CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1974 USC

10–⁠1–⁠1 (6–⁠0–⁠1 Pac-8), coached by John McKay, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1974, game by game: lost at No. 20 Arkansas 7–22; won at No. 8 Pittsburgh 16–7; won vs. Iowa 41–3; won at Washington State 54–7; won at Oregon 16–7; won vs. Oregon State 31–10; tied vs. California 15–15; won at Stanford 34–10; won vs. Washington 42–11; won at UCLA 34–9; won vs. No. 5 Notre Dame 55–24; won vs. No. 3 Ohio State 18–17+47−15Lost 7–22 at No. 20 Arkansas-15No. 20 ArkansasWon 16–7 at No. 8 Pittsburgh+9No. 8 PittsburghWon 41–3 vs. Iowa+38IowaWon 54–7 at Washington State+47Washington StateWon 16–7 at Oregon+9OregonWon 31–10 vs. Oregon State+21Oregon StateTied 15–15 vs. California0CaliforniaWon 34–10 at Stanford+24StanfordWon 42–11 vs. Washington+31WashingtonWon 34–9 at UCLA+25UCLAWon 55–24 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame+31No. 5 Notre DameWon 18–17 vs. No. 3 Ohio State+1No. 3 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14at20ArkansasL 7–⁠2266%
Sep 28at8PittsburghW 16–⁠755%
Oct 5vsIowaW 41–⁠387%
Oct 12atWashington StateW 54–⁠767%
Oct 19atOregonW 16–⁠775%
Oct 26vsOregon StateW 31–⁠1088%
Nov 2vsCaliforniaT 15–⁠1579%
Nov 9atStanfordW 34–⁠1064%
Nov 16vsWashingtonW 42–⁠1187%
Nov 23atUCLAW 34–⁠954%
Nov 30vs5Notre DameW 55–⁠2461%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3Ohio StateRose BowlW 18–⁠1751%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 18–⁠17 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Pac-8 champions.

In program history: The 14th-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: 13
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 11
  11. Wk 11: 8
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 6
  14. Wk 14: 5
  15. Final: 2

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 1974.

National championsa title the school claims

Pac-8 champions6–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteAnthony Davis, second

Led the nationAnthony Davis: kickoff return average (42.5)

2 consensus All-AmericansAnthony Davis, RB; Richard Wood, LB

Record
10–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0–⁠1 first in Pac-8
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
363–⁠142
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1780 +119 this season
SP+ rating
26.0 No. 3 of 124; offense No. 7, defense No. 10
SRS
24.5 No. 5 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
John Robinson
Captains
Pat Haden and Richard Wood

Drafted in 1975

The 1975 draft
Rd 2Anthony Davis RBNew York Jets
Rd 2Charles Phillips DBOakland Raiders
Rd 2Bill Bain OGGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Art Riley DTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Richard Wood LBNew York Jets
Rd 4Allen Carter RBNew England Patriots
Rd 7Jim Obradovich TENew York Giants
Rd 7Pat Haden QBLos Angeles Rams

All-Pac-8

12 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Pat HadenQBAP-2
  • John McKay Jr.WRAP-2
  • Steve KnutsonOTAP-2
  • Otha BradleyDLAP-2
  • Dale MitchellLBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1974 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1974 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠0–⁠110–⁠1–⁠12
Stanford5–⁠1–⁠15–⁠4–⁠2
California4–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
UCLA4–⁠2–⁠16–⁠3–⁠2
Washington3–⁠45–⁠6
Oregon State3–⁠43–⁠8
Washington State1–⁠62–⁠9
Oregon0–⁠72–⁠9

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