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1952 USC

10–⁠1 (6–⁠0 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Jess Hill, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1952, game by game: won vs. Washington State 35–7; won vs. Northwestern 31–0; won vs. Army 22–0; won vs. San Diego Navy 20–6; won at Oregon State 28–6; won vs. No. 4 California 10–0; won at Stanford 54–7; won vs. No. 17 Washington 33–0; won at No. 3 UCLA 14–12; lost at No. 7 Notre Dame 0–9; won vs. No. 12 Wisconsin 7–0+47−9Won 35–7 vs. Washington State+28Washington StateWon 31–0 vs. Northwestern+31NorthwesternWon 22–0 vs. Army+22ArmyWon 20–6 vs. San Diego Navy+14San Diego NavyWon 28–6 at Oregon State+22Oregon StateWon 10–0 vs. No. 4 California+10No. 4 CaliforniaWon 54–7 at Stanford+47StanfordWon 33–0 vs. No. 17 Washington+33No. 17 WashingtonWon 14–12 at No. 3 UCLA+2No. 3 UCLALost 0–9 at No. 7 Notre Dame-9No. 7 Notre DameWon 7–0 vs. No. 12 Wisconsin+7No. 12 Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19vsWashington StateW 35–⁠757%
Sep 26vsNorthwesternW 31–⁠064%
Oct 4vsArmyW 22–⁠068%
Oct 10vsSan Diego NavyW 20–⁠690%
Oct 18atOregon StateW 28–⁠658%
Oct 25vs4CaliforniaW 10–⁠049%
Nov 8atStanfordW 54–⁠752%
Nov 15vs17WashingtonW 33–⁠071%
Nov 22at3UCLAW 14–⁠1239%
Nov 29at7Notre DameL 0–⁠949%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs12WisconsinRose BowlW 7–⁠058%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 7–⁠0 in the Rose Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Pacific Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 28th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 2
  11. Final: 5

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 1952.

Pacific Coast Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

2 consensus All-AmericansElmer Willhoite, OG; Jim Sears, B

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Pacific Coast Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 2
Points
254–⁠47
Coach
Jess Hill
Elo
1727 +191 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
27.0 No. 4 of 113 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

All-Pacific Coast

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Al CarmichaelBUP-2
  • Charlie Ane Jr.OTINS-2; UP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1952 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1952 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠010–⁠15
UCLA5–⁠18–⁠16
Washington6–⁠27–⁠3
California3–⁠37–⁠3
Washington State3–⁠44–⁠6
Stanford2–⁠55–⁠5
Oregon2–⁠52–⁠7–⁠1
Idaho1–⁠34–⁠4–⁠1
Oregon State1–⁠62–⁠7

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