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1931 USC

10–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Howard Jones.

Schedule and results

USC in 1931, game by game: lost vs. Saint Mary’s (CA) 7–13; won vs. Oregon State 30–0; won vs. Washington State 38–6; won vs. Oregon 53–0; won at California 6–0; won vs. Stanford 19–0; won vs. Montana 69–0; won at Notre Dame 16–14; won vs. Washington 44–7; won vs. Georgia 60–0; won vs. Tulane 21–12+69−6Lost 7–13 vs. Saint Mary’s (CA)-6Saint Mary’s (C…Won 30–0 vs. Oregon State+30Oregon StateWon 38–6 vs. Washington State+32Washington StateWon 53–0 vs. Oregon+53OregonWon 6–0 at California+6CaliforniaWon 19–0 vs. Stanford+19StanfordWon 69–0 vs. Montana+69MontanaWon 16–14 at Notre Dame+2Notre DameWon 44–7 vs. Washington+37WashingtonWon 60–0 vs. Georgia+60GeorgiaWon 21–12 vs. Tulane+9Tulane
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26vsSaint Mary’s (CA)L 7–⁠1379%
Oct 3vsOregon StateW 30–⁠064%
Oct 10vsWashington StateW 38–⁠661%
Oct 17vsOregonW 53–⁠070%
Oct 24atCaliforniaW 6–⁠071%
Nov 7vsStanfordW 19–⁠066%
Nov 14vsMontanaW 69–⁠090%
Nov 21atNotre DameW 16–⁠1433%
Dec 5vsWashingtonW 44–⁠783%
Dec 12vsGeorgiaW 60–⁠066%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsTulaneRose BowlW 21–⁠1252%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tulane 21–⁠12 in the Rose Bowl; Pacific Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

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 1931.

National championsa title the school claims

Pacific Coast Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference

2 consensus All-AmericansJohnny Baker, OG; Gaius Shaver, FB

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Pacific Coast Conference
AP poll
Began in 1936
Points
363–⁠52
Coach
Howard Jones
Elo
1806 +150 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
35.3 No. 1 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Stan Williamson
Offense
Single-wing

All-Pacific Coast

8 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1931 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1931 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠010–⁠1
California4–⁠18–⁠2
Oregon3–⁠1–⁠16–⁠2–⁠2
Washington State4–⁠36–⁠4
Washington3–⁠3–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Stanford2–⁠2–⁠17–⁠2–⁠2
Oregon State1–⁠3–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Idaho1–⁠43–⁠4
UCLA0–⁠33–⁠4–⁠1
Montana0–⁠51–⁠6

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