CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1968 USC

9–⁠1–⁠1 (6–⁠0 Pac-8), coached by John McKay, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1968, game by game: won at No. 16 Minnesota 29–20; won at Northwestern 24–7; won vs. No. 13 Miami 28–3; won at No. 18 Stanford 27–24; won vs. Washington 14–7; won at Oregon 20–13; won vs. No. 11 California 35–17; won vs. No. 13 Oregon State 17–13; won at UCLA 28–16; tied vs. No. 9 Notre Dame 21–21; lost vs. No. 1 Ohio State 16–27+25−11Won 29–20 at No. 16 Minnesota+9No. 16 MinnesotaWon 24–7 at Northwestern+17NorthwesternWon 28–3 vs. No. 13 Miami+25No. 13 MiamiWon 27–24 at No. 18 Stanford+3No. 18 StanfordWon 14–7 vs. Washington+7WashingtonWon 20–13 at Oregon+7OregonWon 35–17 vs. No. 11 California+18No. 11 CaliforniaWon 17–13 vs. No. 13 Oregon State+4No. 13 Oregon StateWon 28–16 at UCLA+12UCLATied 21–21 vs. No. 9 Notre Dame0No. 9 Notre DameLost 16–27 vs. No. 1 Ohio State-11No. 1 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 21at16MinnesotaW 29–⁠2054%
Sep 28atNorthwesternW 24–⁠776%
Oct 5vs13MiamiW 28–⁠368%
Oct 12at18StanfordW 27–⁠2465%
Oct 19vsWashingtonW 14–⁠784%
Nov 2atOregonW 20–⁠1380%
Nov 9vs11CaliforniaW 35–⁠1773%
Nov 16vs13Oregon StateW 17–⁠1368%
Nov 23atUCLAW 28–⁠1675%
Nov 30vs9Notre DameT 21–⁠2170%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1Ohio StateRose BowlL 16–⁠2762%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 27–⁠16 in the Rose Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Pac-8 champions.

In program history: The 24th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Final: 4

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 1968.

Pac-8 champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationO.J. Simpson: rushing yards (1,709 yds), rushing touchdowns (23 TD)

Heisman TrophyO.J. Simpson, RB; also the Maxwell and Walter Camp

Consensus All-AmericanO.J. Simpson, RB

Record
9–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Pac-8
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 1
Points
259–⁠168
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1736 +76 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.0 No. 12 of 119 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Dick Coury
Captains
O.J. Simpson and Steve Sogge

Drafted in 1969

The 1969 draft
Rd 1O.J. Simpson RBBuffalo Bills
Rd 1Bob Klein TELos Angeles Rams
Rd 5Bill Hayhoe DTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Bob Miller TENew Orleans Saints

All-Pac-8

8 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Steve SoggeQBAP-1; UPI-1; Coaches-1
  • O.J. SimpsonRBAP-1; UPI-1; Coaches-1
  • Bob KleinEAP-1; UPI-1; Coaches-1
  • Sid SmithOTAP-1; Coaches-1
  • Fred KhasigianOGAP-1; UPI-2; Coaches-1
  • Steve LehmerOGAP-2; UPI-1
  • Jimmy GunnDEAP-1; UPI-1; Coaches-1
  • Mike BattleDBUPI-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1968 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1968 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠09–⁠1–⁠14
Oregon State5–⁠17–⁠315
Stanford3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
California2–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
Oregon2–⁠44–⁠6
UCLA2–⁠43–⁠7
Washington State1–⁠3–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Washington1–⁠5–⁠13–⁠5–⁠2

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