CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1977 USC

8–⁠4 (5–⁠2 Pac-8), coached by John Robinson, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1977, game by game: won at Missouri 27–10; won at Oregon State 17–10; won vs. TCU 51–0; won vs. Washington State 41–7; lost vs. No. 7 Alabama 20–21; won vs. Oregon 33–15; lost at No. 11 Notre Dame 19–49; lost at California 14–17; won vs. Stanford 49–0; lost at Washington 10–28; won vs. No. 17 UCLA 29–27; won vs. No. 17 Texas A&M 47–28+51−30Won 27–10 at Missouri+17MissouriWon 17–10 at Oregon State+7Oregon StateWon 51–0 vs. TCU+51TCUWon 41–7 vs. Washington State+34Washington StateLost 20–21 vs. No. 7 Alabama-1No. 7 AlabamaWon 33–15 vs. Oregon+18OregonLost 19–49 at No. 11 Notre Dame-30No. 11 Notre DameLost 14–17 at California-3CaliforniaWon 49–0 vs. Stanford+49StanfordLost 10–28 at Washington-18WashingtonWon 29–27 vs. No. 17 UCLA+2No. 17 UCLAWon 47–28 vs. No. 17 Texas A&M+19No. 17 Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10atMissouriW 27–⁠1061%
Sep 17atOregon StateW 17–⁠1081%
Sep 24vsTCUW 51–⁠094%
Sep 30vsWashington StateW 41–⁠786%
Oct 8vs7AlabamaL 20–⁠2162%
Oct 15vsOregonW 33–⁠1591%
Oct 22at11Notre DameL 19–⁠4950%
Oct 29atCaliforniaL 14–⁠1755%
Nov 5vsStanfordW 49–⁠071%
Nov 12atWashingtonL 10–⁠2857%
Nov 25vs17UCLAW 29–⁠2759%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs17Texas A&MAstro-Bluebonnet BowlW 47–⁠2848%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas A&M 47–⁠28 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Pac-8.

In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 16
  10. Wk 10: 14
  11. Wk 13: 20
  12. Final: 13

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 1977.

Consensus All-AmericanDennis Thurman, DB

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Pac-8
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 1
Points
357–⁠212
Coach
John Robinson
Elo
1699 +14 this season
SP+ rating
23.1 No. 10 of 140; offense No. 8, defense No. 31
SRS
20.4 No. 11 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Rob Hertel and Clay Matthews Jr.

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 1Clay Matthews LBCleveland Browns
Rd 2Bill Gay TEDenver Broncos
Rd 5Rob Hertel QBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 7Ricky Odom DBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7Mario Celotto LBBuffalo Bills

All-Pac-8

7 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Randy SimmrinWRCoaches-2
  • William GayTECoaches-2; UPI-2
  • Anthony MuñozOTCoaches-2; UPI-2
  • John SchuhmacherOTCoaches-2; UPI-2
  • Ed GutierrezLBCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1977 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1977 Pac-8 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington6–⁠18–⁠410
Stanford5–⁠29–⁠315
USC5–⁠28–⁠413
UCLA5–⁠27–⁠4
California3–⁠47–⁠4
Washington State3–⁠46–⁠5
Oregon1–⁠62–⁠9
Oregon State0–⁠72–⁠9

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