CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1969 USC

10–⁠0–⁠1 (6–⁠0 Pac-8), coached by John McKay, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1969, game by game: won at Nebraska 31–21; won vs. Northwestern 48–6; won at Oregon State 31–7; won vs. No. 16 Stanford 26–24; tied at No. 11 Notre Dame 14–14; won vs. Georgia Tech 29–18; won at California 14–9; won vs. Washington State 28–7; won at Washington 16–7; won vs. No. 6 UCLA 14–12; won vs. No. 7 Michigan 10–3+42Won 31–21 at Nebraska+10NebraskaWon 48–6 vs. Northwestern+42NorthwesternWon 31–7 at Oregon State+24Oregon StateWon 26–24 vs. No. 16 Stanford+2No. 16 StanfordTied 14–14 at No. 11 Notre Dame0No. 11 Notre DameWon 29–18 vs. Georgia Tech+11Georgia TechWon 14–9 at California+5CaliforniaWon 28–7 vs. Washington State+21Washington StateWon 16–7 at Washington+9WashingtonWon 14–12 vs. No. 6 UCLA+2No. 6 UCLAWon 10–3 vs. No. 7 Michigan+7No. 7 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 20atNebraskaW 31–⁠2159%
Sep 27vsNorthwesternW 48–⁠689%
Oct 4atOregon StateW 31–⁠748%
Oct 11vs16StanfordW 26–⁠2474%
Oct 18at11Notre DameT 14–⁠1451%
Oct 25vsGeorgia TechW 29–⁠1888%
Nov 1atCaliforniaW 14–⁠965%
Nov 8vsWashington StateW 28–⁠793%
Nov 15atWashingtonW 16–⁠787%
Nov 22vs6UCLAW 14–⁠1270%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7MichiganRose BowlW 10–⁠361%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 10–⁠3 in the Rose Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Pac-8 champions.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1969.

Pac-8 champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanJimmy Gunn, DE

Record
10–⁠0–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Pac-8
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
261–⁠128
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1769 +112 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
24.5 No. 10 of 122 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Jim Gunn and Bob Jensen

Drafted in 1970

The 1970 draft
Rd 1Al Cowlings DEBuffalo Bills
Rd 1Sid Smith OTKansas City Chiefs
Rd 5Gary McArthur OTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Sandy Durko DBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 6Tony Terry DTDetroit Lions
Rd 7Gary Orcutt WRAtlanta Falcons

All-Pacific Coast

7 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1969 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1969 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠010–⁠0–⁠13
UCLA5–⁠1–⁠18–⁠1–⁠113
Stanford5–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠119
Oregon State4–⁠36–⁠4
Oregon2–⁠35–⁠5–⁠1
California2–⁠45–⁠5
Washington1–⁠61–⁠9
Washington State0–⁠71–⁠9

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