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1980 USC

8–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠2–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by John Robinson, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1980, game by game: won at Tennessee 20–17; won vs. No. 20 South Carolina 23–13; won at Minnesota 24–7; won vs. Arizona State 23–21; won at Arizona 27–10; tied at Oregon 7–7; won vs. California 60–7; won at Stanford 34–9; lost vs. Washington 10–20; lost at No. 18 UCLA 17–20; won vs. No. 2 Notre Dame 20–3+53−10Won 20–17 at Tennessee+3TennesseeWon 23–13 vs. No. 20 South Carolina+10No. 20 South CarolinaWon 24–7 at Minnesota+17MinnesotaWon 23–21 vs. Arizona State+2Arizona StateWon 27–10 at Arizona+17ArizonaTied 7–7 at Oregon0OregonWon 60–7 vs. California+53CaliforniaWon 34–9 at Stanford+25StanfordLost 10–20 vs. Washington-10WashingtonLost 17–20 at No. 18 UCLA-3No. 18 UCLAWon 20–3 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame+17No. 2 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13atTennesseeW 20–⁠1769%
Sep 20vs20South CarolinaW 23–⁠1376%
Sep 27atMinnesotaW 24–⁠776%
Oct 4vsArizona StateW 23–⁠2181%
Oct 11atArizonaW 27–⁠1073%
Oct 18atOregonT 7–⁠777%
Nov 1vsCaliforniaW 60–⁠789%
Nov 8atStanfordW 34–⁠967%
Nov 15vsWashingtonL 10–⁠2078%
Nov 22at18UCLAL 17–⁠2056%
Dec 6vs2Notre DameW 20–⁠357%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 20–⁠3; No. 11 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 20th-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: 5
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 5
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 4
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 12
  13. Wk 13: 17
  14. Wk 14: 17
  15. Wk 15: 12
  16. Final: 11

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 1980.

2 consensus All-AmericansKeith Van Horne, OT; Ronnie Lott, DB

Record
8–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠2–⁠1 3rd in Pac-10
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 2
Points
265–⁠134
Coach
John Robinson
Elo
1759 +40 this season
SP+ rating
26.7 No. 7 of 133; offense No. 15, defense No. 5
SRS
21.7 No. 8 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Ronnie Lott and Keith Van Horne

Drafted in 1981

The 1981 draft
Rd 1Ronnie Lott DBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 1Keith Van Horne OTChicago Bears
Rd 1Dennis Smith DBDenver Broncos
Rd 3Hoby Brenner TENew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Kevin Williams WRNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Jeff Fisher DBChicago Bears
Rd 7Steve Busick LBDenver Broncos

All-Pac-10

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1980 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1980 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington6–⁠19–⁠316
UCLA5–⁠29–⁠213
USC4–⁠2–⁠18–⁠2–⁠111
Arizona State5–⁠37–⁠4
Oregon4–⁠3–⁠16–⁠3–⁠2
Stanford3–⁠46–⁠5
Arizona3–⁠45–⁠6
Washington State3–⁠44–⁠7
California3–⁠53–⁠8
Oregon State0–⁠80–⁠11

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