CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 USC

6–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Pac-10), coached by John Robinson.

Schedule and results

USC in 1997, game by game: lost vs. No. 5 Florida State 7–14; lost vs. Washington State 21–28; won at California 27–17; won vs. UNLV 35–21; lost at Arizona State 7–35; won at Notre Dame 20–17; won vs. Oregon 24–22; lost at No. 7 Washington 0–27; won vs. Stanford 45–21; won at Oregon State 23–0; lost vs. No. 7 UCLA 24–31+24−28Lost 7–14 vs. No. 5 Florida State-7No. 5 Florida StateLost 21–28 vs. Washington State-7Washington StateWon 27–17 at California+10CaliforniaWon 35–21 vs. UNLV+14UNLVLost 7–35 at Arizona State-28Arizona StateWon 20–17 at Notre Dame+3Notre DameWon 24–22 vs. Oregon+2OregonLost 0–27 at No. 7 Washington-27No. 7 WashingtonWon 45–21 vs. Stanford+24StanfordWon 23–0 at Oregon State+23Oregon StateLost 24–31 vs. No. 7 UCLA-7No. 7 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vs5Florida StateL 7–⁠1438%
Sep 13vsWashington StateL 21–⁠2865%
Sep 27atCaliforniaW 27–⁠1742%
Oct 4vsUNLVW 35–⁠2181%
Oct 11atArizona StateL 7–⁠3530%
Oct 18atNotre DameW 20–⁠1740%
Oct 25vsOregonW 24–⁠2260%
Nov 1at7WashingtonL 0–⁠2722%
Nov 8vsStanfordW 45–⁠2161%
Nov 15atOregon StateW 23–⁠070%
Nov 22vs7UCLAL 24–⁠3141%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UCLA 31–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 80th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 22
  2. Wk 2: 23
  3. Wk 3: 23
  4. Wk 4: 23

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 1997.

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked peak No. 22
Points
233–⁠233
Coach
John Robinson
Elo
1574 +13 this season
SP+ rating
13.8 No. 25 of 112; offense No. 57, defense No. 10
SRS
10.0 No. 24 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Hue Jackson
Defensive coordinator
Keith Burns
Captains
Jonathan Himebauch and Brian Kelly

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 2Brian Kelly DBTampa Bay Buccaneers

All-Pac-10

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington State7–⁠110–⁠29
UCLA7–⁠110–⁠25
Arizona State6–⁠29–⁠314
Washington5–⁠38–⁠418
Arizona4–⁠47–⁠5
USC4–⁠46–⁠5
Oregon3–⁠57–⁠5
Stanford3–⁠55–⁠6
California1–⁠73–⁠8
Oregon State0–⁠83–⁠8

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