CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1989 USC

9–⁠2–⁠1 (6–⁠0–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Larry Smith, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1989, game by game: lost vs. No. 22 Illinois 13–14; won vs. Utah State 66–10; won vs. No. 25 Ohio State 42–3; won at No. 19 Washington State 18–17; won vs. Washington 24–16; won at California 31–15; lost at No. 1 Notre Dame 24–28; won vs. Stanford 19–0; won vs. Oregon State 48–6; won at No. 25 Arizona 24–3; tied vs. UCLA 10–10; won vs. No. 3 Michigan 17–10+56−4Lost 13–14 vs. No. 22 Illinois-1No. 22 IllinoisWon 66–10 vs. Utah State+56Utah StateWon 42–3 vs. No. 25 Ohio State+39No. 25 Ohio StateWon 18–17 at No. 19 Washington State+1No. 19 Washington StateWon 24–16 vs. Washington+8WashingtonWon 31–15 at California+16CaliforniaLost 24–28 at No. 1 Notre Dame-4No. 1 Notre DameWon 19–0 vs. Stanford+19StanfordWon 48–6 vs. Oregon State+42Oregon StateWon 24–3 at No. 25 Arizona+21No. 25 ArizonaTied 10–10 vs. UCLA0UCLAWon 17–10 vs. No. 3 Michigan+7No. 3 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vs22IllinoisL 13–⁠1478%
Sep 16vsUtah StateW 66–⁠1086%
Sep 23vs25Ohio StateW 42–⁠372%
Sep 30at19Washington StateW 18–⁠1748%
Oct 7vsWashingtonW 24–⁠1673%
Oct 14atCaliforniaW 31–⁠1571%
Oct 21at1Notre DameL 24–⁠2831%
Oct 28vsStanfordW 19–⁠086%
Nov 4vsOregon StateW 48–⁠682%
Nov 11at25ArizonaW 24–⁠355%
Nov 18vsUCLAT 10–⁠1081%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3MichiganRose BowlW 17–⁠1045%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 17–⁠10 in the Rose Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 21st-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: 13
  3. Wk 3: 13
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 9
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 9
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 12
  14. Wk 14: 12
  15. Wk 15: 12
  16. Wk 16: 12
  17. Final: 8

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 1989.

Pac-10 champions6–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference

Jim Thorpe AwardMark Carrier, S

2 consensus All-AmericansTim Ryan, DT; Mark Carrier, S

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0–⁠1 first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 5
Points
336–⁠132
Coach
Larry Smith
Elo
1758 +105 this season
SP+ rating
25.8 No. 5 of 103; offense No. 27, defense No. 2
SRS
22.0 No. 6 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Dan Owens Leroy Holt, Brad Leggett and Tim Ryan

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 1Junior Seau LBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 1Mark Carrier DBChicago Bears
Rd 2Dan Owens DTDetroit Lions
Rd 3Tim Ryan DTChicago Bears
Rd 4Bill Schultz OGIndianapolis Colts
Rd 5Leroy Holt RBMiami Dolphins
Rd 7Scott Galbraith TECleveland Browns
Rd 7Aaron Emanuel RBNew York Giants

All-Pac-10

14 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1989 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1989 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠0–⁠19–⁠2–⁠18
Arizona5–⁠38–⁠425
Oregon5–⁠38–⁠4
Washington5–⁠38–⁠423
Arizona State3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
Oregon State3–⁠4–⁠14–⁠7–⁠1
Washington State3–⁠56–⁠5
Stanford3–⁠53–⁠8
UCLA2–⁠5–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
California2–⁠64–⁠7

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