CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1982 USC

8–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Pac-10), coached by John Robinson, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1982, game by game: lost at No. 11 Florida 9–17; won vs. Indiana 28–7; won at Oklahoma 12–0; won vs. Oregon 38–7; won at Stanford 41–21; won vs. Oregon State 38–0; lost at No. 7 Arizona State 10–17; won vs. California 42–0; won at Arizona 48–41; lost at No. 11 UCLA 19–20; won vs. Notre Dame 17–13+42−8Lost 9–17 at No. 11 Florida-8No. 11 FloridaWon 28–7 vs. Indiana+21IndianaWon 12–0 at Oklahoma+12OklahomaWon 38–7 vs. Oregon+31OregonWon 41–21 at Stanford+20StanfordWon 38–0 vs. Oregon State+38Oregon StateLost 10–17 at No. 7 Arizona State-7No. 7 Arizona StateWon 42–0 vs. California+42CaliforniaWon 48–41 at Arizona+7ArizonaLost 19–20 at No. 11 UCLA-1No. 11 UCLAWon 17–13 vs. Notre Dame+4Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11at11FloridaL 9–⁠1749%
Sep 18vsIndianaW 28–⁠779%
Sep 25atOklahomaW 12–⁠043%
Oct 2vsOregonW 38–⁠788%
Oct 16atStanfordW 41–⁠2158%
Oct 23vsOregon StateW 38–⁠094%
Oct 30at7Arizona StateL 10–⁠1739%
Nov 6vsCaliforniaW 42–⁠080%
Nov 13atArizonaW 48–⁠4159%
Nov 20at11UCLAL 19–⁠2043%
Nov 27vsNotre DameW 17–⁠1368%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 17–⁠13; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 14
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Wk 9: 12
  10. Wk 10: 16
  11. Wk 11: 16
  12. Wk 12: 15
  13. Wk 13: 17
  14. Wk 14: 16
  15. Wk 15: 15
  16. Final: 15

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 1982.

3 consensus All-AmericansDon Mosebar, OT; Bruce Matthews, OG; George Achica, MG

Record
8–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Pac-10
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 10
Points
302–⁠143
Coach
John Robinson
Elo
1706 +75 this season
SP+ rating
26.5 No. 3 of 109; offense No. 12, defense No. 3
SRS
24.4 No. 3 of 113 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Ted Tollner
Captains
George Achica, Joey Browner and Bruce Matthews

Drafted in 1983

The 1983 draft
Rd 1Bruce Matthews OGHouston Oilers
Rd 1Joey Browner DBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 1Don Mosebar CLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 3George Achica DTBaltimore Colts
Rd 4August Curley LBDetroit Lions
Rd 4Kelly Thomas OTTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5Riki Gray-Ellison LBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 5Byron Darby DTPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 7Jeff Simmons WRLos Angeles Rams

All-Pac-10

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1982 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1982 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA5–⁠1–⁠110–⁠1–⁠15
Washington6–⁠210–⁠27
Arizona State5–⁠210–⁠26
USC5–⁠28–⁠315
Arizona4–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
California4–⁠47–⁠4
Stanford3–⁠55–⁠6
Washington State2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Oregon2–⁠62–⁠8–⁠1
Oregon State0–⁠7–⁠11–⁠9–⁠1

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