CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 USC

6–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Pac-10), coached by Ted Tollner.

Schedule and results

USC in 1985, game by game: won at No. 11 Illinois 20–10; lost vs. Baylor 13–20; lost at Arizona State 0–24; won vs. Oregon State 63–0; won vs. Stanford 30–6; lost at Notre Dame 3–37; won vs. Washington State 31–13; lost at California 6–14; lost at Washington 17–20; won vs. No. 8 UCLA 17–13; won vs. Oregon 20–6; lost vs. No. 15 Alabama 3–24+63−34Won 20–10 at No. 11 Illinois+10No. 11 IllinoisLost 13–20 vs. Baylor-7BaylorLost 0–24 at Arizona State-24Arizona StateWon 63–0 vs. Oregon State+63Oregon StateWon 30–6 vs. Stanford+24StanfordLost 3–37 at Notre Dame-34Notre DameWon 31–13 vs. Washington State+18Washington StateLost 6–14 at California-8CaliforniaLost 17–20 at Washington-3WashingtonWon 17–13 vs. No. 8 UCLA+4No. 8 UCLAWon 20–6 vs. Oregon+14OregonLost 3–24 vs. No. 15 Alabama-21No. 15 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7at11IllinoisW 20–⁠1042%
Sep 21vsBaylorL 13–⁠2065%
Sep 28atArizona StateL 0–⁠2447%
Oct 5vsOregon StateW 63–⁠080%
Oct 19vsStanfordW 30–⁠675%
Oct 26atNotre DameL 3–⁠3742%
Nov 2vsWashington StateW 31–⁠1364%
Nov 9atCaliforniaL 6–⁠1463%
Nov 16atWashingtonL 17–⁠2029%
Nov 23vs8UCLAW 17–⁠1332%
Nov 30vsOregonW 20–⁠656%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs15AlabamaAloha BowlL 3–⁠2436%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 24–⁠3 in the Aloha Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 91st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 18

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 1985.

Consensus All-AmericanJeff Bregel, OG

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked peak No. 3
Points
223–⁠187
Coach
Ted Tollner
Elo
1545 −20 this season
SP+ rating
10.8 No. 31 of 106; offense No. 65, defense No. 14
SRS
7.1 No. 32 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Matt Koart and Hank Norman

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 1James Fitzpatrick OTSan Diego Chargers
Rd 5Matt Koart DTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 5Matt Johnson DBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 5Tony Colorito DTDenver Broncos

All-Pac-10

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA6–⁠29–⁠2–⁠17
Arizona5–⁠28–⁠3–⁠1
Arizona State5–⁠28–⁠4
Washington5–⁠37–⁠5
USC5–⁠36–⁠6
Oregon3–⁠45–⁠6
Washington State3–⁠54–⁠7
Stanford3–⁠54–⁠7
Oregon State2–⁠63–⁠8
California2–⁠74–⁠7

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