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1965 USC

7–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1 Athletic Association of Western Universities), coached by John McKay, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1965, game by game: tied vs. Minnesota 20–20; won at Wisconsin 26–6; won vs. Oregon State 26–12; won at Washington 34–0; won vs. Stanford 14–0; lost at No. 7 Notre Dame 7–28; won at California 35–0; won vs. Pittsburgh 28–0; lost vs. No. 7 UCLA 16–20; won vs. Wyoming 56–6+50−21Tied 20–20 vs. Minnesota0MinnesotaWon 26–6 at Wisconsin+20WisconsinWon 26–12 vs. Oregon State+14Oregon StateWon 34–0 at Washington+34WashingtonWon 14–0 vs. Stanford+14StanfordLost 7–28 at No. 7 Notre Dame-21No. 7 Notre DameWon 35–0 at California+35CaliforniaWon 28–0 vs. Pittsburgh+28PittsburghLost 16–20 vs. No. 7 UCLA-4No. 7 UCLAWon 56–6 vs. Wyoming+50Wyoming
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 17vsMinnesotaT 20–⁠2069%
Sep 25atWisconsinW 26–⁠661%
Oct 1vsOregon StateW 26–⁠1272%
Oct 9atWashingtonW 34–⁠056%
Oct 16vsStanfordW 14–⁠074%
Oct 23at7Notre DameL 7–⁠2846%
Nov 6atCaliforniaW 35–⁠067%
Nov 13vsPittsburghW 28–⁠083%
Nov 20vs7UCLAL 16–⁠2071%
Nov 27vsWyomingW 56–⁠670%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wyoming 56–⁠6; No. 10 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Athletic Association of Western Universities.

In program history: The 40th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 4: 8
  3. Wk 5: 6
  4. Wk 6: 4
  5. Wk 7: 8
  6. Wk 8: 6
  7. Wk 9: 6
  8. Wk 10: 6
  9. Wk 11: 8
  10. Wk 12: 8
  11. Final: 10

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 1965.

Led the nationMike Garrett: rushing yards (1,440 yds)

Heisman TrophyMike Garrett, RB

Consensus All-AmericanMike Garrett, RB

Record
7–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1 2nd in Athletic Association of Western Universities
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 4
Points
262–⁠92
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1687 +79 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
23.8 No. 4 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Chuck Arrobio and Mike Garrett

Drafted in 1966

The 1966 draft
Rd 2Mike Garrett RBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 4Rod Sherman WRBaltimore Colts

All-Pacific Coast

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Mike GarrettRBAP-1; UPI-1; Coaches-1
  • Chuck ArrobioOTAP-1; UPI-1; Coaches-1
  • Frank LopezOGAP-2; UPI-1; Coaches-1
  • Paul JohnsonCAP-2; UPI-2; Coaches-1
  • Tim RossovichDEUPI-1
  • Jim WalkerDECoaches-1
  • Ron YaryDT
  • Nate ShawDBAP-1; UPI-1; Coaches-1

Second team

  • Marv BainLBUPI-2
  • Phil LeeDBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1965 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1965 Athletic Association of Western Universities standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA4–⁠08–⁠2–⁠14
USC4–⁠17–⁠2–⁠110
Washington State2–⁠17–⁠3
Washington4–⁠35–⁠5
Stanford2–⁠36–⁠3–⁠1
California2–⁠35–⁠5
Oregon State1–⁠35–⁠5
Oregon0–⁠54–⁠5–⁠1

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