American college football season
1975 USC Trojans football |
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Liberty Bowl champion |
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Conference | Pacific-8 Conference |
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Ranking |
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Coaches | No. 19 |
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AP | No. 17 |
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Record | 8–4 (3–4 Pac-8) |
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Head coach | |
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Captains | |
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Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
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Seasons |
1975 Pacific-8 Conference football standings | Conf | | | Overall |
Team | W | | L | | T | | | W | | L | | T |
No. 5 UCLA ^ + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | | | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 |
No. 14 California + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | | | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 |
Stanford | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | | | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 |
Washington | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | | | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 |
No. 17 USC | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | | | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 |
Oregon | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | | | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 |
Oregon State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | | | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 |
Washington State | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | | | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 |
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- + – Conference co-champions
- ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative
Rankings from AP Poll |
The 1975 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pacific-8 Conference during the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. In their 15th year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled an 8–4 record (3–4 in Pac-8, fifth), and outscored their opponents 247 to 140.[1] The team was ranked #17 in the final AP Poll and #19 in the final UPI Coaches Poll.
Quarterback Vince Evans led the team in passing, completing 35 of 112 passes for 695 yards with three touchdowns and nine interceptions. Ricky Bell led the team in rushing with 385 carries for 1,957 yards and 13 touchdowns. Randy Simmrin led the team in receiving with 26 catches for 478 yards and one touchdown.[2]
Opening with seven wins, the Trojans lost all four conference games in November, and were invited to the Liberty Bowl.
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 12 | Duke* | No. 4 | | | W 35–7 | 56,727 | [3] |
September 19 | Oregon State | No. 4 | - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles, CA
| | W 24–7 | 50,165 | |
September 27 | Purdue* | No. 3 | - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles, CA
| | W 19–6 | 56,170 | |
October 4 | at Iowa* | No. 3 | | | W 27–16 | 54,600 | |
October 11 | Washington State | No. 3 | - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles, CA
| | W 28–10 | 47,468 | |
October 18 | Oregon | No. 3 | - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles, CA
| | W 17–3 | 50,542 | |
October 25 | at No. 14 Notre Dame* | No. 3 | | ABC | W 24–17 | 59,075 | |
November 1 | at California | No. 4 | | ABC | L 14–28 | 58,871 | |
November 8 | Stanford | No. 9 | - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
| | L 10–13 | 68,249 | |
November 15 | at Washington | No. 13 | | | L 7–8 | 53,700 | |
November 28 | No. 14 UCLA | | - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)
| ABC | L 22–25 | 80,927 | |
December 22 | vs. No. 6 Texas A&M* | | | ABC | W 20–0 | 52,129 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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Roster
1975 USC Trojans football team roster |
Players | Coaches |
Offense | Defense | Special teams | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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Game summaries
Duke
- Ricky Bell 34 rushes, 256 yards [4]
Oregon State
Purdue
At Iowa
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • USC | 0 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 27 | Iowa | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| Q1 | | IOWA | Quartaro 26 yard field goal | IOWA 3–0 | | Q1 | | IOWA | Holmes 1 yard run (Quartaro kick) | IOWA 10–0 | | Q2 | 1:26 | USC | Hertel 3 yard run (Walker kick) | IOWA 10–7 | | Q3 | 10:03 | USC | Simmrin 10 yard pass from Hertel (Walker kick) | USC 14–10 | | Q3 | | USC | Hertel 6 yard run (Walker kick) | USC 21–10 | | Q3 | | USC | Walker 47 yard field goal | USC 24–10 | | Q4 | 11:26 | USC | Walker 25 yard field goal | USC 27–10 | | Q4 | 0:20 | IOWA | Wellington from McLaughlin (pass failed) | USC 27–16 | |
[5]
Washington State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Washington St | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | • USC | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | | Washington St | Diedrick 24-yard field goal | Washington St 3-0 | | 2 | | USC | Hertel 2-yard run (Walker kick) | USC 7-3 | | 2 | | USC | Reece 64-yard punt return (Walker kick) | USC 14-3 | | 3 | | USC | Tatupu 28-yard run (Walker kick) | USC 21-3 | | 4 | 4:42 | USC | Bell 3-yard run (Walker kick) | USC 28-3 | | 4 | | Washington St | Williams 5-yard run (Diedrick kick) | USC 28-10 | |
Ricky Bell 38 Rush, 217 Yds
[6]
At Notre Dame
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • USC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 | Notre Dame | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 17 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| Q1 | | ND | Hunter 52 yard run (kick failed) | ND 6–0 | | Q2 | | USC | Diggs 21 yard pass from Evans (Walker kick) | USC 7–6 | | Q2 | | ND | Lopienski 13 yard blocked punt return (Haines pass from Hunter) | ND 14–7 | | Q3 | | USC | Bell 2 yard run (Walker kick) | Tie 14–14 | | Q4 | | ND | Reeve 27 yard field goal | ND 17–14 | | Q4 | 7:28 | USC | Evans 2 yard run (Walker kick) | USC 21–17 | | Q4 | | USC | Walker 35 yard field goal | USC 24–17 | |
[7]
1975 team players in the NFL
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
[8]
In Popular Culture
Scenes from the November 8 game against Stanford are featured in a 1976 episode of the television series Emergency! entitled “The Game.”
References
- ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- ^ "1975 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ^ "Bell has a ball for USC, 35–7". Independent Press-Telegram. September 13, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
- ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1975 Oct 5. Retrieved 2018-Nov-09.
- ^ "Trojans Stagger Cougars". The Palm Beach Post. October 12, 1975.
- ^ "Bells Gains 165, USC Clips Irish". The Register-Guard. Eugene. October 26, 1975.
- ^ "1976 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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