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1944 USC

8–⁠0–⁠2 (3–⁠0–⁠2 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Jeff Cravath, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1944, game by game: tied vs. UCLA 13–13; won vs. Pacific 18–6; tied vs. California 6–6; won vs. Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight 6–0; won vs. Washington 38–7; won vs. Saint Mary’s (CA) 34–7; won vs. San Diego Navy 28–21; won at California 32–0; won at UCLA 40–13; won vs. No. 10 Tennessee 25–0+32Tied 13–13 vs. UCLA0UCLAWon 18–6 vs. Pacific+12PacificTied 6–6 vs. California0CaliforniaWon 6–0 vs. Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight+6Saint Mary’s (C…Won 38–7 vs. Washington+31WashingtonWon 34–7 vs. Saint Mary’s (CA)+27Saint Mary’s (C…Won 28–21 vs. San Diego Navy+7San Diego NavyWon 32–0 at California+32CaliforniaWon 40–13 at UCLA+27UCLAWon 25–0 vs. No. 10 Tennessee+25No. 10 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 23vsUCLAT 13–⁠1378%
Sep 30vsPacificW 18–⁠670%
Oct 7vsCaliforniaT 6–⁠669%
Oct 14vsSaint Mary’s (CA) Pre-FlightW 6–⁠068%
Oct 23vsWashingtonW 38–⁠762%
Oct 28vsSaint Mary’s (CA)W 34–⁠785%
Nov 4vsSan Diego NavyW 28–⁠2191%
Nov 18atCaliforniaW 32–⁠074%
Nov 25atUCLAW 40–⁠1368%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10TennesseeRose BowlW 25–⁠040%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tennessee 25–⁠0 in the Rose Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Pacific Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 15
  2. Wk 4: 13
  3. Wk 5: 11
  4. Wk 6: 12
  5. Wk 7: 8
  6. Wk 8: 7
  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 1944.

Pacific Coast Conference champions3–⁠0–⁠2 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanJohn Ferraro, OT

Record
8–⁠0–⁠2
Conference
3–⁠0–⁠2 first in Pacific Coast Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 7
Points
240–⁠73
Coach
Jeff Cravath
Elo
1688 +132 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
18.8 No. 14 of 95 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1945

The 1945 draft
Rd 1Jim Hardy QBWashington Redskins

All-Pacific Coast

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Duane WhiteheadBAP-2
  • Marshall RomerOTAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1944 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1944 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC3–⁠0–⁠28–⁠0–⁠27
Washington1–⁠15–⁠3
UCLA1–⁠2–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
California1–⁠3–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1

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