CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1954 USC

8–⁠4 (6–⁠1 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Jess Hill, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1954, game by game: won vs. Washington State 39–0; won vs. Pittsburgh 27–7; won at Northwestern 12–7; lost vs. TCU 7–20; won at Oregon 24–14; won vs. California 29–27; won vs. Oregon State 34–0; won at Stanford 21–7; won vs. Washington 41–0; lost at No. 2 UCLA 0–34; lost at No. 4 Notre Dame 17–23; lost vs. No. 1 Ohio State 7–20+41−34Won 39–0 vs. Washington State+39Washington StateWon 27–7 vs. Pittsburgh+20PittsburghWon 12–7 at Northwestern+5NorthwesternLost 7–20 vs. TCU-13TCUWon 24–14 at Oregon+10OregonWon 29–27 vs. California+2CaliforniaWon 34–0 vs. Oregon State+34Oregon StateWon 21–7 at Stanford+14StanfordWon 41–0 vs. Washington+41WashingtonLost 0–34 at No. 2 UCLA-34No. 2 UCLALost 17–23 at No. 4 Notre Dame-6No. 4 Notre DameLost 7–20 vs. No. 1 Ohio State-13No. 1 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 17vsWashington StateW 39–⁠073%
Sep 24vsPittsburghW 27–⁠772%
Oct 2atNorthwesternW 12–⁠765%
Oct 8vsTCUL 7–⁠2074%
Oct 16atOregonW 24–⁠1457%
Oct 23vsCaliforniaW 29–⁠2768%
Oct 30vsOregon StateW 34–⁠084%
Nov 6atStanfordW 21–⁠756%
Nov 13vsWashingtonW 41–⁠085%
Nov 20at2UCLAL 0–⁠3429%
Nov 27at4Notre DameL 17–⁠2327%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1Ohio StateRose BowlL 7–⁠2036%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 20–⁠7 in the Rose Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Pacific Coast Conference.

In program history: The 69th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 6: 17
  6. Wk 7: 13
  7. Wk 8: 10
  8. Wk 9: 8
  9. Wk 10: 7
  10. Wk 11: 17
  11. Final: 17

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 1954.

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠1 2nd in Pacific Coast Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 7
Points
258–⁠159
Coach
Jess Hill
Elo
1610 +26 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
12.2 No. 22 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1955

The 1955 draft
Rd 2Lindon Crow CBChicago Cardinals
Rd 4Ed Fouch OTLos Angeles Rams
Rd 5Mario Da Re OTChicago Cardinals
Rd 5Aramis Dandoy BCleveland Browns
Rd 7Frank Clayton BLos Angeles Rams

All-Pacific Coast

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1954 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1954 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA6–⁠09–⁠02
USC6–⁠18–⁠417
Oregon5–⁠36–⁠4
California4–⁠35–⁠5
Washington State3–⁠44–⁠6
Stanford2–⁠44–⁠6
Idaho1–⁠24–⁠5
Washington1–⁠62–⁠8
Oregon State1–⁠61–⁠8

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