1985 USC Trojans football team

1985 USC Trojans football
1985 USC Trojans football
Aloha Bowl, L 3–24 vs. Alabama
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	6–6 (5–3 Pac-10)
Head coach	Ted Tollner (3rd season);
Captains	Matt Koart; Hank Norman;
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1985 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 UCLA $	6	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
Arizona	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	1
Arizona State	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Washington	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Oregon	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Washington State	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Stanford	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Oregon State	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
California	2	–	7	–	0	4	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	at No. 11 Illinois*	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 20–10	76,369	^[1]
September 21	Baylor*	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 13–20	52,544	^[2]
September 28	at Arizona State	No. 18	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 0–24	70,710	^[3]
October 5	Oregon State		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 63–0	50,624	^[4]
October 19	Stanford		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	W 30–6	56,837	^[5]
October 26	at Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 3–37	59,075	^[6]
November 2	Washington State		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 31–13	46,954	^[7]
November 9	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 6–14	63,500	^[8]
November 16	at Washington		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 17–20	59,417	^[9]
November 23	No. 8 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 17–13	90,064	^[10]
November 30	vs. Oregon		Olympic Memorial Stadium Tokyo, Japan (Mirage Bowl)	W 20–6	65,000	^[11]
December 28	vs. No. 15 Alabama*		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (Aloha Bowl)	L 3–24	65,000	^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Game summaries

At No. 11 Illinois

USC at Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 6 Trojans	14	3	3	0	20
No. 11 Fighting Illini	0	0	7	3	10

Date: September 7
Location: Memorial Stadium
Champaign, Illinois
Game attendance: 76,639
Game weather: 90 °F (32 °C)

^[13]^[14]

Baylor

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bears	0	10	7	3	20
No. 3 Trojans	7	0	0	6	13

Date: September 21
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles, California
Game attendance: 53,246
TV announcers (Lorimar): Geoff Witcher (play-by-play) and Jim Perry (analyst)

^[15]

At Arizona State

Oregon State

Stanford

At Notre Dame

Washington State

At California

At Washington

UCLA

#8 UCLA Bruins (8–1–1) at USC Trojans (4–5)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
UCLA	7	6	0	0	13
USC	7	0	3	7	17

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Date: November 23
Game attendance: 90,064
^[16]

Game information

First quarter

UCLA – Eric Ball 1-yard run (John Lee kick). UCLA 7–0. Drive:
USC – Joe Cormier 34-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Don Shafer kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:

Second quarter

UCLA – John Lee 22-yard field goal. UCLA 10–7. Drive:
UCLA – John Lee 34-yard field goal. UCLA 13–7. Drive:

Third quarter

USC – Don Shafer 38-yard field goal. UCLA 13–10. Drive:

Fourth quarter

USC – Rodney Peete 1-yard run (Don Shafer kick). USC 17–13. Drive:

Top passers

UCLA – David Norrie – 14/21, 178 yards, 2 INT
USC – Rodney Peete – 8/15, 101 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

UCLA – Gaston Green – 28 rushes, 145 yards
USC – Ryan Knight – 32 rushes, 147 yards

Top receivers

UCLA – Karl Dorrell – 5 receptions, 61 yards
USC – Joe Cormier – 8 receptions, 101 yards

Vs. Oregon

Oregon vs. USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Ducks	3	0	3	0	6
• Trojans	7	10	0	3	20

Date: November 30
Location: Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo, Japan

Source: [1]

Aloha Bowl (vs. Alabama)

Personnel

1985 USC Trojans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR		Gene Arrington
G	`79`	Jeff Bregel	Jr
G	`66`	Dave Cadigan	So
TE		Martin Chesley
TE		Joe Cormier
OL		Tom Cox
RB		Fred Crutcher
RB		Andy Eddy
RB		Aaron Emmanuel
OL		James Fitzpatrick
TE		Paul Green
OL		John Guerrero	Fr
WR		Ken Henry
RB		Ryan Knight
OL		Gaylord Kuamoo
RB	`34`	Zephrini Lee	Sr
TE		Eric McKee
QB		Kevin McLean
WR	`83`	Hank Norman	Sr
QB	`16`	Rodney Peete	Fr
RB		Kennedy Pola
G		Mark Sager
QB	`7`	Sean Salisbury	Sr
RB		Todd Steele
WR		Randy Tanner
WR		Al Washington
RB	`25`	Steven Webster

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB		Sam Anno
LB		Garrett Breeland
DB	`38`	Louis Brock
DL		Tony Colorito
LB		Marcus Cotton
LB		Keith Davis
DB	`8`	Matt Johnson
DT	`91`	Matt Koart	Sr
S	`6`	Tim McDonald	Jr
DL		Brent Moore
DB	`1`	Jerome Tyler	Sr
DL		Gary Willison

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Troy Richardson
K	`10`	Don Shafer	Jr
P		Chris Sperle

Head coach

Ted Tollner

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Craig Ver Steeg (GA)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

1986 NFL draft

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise

^[17]

References

^ "No. 6 Southern Cal stops Illinois". The Charlotte Observer. September 8, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Baylor stuns #3 USC, 20–13". Waco Tribune-Herald. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sun Devils burn USC, 24–0". Ventura County Star. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans roll over Beavers". The Columbian. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tollner impressed as Trojans rip Stanford". Daily Times-Advocate. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Irish whip USC, 37–3". The Billings Gazette. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Knight leads Trojans past Cougars, 31–13". The Los Angeles Times. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hicks stars as Bears upset USC". The Peninsula Times Tribune. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sophomore QB directs UW victory drive". The Columbian. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans shock Bruins 17–13". The Sacramento Bee. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans go from sayonara to aloha with win over Oregon". The Los Angeles Times. December 1, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Crimson Tide washes over USC, 24–3". The Honolulu Advertiser. December 29, 1985. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Upsets: UCLA Takes Bosco, and USC Hoists Champaign". Los Angeles Times. September 8, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
^ Reilly, Rick (September 16, 1985). "...And Then They Had To Play". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
^ "Unranked Baylor Tops USC". The Orlando Sentinel. September 21, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
^ UCLA-Southern Cal Box Score. Gainesville Sun. 1985 Nov 24. Pg. 4 °F (−16 °C). Retrieved 2020-Dec-12.
^ "1986 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2019.

[1] "No. 6 Southern Cal stops Illinois". The Charlotte Observer. September 8, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Baylor stuns #3 USC, 20–13". Waco Tribune-Herald. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Sun Devils burn USC, 24–0". Ventura County Star. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Trojans roll over Beavers". The Columbian. October 6, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Tollner impressed as Trojans rip Stanford". Daily Times-Advocate. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Irish whip USC, 37–3". The Billings Gazette. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Knight leads Trojans past Cougars, 31–13". The Los Angeles Times. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Hicks stars as Bears upset USC". The Peninsula Times Tribune. November 10, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Sophomore QB directs UW victory drive". The Columbian. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "Trojans shock Bruins 17–13". The Sacramento Bee. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Trojans go from sayonara to aloha with win over Oregon". The Los Angeles Times. December 1, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "Crimson Tide washes over USC, 24–3". The Honolulu Advertiser. December 29, 1985. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] "Upsets: UCLA Takes Bosco, and USC Hoists Champaign". Los Angeles Times. September 8, 1985. Retrieved January 19, 2020.

[14] Reilly, Rick (September 16, 1985). "...And Then They Had To Play". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

[15] "Unranked Baylor Tops USC". The Orlando Sentinel. September 21, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2022.

[16] UCLA-Southern Cal Box Score. Gainesville Sun. 1985 Nov 24. Pg. 4 °F (−16 °C). Retrieved 2020-Dec-12.

[17] "1986 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2019.

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1	USC	Hank Norman 9-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (Don Shafer kick)	USC 7–0
1	USC	Randy Tanner 46-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (Don Shafer kick)	USC 14–0

2	USC	Don Shafer 46-yard field goal	USC 17–0

3	USC	Don Shafer 23-yard field goal	USC 20–0
3	Illinois	Cap Boso 83-yard pass from Jack Trudeau (Chris White kick)	USC 20–7

4	Illinois	Chris White 28-yard field goal	USC 20–10


1		USC	Hank Norman 9-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (Don Shafer kick)	USC 7–0

2	2:46	Baylor	Tom Muecke 3-yard run (Terry Syler kick)	Tied 7–7
2		Baylor	Terry Syler 39-yard field goal	Baylor 10–7

3	9:49	Baylor	Derrick McAdoo 22-yard pass from Tom Muecke (Terry Syler kick)	Baylor 17–7

4		USC	Randy Tanner 19-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (kick blocked)	Baylor 17–13
4	6:06	Baylor	Terry Syler 32-yard field goal	Baylor 20–13


1	ORE	MacLeod 32-yard field goal	ORE 3-0

1	USC	Knight 2-yard run (Shafer kick)	USC 7-3

2	USC	Shafer 32-yard field goal	USC 10-3

2	USC	Norman 5-yard pass from Peete (Shafer kick)	USC 17-3

3	ORE	MacLeod 36-yard field goal	USC 17-6

4	USC	Shafer 44-yard field goal	USC 20-6

USC Trojans football
Venues	Athletic Park (1895–1898) Fiesta Park (1897–1898, 1901–1902, 1904–1906, 1916) Chutes Park (1900) Prager Park (1903) Bovard Field (1904–1910, 1914–1915, 1917–1923) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame Stanford UCLA: Victory Bell
Culture and lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Tribute to Troy Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game So This Is College
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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National championship seasons in bold