CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 USC

9–⁠2–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Pac-8), coached by John McKay, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1973, game by game: won vs. Arkansas 17–0; won at Georgia Tech 23–6; tied vs. No. 8 Oklahoma 7–7; won at Oregon State 21–7; won vs. Washington State 46–35; won vs. Oregon 31–10; lost at No. 8 Notre Dame 14–23; won at California 50–14; won vs. Stanford 27–26; won at Washington 42–19; won vs. No. 8 UCLA 23–13; lost vs. No. 4 Ohio State 21–42+36−21Won 17–0 vs. Arkansas+17ArkansasWon 23–6 at Georgia Tech+17Georgia TechTied 7–7 vs. No. 8 Oklahoma0No. 8 OklahomaWon 21–7 at Oregon State+14Oregon StateWon 46–35 vs. Washington State+11Washington StateWon 31–10 vs. Oregon+21OregonLost 14–23 at No. 8 Notre Dame-9No. 8 Notre DameWon 50–14 at California+36CaliforniaWon 27–26 vs. Stanford+1StanfordWon 42–19 at Washington+23WashingtonWon 23–13 vs. No. 8 UCLA+10No. 8 UCLALost 21–42 vs. No. 4 Ohio State-21No. 4 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsArkansasW 17–⁠080%
Sep 22atGeorgia TechW 23–⁠671%
Sep 29vs8OklahomaT 7–⁠759%
Oct 6atOregon StateW 21–⁠786%
Oct 13vsWashington StateW 46–⁠3586%
Oct 20vsOregonW 31–⁠1088%
Oct 27at8Notre DameL 14–⁠2352%
Nov 3atCaliforniaW 50–⁠1479%
Nov 10vsStanfordW 27–⁠2678%
Nov 17atWashingtonW 42–⁠1983%
Nov 24vs8UCLAW 23–⁠1364%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4Ohio StateRose BowlL 21–⁠4257%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 42–⁠21 in the Rose Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Pac-8 champions.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1973.

Pac-8 champions7–⁠0 in the conference

4 consensus All-AmericansLynn Swann, WR; Booker Brown, OT; Richard Wood, LB; Artimus Parker, DB

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Pac-8
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 1
Points
322–⁠202
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1742 +26 this season
SP+ rating
22.1 No. 14 of 123; offense No. 13, defense No. 20
SRS
22.5 No. 11 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
John Robinson
Captains
Lynn Swann and Artimus Parker

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 1Lynn Swann WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 1Steve Riley OTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Rod McNeill RBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 6Booker Brown OGHouston Oilers

All-Pac-8

9 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • J.K. McKayWRAP-2
  • Bob McCaffreyCUPI-2
  • Danny ReeceDBAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1973 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1973 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠09–⁠2–⁠18
UCLA6–⁠19–⁠212
Stanford5–⁠27–⁠4
Washington State4–⁠35–⁠6
California2–⁠54–⁠7
Oregon2–⁠52–⁠9
Oregon State2–⁠52–⁠9
Washington0–⁠72–⁠9

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