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1962 USC

11–⁠0 (4–⁠0 Athletic Association of Western Universities), coached by John McKay, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1962, game by game: won vs. No. 8 Duke 14–7; won at SMU 33–3; won at Iowa 7–0; won vs. California 32–6; won at Illinois 28–16; won vs. No. 9 Washington 14–0; won at Stanford 39–14; won vs. Navy 13–6; won at UCLA 14–3; won vs. Notre Dame 25–0; won vs. No. 2 Wisconsin 42–37+30Won 14–7 vs. No. 8 Duke+7No. 8 DukeWon 33–3 at SMU+30SMUWon 7–0 at Iowa+7IowaWon 32–6 vs. California+26CaliforniaWon 28–16 at Illinois+12IllinoisWon 14–0 vs. No. 9 Washington+14No. 9 WashingtonWon 39–14 at Stanford+25StanfordWon 13–6 vs. Navy+7NavyWon 14–3 at UCLA+11UCLAWon 25–0 vs. Notre Dame+25Notre DameWon 42–37 vs. No. 2 Wisconsin+5No. 2 Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22vs8DukeW 14–⁠746%
Sep 29atSMUW 33–⁠360%
Oct 6atIowaW 7–⁠035%
Oct 20vsCaliforniaW 32–⁠680%
Oct 27atIllinoisW 28–⁠1673%
Nov 3vs9WashingtonW 14–⁠055%
Nov 10atStanfordW 39–⁠1470%
Nov 17vsNavyW 13–⁠669%
Nov 24atUCLAW 14–⁠364%
Dec 1vsNotre DameW 25–⁠072%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2WisconsinRose BowlW 42–⁠3749%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 42–⁠37 in the Rose Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Athletic Association of Western Universities champions.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1962.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Athletic Association of Western Universities champions4–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationHal Bedsole: yards per catch (25.1), receiving touchdowns (11 TD)

Consensus All-AmericanHal Bedsole, E

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearJohn McKay, coach

Record
11–⁠0
Conference
4–⁠0 first in Athletic Association of Western Universities
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
261–⁠92
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1703 +209 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
25.7 No. 3 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Marv Marinovich and Ben Wilson
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

All-Pacific Coast

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Hal BedsoleEAP-1; UPI-1
  • Marv MarinovichOTAP-2; UPI-1
  • Damon BameOGAP-1; UPI-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1962 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1962 Athletic Association of Western Universities standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC4–⁠011–⁠01
Washington4–⁠17–⁠1–⁠2
Washington State1–⁠15–⁠4–⁠1
Stanford2–⁠35–⁠5
UCLA1–⁠34–⁠6
California0–⁠41–⁠9

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