1968 USC Trojans football team

1968 USC Trojans football
Pac-8 champion
Rose Bowl, L 16–27 vs. Ohio State
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 4
Record9–1–1 (6–0 Pac-8)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1968 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1
No. 15 Oregon State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Stanford 3 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
California 2 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Oregon 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
UCLA 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Washington State 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Washington 1 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their ninth year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 9–1–1 record (6–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 259 to 168.[1] The team was ranked #2 in the final Coaches Poll and #4 in the final AP Poll.

Steve Sogge led the team in passing, completing 122 of 207 passes for 1,454 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. O. J. Simpson led the team in rushing with 383 carries for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns. Jim Lawrence led the team in receiving with 26 catches for 386 yards and two touchdowns.[2] Simpson won both the Heisman Trophy and the Walter Camp Award.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21at No. 16 Minnesota*No. 2
W 29–2060,820[3]
September 28at Northwestern*No. 3
W 24–747,277[4]
October 5No. 13 Miami (FL)*No. 2
W 28–371,189[5]
October 12at No. 18 StanfordNo. 2
W 27–2481,000[6]
October 19WashingtonNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 14–760,990[7]
November 2at OregonNo. 1
W 20–1333,500[8]
November 9No. 11 CaliforniaNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 35–1780,871[9]
November 16No. 13 Oregon StateNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 17–1359,236[10]
November 23at UCLANo. 1
W 28–1675,066[11]
November 30No. 9 Notre Dame*No. 2
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
T 21–2182,659[12]
January 1, 1969vs. No. 1 Ohio State*No. 2
L 16–27102,063[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Main article: 1968 NCAA University Division football rankings

Game summaries

Minnesota

  • OJ Simpson 39 rushes, 236 yards [14]

Miami (FL)

See also: 1968 Miami Hurricanes football team

Stanford

  • O.J. Simpson 47 rushes, 220 yards [15]

Oregon State

  • O.J. Simpson 47 rushes, 238 yards [16]

Notre Dame

See also: 1968 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Notre Dame–USC football rivalry

[17]

Vs. Ohio State (Rose Bowl)

Main article: 1969 Rose Bowl
See also: 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 USC
Team 1 234Total
• No. 1 Buckeyes 0 10314 27
No. 2 Trojans 0 1006 16
Scoring summary
29:40USCAyala 21-yard field goalUSC 3–0
26:38USCSimpson 80-yard run (Ayala kick)USC 10–0
21:45OSUOtis 1-yard run (Roman kick)USC 10–7
20:03OSURoman 26-yard field goalTie 10–10
31:40OSURoman 25-yard field goalOSU 13–10
413:52OSUHayden 4-yard pass from Kern (Roman kick)OSU 20–10
410:05OSUGillian 16-yard pass from Kern (Roman kick)OSU 27–10
40:45USCDickerson 19-yard pass from Sogge (pass failed)OSU 27–16

Roster

1968 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 9 Bob Chandler So
QB 7 Mike Holmgren Jr
QB 8 Jimmy Jones Fr
TE 84 Bob Klein Sr
WR 28 Jim Lawrence Sr
TE 86 Bob Miller Sr
OT 78 Marv Montgomery Jr
QB 6 Steve Sogge Sr
RB 32 O. J. Simpson Sr
OT 77 Sid Smith Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
FS 17 Mike Battle Sr
DT 72 Al Cowlings Jr
CB 16 Sandy Durko Jr
DE 83 Jimmy Gunn Jr
DE 85 Bill Hayhoe Sr
LB 55 Jim Snow Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

[18][19][20]

Awards and honors

1969 NFL/AFL draft

Eight Trojans were selected in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft, held in late January.

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
O. J. Simpson Running back 1 1 Buffalo Bills
Bob Klein Tight end 1 21 Los Angeles Rams
Bill Hayhoe Defensive tackle 5 116 Green Bay Packers
Bob Miller Tackle 6 138 New Orleans Saints
Jim Lawrence Back 8 189 New Orleans Saints
Jack O’Malley Tackle 12 302 San Francisco 49ers
Mike Battle Defensive back 12 311 New York Jets
Wilson Bowie Running back 13 320 Detroit Lions
Source:[22]

References

  1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1965-1969)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "1968 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "O.J. dashes past Minnesota, 29–20". The Des Moines Register. September 22, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "O.J., another big day; Scores 3 TDs as Troy topples 'Cats". The San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle. September 29, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "O.J. scores two at USC tames Miami". The News Tribune. October 6, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Simpson-led Trojans nip Tribe in 27–24 thriller". The Modesto Bee. October 13, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Trojans nip Huskies, 14–7". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 20, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Top-ranked Southern Cal turns back Oregon, 20–13". Tri-City Herald. November 3, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Trojans come to life as Bears die, 35–17". The Sun-Telegram. November 10, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "4th quarter USC explosion blasts Oregon State 17–13". The Sacramento Bee. November 17, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "UCLA gets close, then O.J. runs away". The Los Angeles Times. November 24, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Notre Dame, USC tie 21–21". The Courier-Journal. December 1, 1968. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Ohio State rallies for easy win over USC in Rose Bowl". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1969. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  15. ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  16. ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  17. ^ Jenkins, Dan (December 9, 1968). "THE DAY THEY TIED UP O.J." Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  18. ^ "Probable lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 1, 1968. p. 3B.
  19. ^ "Football statistics". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 3, 1968. p. 2B.
  20. ^ "TV rosters: Rose Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1969. p. 52.
  21. ^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  22. ^ "1969 NFL Draft". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
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