| 1976 USC Trojans football | |
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National champion (multiple selectors) | |
| Conference | Pacific-8 Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 2 |
| AP | No. 2 |
| Record | 11–1 (7–0 Pac-8) |
| Head coach |
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| Captain | Ricky Bell Vince Evans Eric Williams |
| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
Seasons
← 1975
1977 →
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Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No.2USC $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No.15UCLA | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1976 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their first year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–1 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, defeated Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 386 to 139.[1] The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.
Quarterback Vince Evans led the team in passing, completing 95 of 177 passes for 1,440 yards with ten touchdowns and six interceptions. Ricky Bell led the team in rushing with 280 carries for 1,433 yards and 14 touchdowns. Shelton Diggs led the team in receiving with 37 catches for 655 yards and eight touchdowns.[2]
The team was named national champion by Berryman, Billingsley MOV, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, and Matthews, all NCAA-designated major selectors.[3]: 114
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | Missouri* | No. 8 |
| L 25–46 | 49,535 | |
| September 18 | atOregon |
| W 53–0 | 40,600 | ||
| September 25 | atPurdue* | No. 19 |
| W 31–13 | 65,425 | |
| October 2 | Iowa* | No. 13 |
| W 55–0 | 55,518 | |
| October 9 | atWashington State | No. 11 |
| W 23–14 | 37,268 | |
| October 23 | Oregon State | No. 7 |
| W 56–0 | 53,216 | |
| October 30 | California | No. 4 |
| W 20–6 | 60,323 | |
| November 6 | atStanford | No. 4 |
| W 48–24 | 76,500 | |
| November 13 | Washington | No. 3 |
| W 20–3 | 49,264 | |
| November 20 | vs. No. 2UCLA | No. 3 |
| ABC | W 24–14 | 90,519 |
| November 27 | No. 13Notre Dame* | No. 3 |
| ABC | W 17–13 | 76,561 |
| January 1, 1977 | vs. No. 2Michigan* | No. 3 |
| NBC | W 14–6 | 106,182 |
Homecoming | ||||||
| 1976 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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Roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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#19 USC Trojans (1–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–1)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| USC | 7 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 31 |
| Purdue | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
atRoss–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
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#11 USC Trojans (3–1) at Washington State Cougars (1–3)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| USC | 0 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
| Washington State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
atKingdome, Seattle, Washington
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#13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8–2) at #3 USC Trojans (9–1)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| USC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
| Game information | ||
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Ricky Bell was held to 75 yards on 21 carries but USC's passing game thrived with Vince Evans completing six of his 14 passes for 106 yards with Randy Simmrin hauling in six passes for 121 yards and Evans' touchdown pass.
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| Pacific Coast |
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| AAWU |
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| Pacific-8 |
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| Pacific-10 |
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| Pac-12 |
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National championships in bold | |
