CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1975 USC

8–⁠4 (3–⁠4 Pac-8), coached by John McKay, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1975, game by game: won vs. Duke 35–7; won vs. Oregon State 24–7; won vs. Purdue 19–6; won at Iowa 27–16; won vs. Washington State 28–10; won vs. Oregon 17–3; won at No. 14 Notre Dame 24–17; lost at California 14–28; lost vs. Stanford 10–13; lost at Washington 7–8; lost vs. No. 14 UCLA 22–25; won vs. No. 2 Texas A&M 20–0+28−14Won 35–7 vs. Duke+28DukeWon 24–7 vs. Oregon State+17Oregon StateWon 19–6 vs. Purdue+13PurdueWon 27–16 at Iowa+11IowaWon 28–10 vs. Washington State+18Washington StateWon 17–3 vs. Oregon+14OregonWon 24–17 at No. 14 Notre Dame+7No. 14 Notre DameLost 14–28 at California-14CaliforniaLost 10–13 vs. Stanford-3StanfordLost 7–8 at Washington-1WashingtonLost 22–25 vs. No. 14 UCLA-3No. 14 UCLAWon 20–0 vs. No. 2 Texas A&M+20No. 2 Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsDukeW 35–⁠782%
Sep 19vsOregon StateW 24–⁠787%
Sep 27vsPurdueW 19–⁠686%
Oct 4atIowaW 27–⁠1686%
Oct 11vsWashington StateW 28–⁠1088%
Oct 18vsOregonW 17–⁠394%
Oct 25at14Notre DameW 24–⁠1750%
Nov 1atCaliforniaL 14–⁠2871%
Nov 8vsStanfordL 10–⁠1377%
Nov 15atWashingtonL 7–⁠871%
Nov 28vs14UCLAL 22–⁠2563%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvs2Texas A&MLiberty BowlW 20–⁠043%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas A&M 20–⁠0 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; 5th in the Pac-8.

In program history: The 38th-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: 4
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 13
  12. Final: 17

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 1975.

Heisman voteRicky Bell, third

Led the nationRicky Bell: rushing yards (1,957 yds)

Consensus All-AmericanRicky Bell, RB

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
3–⁠4 5th in Pac-8
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 3
Points
247–⁠140
Coach
John McKay
Elo
1688 +2 this season
SP+ rating
12.6 No. 33 of 132; offense No. 61, defense No. 12
SRS
13.7 No. 21 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Kevin Bruce and Danny Reece
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1976

The 1976 draft
Rd 3Danny Reece DBCincinnati Bengals

All-Pac-8

5 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Joe DavisOGCoaches-2
  • Walt UnderwoodDTCoaches-2
  • Clint StrozierDBCoaches-2
  • Doug HoganDBCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1975 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1975 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA6–⁠19–⁠2–⁠15
California6–⁠18–⁠314
Stanford5–⁠26–⁠4–⁠1
Washington5–⁠26–⁠5
USC3–⁠48–⁠417
Oregon2–⁠53–⁠8
Oregon State1–⁠61–⁠10
Washington State0–⁠73–⁠8

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