1978 USC Trojans football team

1978 USC Trojans football
1978 USC Trojans football
Coaches Poll national champion; Pac-10 champion; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–10 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	12–1 (6–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	John Robinson (3rd season);
Captain	Lynn Cain; Rich Dimler
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	1	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
No. 14 UCLA	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	1
Washington	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Arizona State	4	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Stanford	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Arizona	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	1
Washington State	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Following the season, the Trojans were crowned national champions according to the Coaches Poll. While Alabama claimed the AP Poll title because it had defeated top-ranked Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, the Trojans felt they deserved the title since they had defeated Alabama and Notre Dame during the regular season, and then Michigan in the Rose Bowl.^[1] Both USC and Alabama ended their seasons with a single loss.

This would be the last national championship won by the Trojans until 2003.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	Texas Tech	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 17–9	50,321	^[2]
September 16	at Oregon	No. 8	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 37–10	31,000	^[3]
September 23	at No. 1 Alabama*	No. 7	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	W 24–14	77,313	^[4]
September 29	Michigan State*	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 30–9	65,319	^[5]
October 14	at Arizona State	No. 2	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 7–20	70,138	^[6]
October 21	Oregon State	No. 7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 38–7	53,734	^[7]
October 28	California	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 42–17	56,954	^[8]
November 4	at Stanford	No. 6	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	W 13–7	84,084	^[9]
November 11	No. 19 Washington	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 28–10	54,071	^[10]
November 18	at No. 14 UCLA	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 17–10	90,387	^[11]
November 25	No. 8 Notre Dame*	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	W 27–25	84,256	^[12]
December 2	at Hawaii*	No. 3	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 21–5	48,767	^[13]
January 1, 1979	vs. No. 5 Michigan*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 17–10	105,629	^[14]^[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game Source: ^[16]

Personnel

1978 USC Trojans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		Marcus Allen
TE		Hoby Brenner
OL		Brad Budde
WR		Ray Butler
RB		Lynn Cain (C)
RB		Paul DiLulo
RB		Dwight Ford
WR		Dan Garcia
WR		Michael Hayes
OL		Pat Howell
TE		James Hunter
QB		Paul McDonald
OL		Anthony Muñoz
OL		Otis Page
OL		Ray Peters
QB		Rob Preston
TE		Vic Rakhshani
QB		Walt Ransom
WR		Calvin Sweeney
OL		Keith Van Horne
RB		Charles White
WR		Kevin Williams

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL		Chip Banks
DB		Larry Braziel
DL		Gary Cobb
DB		Willie Crawford
DL		Rich Dimler (C)
DL		Dennis Edwards
LB		Riki Ellison
DB		Carter Hartwig
LB		Dennis Johnson
DL		Myron Lapka
DB		Tim Lavender
DB		Ronnie Lott
LB		Larry McGrew
LB		Charlie Moses
LB		Eric Scoggins
DB		Dennis Smith
DL		Ty Sperling
DB		Herb Ward

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Frank Jordan
P		Marty King

Head coach

John Robinson

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

1978 Trojans in the NFL

All 22 starters played in the NFL.^[17]

Marcus Allen
Chip Banks
Lynn Cain
Rich Dimler
Ronnie Lott
Anthony Muñoz
Charles White
Brad Budde
Garry Cobb
Larry Braziel
Paul McDonald
Riki Gray
Ray Butler
Steve Busick
Keith Van Horne
Dennis Smith
Allen, Lott, and Muñoz are the only three starters on the team enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

References

^ "USC Claims Title". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. January 2, 1979. p. C7. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "USC booed, then tips Tech". The Columbian. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "White, defense make difference". The Daily Breeze. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC has No. 1 'Bama on the run, 24–14". Los Angeles Times. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans roll past Spartans". The Arizona Republic. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Arizona State shocks USC, 20–7". The Blade-Tribune. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Southern Cal rips Oregon State 38–7". Daily Press. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "McDonald TD passes help USC maul Bears". The Miami Herald. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Did Stanford let USC have game?". The San Francisco Examiner. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC has to win and does". The Los Angeles Times. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC rips UCLA for Roses". The Sacramento Bee. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Jordan provides punch for Irish wake". Ventura County Star & Free Press. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hawaii makes USC sweat before surrndering, 21–5". The Los Angeles Times. December 3, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Mal Florence (January 2, 1979). "USC Wins Rose Bowl but the Replay's a Tie: White Scores (or Did He?) as Trojans Beat Michigan, 17-10". Los Angeles Times. pp. III-1, III-10 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Tom Henderson (January 2, 1979). "Phantom TD helps Southern Cal -- Michigan's Roses wilt again, 17-10". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 5D – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1978 USC Trojans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
^ Sikahema, Vai (March 25, 2011). "Vai's View: What's in a name? Bobby Salazar knows". Deseret News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2019.

[1] "USC Claims Title". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. January 2, 1979. p. C7. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[2] "USC booed, then tips Tech". The Columbian. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "White, defense make difference". The Daily Breeze. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "USC has No. 1 'Bama on the run, 24–14". Los Angeles Times. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Trojans roll past Spartans". The Arizona Republic. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Arizona State shocks USC, 20–7". The Blade-Tribune. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Southern Cal rips Oregon State 38–7". Daily Press. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "McDonald TD passes help USC maul Bears". The Miami Herald. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Did Stanford let USC have game?". The San Francisco Examiner. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "USC has to win and does". The Los Angeles Times. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "USC rips UCLA for Roses". The Sacramento Bee. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "Jordan provides punch for Irish wake". Ventura County Star & Free Press. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] "Hawaii makes USC sweat before surrndering, 21–5". The Los Angeles Times. December 3, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[14] Mal Florence (January 2, 1979). "USC Wins Rose Bowl but the Replay's a Tie: White Scores (or Did He?) as Trojans Beat Michigan, 17-10". Los Angeles Times. pp. III-1, III-10 – via Newspapers.com.

[15] Tom Henderson (January 2, 1979). "Phantom TD helps Southern Cal -- Michigan's Roses wilt again, 17-10". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 5D – via Newspapers.com.

[16] "1978 USC Trojans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

[sikahema20110325-17] Sikahema, Vai (March 25, 2011). "Vai's View: What's in a name? Bobby Salazar knows". Deseret News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

1978 USC Trojans football team

Schedule

Personnel

1978 Trojans in the NFL

References

Portal di Ensiklopedia Dunia