1975 USC Trojans football team
American college football season
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The 1975 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pacific-8 Conference during the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. In their 15th year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled an 8–4 record (3–4 in Pac-8, fifth), and outscored their opponents 247 to 140.[1] The team was ranked #17 in the final AP Poll and #19 in the final UPI Coaches Poll.
| 1975 USC Trojans football | |
|---|---|
Liberty Bowl champion | |
Liberty Bowl, W 20–0 vs. Texas A&M | |
| Conference | Pacific-8 Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 19 |
| AP | No. 17 |
| Record | 8–4 (3–4 Pac-8) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive scheme | I formation |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 UCLA ^ + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 California + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 USC | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quarterback Vince Evans led the team in passing, completing 35 of 112 passes for 695 yards with three touchdowns and nine interceptions. Ricky Bell led the team in rushing with 385 carries for 1,957 yards and 13 touchdowns. Randy Simmrin led the team in receiving with 26 catches for 478 yards and one touchdown.[2]
Opening with seven wins, the Trojans lost all four conference games in November, and were invited to the Liberty Bowl.
Following the season, McKay stepped down as head coach to become the first head coach for the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL.[3] McKay was succeeded by Oakland Raiders running backs coach John Robinson, who previously served as the Trojans' offensive coordinator from 1972 to 1974.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 12 | Duke* | No. 4 | W 35–7 | 56,727 | [4] | ||
| September 19 | Oregon State | No. 4 |
| W 24–7 | 50,165 | [5] | |
| September 27 | Purdue* | No. 3 |
| W 19–6 | 56,170 | [6] | |
| October 4 | at Iowa* | No. 3 | W 27–16 | 54,600 | [7] | ||
| October 11 | Washington State | No. 3 |
| W 28–10 | 47,468 | [8] | |
| October 18 | Oregon | No. 3 |
| W 17–3 | 50,542 | [9] | |
| October 25 | at No. 14 Notre Dame* | No. 3 | ABC | W 24–17 | 59,075 | [10] | |
| November 1 | at California | No. 4 | ABC | L 14–28 | 58,871 | [11] | |
| November 8 | Stanford | No. 9 |
| L 10–13 | 68,249 | [12] | |
| November 15 | at Washington | No. 13 | L 7–8 | 53,700 | [13] | ||
| November 28 | No. 14 UCLA |
| ABC | L 22–25 | 80,927 | [14] | |
| December 22 | vs. No. 6 Texas A&M* | ABC | W 20–0 | 52,129 | [15] | ||
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Game summaries
Duke
- Ricky Bell 34 rushes, 256 yards [16]
Oregon State
Purdue
- Ricky Bell 89 rush yards
At Iowa
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • USC | 0 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 27 |
| Iowa | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
- Date: October 4
- Location: Kinnick Stadium
- Game attendance: 54,600
| Q1 | IOWA | Quartaro 26 yard field goal | IOWA 3–0 | |
| Q1 | IOWA | Holmes 1 yard run (Quartaro kick) | IOWA 10–0 | |
| Q2 | 1:26 | USC | Hertel 3 yard run (Walker kick) | IOWA 10–7 |
| Q3 | 10:03 | USC | Simmrin 10 yard pass from Hertel (Walker kick) | USC 14–10 |
| Q3 | USC | Hertel 6 yard run (Walker kick) | USC 21–10 | |
| Q3 | USC | Walker 47 yard field goal | USC 24–10 | |
| Q4 | 11:26 | USC | Walker 25 yard field goal | USC 27–10 |
| Q4 | 0:20 | IOWA | Wellington from McLaughlin (pass failed) | USC 27–16 |
Washington State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington St | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • USC | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
- Date: October 11
- Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
- Game attendance: 47,468
| 1 | Washington St | Diedrick 24-yard field goal | Washington St 3-0 | |
| 2 | USC | Hertel 2-yard run (Walker kick) | USC 7-3 | |
| 2 | USC | Reece 64-yard punt return (Walker kick) | USC 14-3 | |
| 3 | USC | Tatupu 28-yard run (Walker kick) | USC 21-3 | |
| 4 | 4:42 | USC | Bell 3-yard run (Walker kick) | USC 28-3 |
| 4 | Washington St | Williams 5-yard run (Diedrick kick) | USC 28-10 | |
Ricky Bell 38 Rush, 217 Yds
At Notre Dame
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • USC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| Notre Dame | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
- Date: October 25
- Location: Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, Indiana
- Game attendance: 59,075
- TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bud Wilkinson
| Q1 | ND | Hunter 52 yard run (kick failed) | ND 6–0 | |
| Q2 | USC | Diggs 21 yard pass from Evans (Walker kick) | USC 7–6 | |
| Q2 | ND | Lopienski 13 yard blocked punt return (Haines pass from Hunter) | ND 14–7 | |
| Q3 | USC | Bell 2 yard run (Walker kick) | Tie 14–14 | |
| Q4 | ND | Reeve 27 yard field goal | ND 17–14 | |
| Q4 | 7:28 | USC | Evans 2 yard run (Walker kick) | USC 21–17 |
| Q4 | USC | Walker 35 yard field goal | USC 24–17 | |
Roster
| 1975 USC Trojans football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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1975 team players in the NFL
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Danny Reece | Defensive back | 3 | 69 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Joe Davis | Tackle | 8 | 211 | New York Jets |
| Mel Jackson | Guard | 12 | 328 | Green Bay Packers |
| Doug Hogan | Defensive back | 16 | 454 | Oakland Raiders |
In popular culture
Scenes from the November 8 game against Stanford are featured in a 1976 episode of the television series Emergency! entitled "The Game".[citation needed]