CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 USC

9–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Pac-10), coached by John Robinson, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1981, game by game: won vs. Tennessee 43–7; won at Indiana 21–0; won vs. No. 2 Oklahoma 28–24; won at Oregon State 56–22; lost vs. Arizona 10–13; won vs. Stanford 25–17; won at Notre Dame 14–7; won vs. No. 14 Washington State 41–17; won at California 21–3; lost at Washington 3–13; won vs. No. 15 UCLA 22–21; lost vs. No. 7 Penn State 10–26+36−16Won 43–7 vs. Tennessee+36TennesseeWon 21–0 at Indiana+21IndianaWon 28–24 vs. No. 2 Oklahoma+4No. 2 OklahomaWon 56–22 at Oregon State+34Oregon StateLost 10–13 vs. Arizona-3ArizonaWon 25–17 vs. Stanford+8StanfordWon 14–7 at Notre Dame+7Notre DameWon 41–17 vs. No. 14 Washington State+24No. 14 Washington StateWon 21–3 at California+18CaliforniaLost 3–13 at Washington-10WashingtonWon 22–21 vs. No. 15 UCLA+1No. 15 UCLALost 10–26 vs. No. 7 Penn State-16No. 7 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsTennesseeW 43–⁠778%
Sep 19atIndianaW 21–⁠067%
Sep 26vs2OklahomaW 28–⁠2460%
Oct 3atOregon StateW 56–⁠2288%
Oct 10vsArizonaL 10–⁠1386%
Oct 17vsStanfordW 25–⁠1783%
Oct 24atNotre DameW 14–⁠756%
Oct 31vs14Washington StateW 41–⁠1777%
Nov 7atCaliforniaW 21–⁠382%
Nov 14atWashingtonL 3–⁠1362%
Nov 21vs15UCLAW 22–⁠2162%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7Penn StateFiesta BowlL 10–⁠2643%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 26–⁠10 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 35th-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: 2
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 8
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Final: 14

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 1981.

Led the nationMarcus Allen: rushing yards (2,427 yds), rushing touchdowns (22 TD), points (120 pts), points per game (12.5)

Heisman TrophyMarcus Allen, RB; also the Maxwell and Walter Camp

2 consensus All-AmericansRoy Foster, OG; Marcus Allen, RB

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Pac-10
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 1
Points
294–⁠170
Coach
John Robinson
Elo
1697 +24 this season
SP+ rating
18.6 No. 17 of 132; offense No. 28, defense No. 16
SRS
17.8 No. 13 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
R.C. Slocum
Captains
Marcus Allen and Chip Banks

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Chip Banks LBCleveland Browns
Rd 1Marcus Allen RBLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 1Roy Foster OGMiami Dolphins

All-Pac-10

7 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1981 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1981 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington6–⁠210–⁠210
Arizona State5–⁠29–⁠216
USC5–⁠29–⁠314
Washington State5–⁠2–⁠18–⁠3–⁠1
UCLA5–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Arizona4–⁠46–⁠5
Stanford4–⁠44–⁠7
California2–⁠62–⁠9
Oregon1–⁠62–⁠9
Oregon State0–⁠71–⁠10

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