CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 USC

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Pac-10), coached by Ted Tollner.

Schedule and results

USC in 1986, game by game: won vs. Illinois 31–16; won at No. 9 Baylor 17–14; won vs. No. 6 Washington 20–10; won vs. Oregon 35–21; lost at Washington State 14–34; lost vs. No. 10 Arizona State 20–29; won at No. 19 Stanford 10–0; won at No. 14 Arizona 20–13; won vs. California 28–3; lost at No. 18 UCLA 25–45; lost vs. Notre Dame 37–38; lost vs. No. 10 Auburn 7–16+25−20Won 31–16 vs. Illinois+15IllinoisWon 17–14 at No. 9 Baylor+3No. 9 BaylorWon 20–10 vs. No. 6 Washington+10No. 6 WashingtonWon 35–21 vs. Oregon+14OregonLost 14–34 at Washington State-20Washington StateLost 20–29 vs. No. 10 Arizona State-9No. 10 Arizona StateWon 10–0 at No. 19 Stanford+10No. 19 StanfordWon 20–13 at No. 14 Arizona+7No. 14 ArizonaWon 28–3 vs. California+25CaliforniaLost 25–45 at No. 18 UCLA-20No. 18 UCLALost 37–38 vs. Notre Dame-1Notre DameLost 7–16 vs. No. 10 Auburn-9No. 10 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13vsIllinoisW 31–⁠1654%
Sep 20at9BaylorW 17–⁠1433%
Sep 27vs6WashingtonW 20–⁠1046%
Oct 4vsOregonW 35–⁠2174%
Oct 11atWashington StateL 14–⁠3461%
Oct 18vs10Arizona StateL 20–⁠2945%
Oct 25at19StanfordW 10–⁠041%
Nov 1at14ArizonaW 20–⁠1333%
Nov 15vsCaliforniaW 28–⁠387%
Nov 22at18UCLAL 25–⁠4536%
Nov 29vsNotre DameL 37–⁠3857%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10AuburnCitrus BowlL 7–⁠1633%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 16–⁠7 in the Citrus Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 79th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1986.

2 consensus All-AmericansJeff Bregel, OG; Tim McDonald, DB

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked peak No. 9
Points
264–⁠239
Coach
Ted Tollner
Elo
1576 +47 this season
SP+ rating
16.6 No. 19 of 101; offense No. 26, defense No. 13
SRS
13.2 No. 18 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Jeff Bregel and Tim McDonald

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 2Tim McDonald DBSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 2Jeff Bregel OGSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Louis Brock DBSan Diego Chargers

All-Pac-10

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ken HenryWRCoaches-2
  • Dave CadiganOTCoaches-2
  • Lou Brock Jr.DBCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1986 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1986 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Arizona State5–⁠1–⁠110–⁠1–⁠14
Washington5–⁠2–⁠18–⁠3–⁠118
UCLA5–⁠2–⁠18–⁠3–⁠114
Arizona5–⁠39–⁠311
Stanford5–⁠38–⁠4
USC5–⁠37–⁠5
Oregon3–⁠55–⁠6
Washington State2–⁠6–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
California2–⁠72–⁠9
Oregon State1–⁠63–⁠8

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