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1929 USC

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Howard Jones.

Schedule and results

USC in 1929, game by game: won vs. UCLA 76–0; won vs. Oregon State 21–7; won at Washington 48–0; won vs. Occidental 64–0; won at Stanford 7–0; lost vs. California 7–15; won vs. Nevada 66–0; lost at Notre Dame 12–13; won vs. Idaho 72–0; won vs. Washington State 27–7; won vs. Carnegie Mellon 45–13; won vs. Pittsburgh 47–14+76−8Won 76–0 vs. UCLA+76UCLAWon 21–7 vs. Oregon State+14Oregon StateWon 48–0 at Washington+48WashingtonWon 64–0 vs. Occidental+64OccidentalWon 7–0 at Stanford+7StanfordLost 7–15 vs. California-8CaliforniaWon 66–0 vs. Nevada+66NevadaLost 12–13 at Notre Dame-1Notre DameWon 72–0 vs. Idaho+72IdahoWon 27–7 vs. Washington State+20Washington StateWon 45–13 vs. Carnegie Mellon+32Carnegie MellonWon 47–14 vs. Pittsburgh+33Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 28vsUCLAW 76–⁠091%
Oct 5vsOregon StateW 21–⁠770%
Oct 12atWashingtonW 48–⁠065%
Oct 19vsOccidentalW 64–⁠096%
Oct 26atStanfordW 7–⁠051%
Nov 2vsCaliforniaL 7–⁠1576%
Nov 9vsNevadaW 66–⁠097%
Nov 16atNotre DameL 12–⁠1341%
Nov 23vsIdahoW 72–⁠086%
Nov 30vsWashington StateW 27–⁠768%
Dec 14vsCarnegie MellonW 45–⁠1372%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsPittsburghRose BowlW 47–⁠1452%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 47–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; Pacific Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

Photographs from 1929

Photographs from the Library of Congress’s Prints & Photographs Division, with no known restrictions on publication. Captions as each collection catalogues them.

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1929.

Pacific Coast Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with California, Oregon and Stanford

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Pacific Coast Conference
AP poll
Began in 1936
Points
492–⁠69
Coach
Howard Jones
Elo
1761 +111 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
26.8 No. 1 of 100 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Nate Barragar
Offense
Single-wing

All-Pacific Coast

4 first team

First team

  • Marshall DuffieldQBAP-1; UP-1
  • Russ SaundersQBNEA-1
  • Francis TappaanEAP-1; NEA-1; UP-1
  • Nate BarragarOGAP-1; UP-1

From Wikipedia’s 1929 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1929 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠110–⁠2
Stanford5–⁠19–⁠2
California4–⁠17–⁠1–⁠1
Oregon4–⁠17–⁠3
Washington State4–⁠210–⁠2
UCLA1–⁠34–⁠4
Oregon State1–⁠45–⁠4
Idaho1–⁠44–⁠5
Montana0–⁠4–⁠13–⁠5–⁠1
Washington0–⁠5–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.