CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1938 USC

9–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Howard Jones, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1938, game by game: lost vs. Alabama 7–19; won vs. Oregon State 7–0; won at Ohio State 14–7; won vs. Washington State 19–6; won at Stanford 13–2; won at Oregon 31–7; won vs. No. 3 California 13–7; lost at Washington 6–7; won vs. UCLA 42–7; won vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 13–0; won vs. No. 3 Duke 7–3+35−12Lost 7–19 vs. Alabama-12AlabamaWon 7–0 vs. Oregon State+7Oregon StateWon 14–7 at Ohio State+7Ohio StateWon 19–6 vs. Washington State+13Washington StateWon 13–2 at Stanford+11StanfordWon 31–7 at Oregon+24OregonWon 13–7 vs. No. 3 California+6No. 3 CaliforniaLost 6–7 at Washington-1WashingtonWon 42–7 vs. UCLA+35UCLAWon 13–0 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame+13No. 1 Notre DameWon 7–3 vs. No. 3 Duke+4No. 3 Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 24vsAlabamaL 7–⁠1941%
Oct 1vsOregon StateW 7–⁠065%
Oct 8atOhio StateW 14–⁠729%
Oct 15vsWashington StateW 19–⁠671%
Oct 22atStanfordW 13–⁠245%
Oct 29atOregonW 31–⁠761%
Nov 5vs3CaliforniaW 13–⁠744%
Nov 12atWashingtonL 6–⁠760%
Nov 24vsUCLAW 42–⁠770%
Dec 3vs1Notre DameW 13–⁠047%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs3DukeRose BowlW 7–⁠340%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Duke 7–⁠3 in the Rose Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Pacific Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 34th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 19
  2. Wk 3: 13
  3. Wk 4: 9
  4. Wk 5: 13
  5. Wk 6: 14
  6. Wk 7: 8
  7. Final: 7

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 1938.

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

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Pacific Coast Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 7
Points
172–⁠65
Coach
Howard Jones
Elo
1699 +174 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
16.9 No. 7 of 122 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Don McNeil

All-Pacific Coast

3 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1938 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1938 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
California6–⁠110–⁠114
USC6–⁠19–⁠27
UCLA4–⁠3–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Oregon State4–⁠3–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Oregon4–⁠44–⁠5
Washington3–⁠4–⁠13–⁠5–⁠1
Idaho2–⁠3–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Stanford2–⁠53–⁠6
Washington State1–⁠72–⁠8
Montana0–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1

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