dennis Johnson Sr
DT 96 Myron Lapka Sr
FS 42 Ronnie Lott Jr
LB 58 Mike McDonald Sr
LB 57 Larry McGrew Sr
LB 81 Eric Scoggins Jr
DB 49 Dennis Smith Jr
DT 93 Kelly Thomas Fr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

1979 Team Players in the NFL
  • Marcus Allen
  • Chip Banks
  • Joey Browner
  • Ronnie Lott
  • Dennis Smith
  • Jeff Fisher
  • Chris Foote
  • Bruce Matthews
  • Don Mosebar
  • Anthony Muñoz
  • Keith Van Horne
  • Charles White

Paul McDonald Hoby Brenner Roy Foster

Awards and honors
  • Brad Budde, Lombardi Award
  • Charles White, Heisman Trophy[6]
  • Charles White, Maxwell Award
  • Charles White, Walter Camp Award

References
  1. "2017 Media Guide" (PDF). thesundevils.com. ASU Athletics. p. 127. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  2. "Southern California Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  3. "1979 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  4. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  5. "USC Wins Bowl Berth Unless...". The Register-Guard. Eugene. November 11, 1979.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-04-11. Retrieved 2007-04-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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