1987 USC Trojans football team

The 1987 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Larry Smith, the Trojans compiled an 8–4 record (7–1 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 321 to 229.^[1]

The Trojans lost their inaugural game of Larry Smith's tenure to Michigan State in the first night game ever played at Spartan Stadium. USC secured a Rose Bowl berth by tying UCLA for the Pacific-10 championship and winning the head-to-head match. They faced Michigan State again, and lost 17–20.

Quarterback Rodney Peete led the team in passing, completing 197 of 332 passes for 2,709 yards with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Steven Webster led the team in rushing with 239 carries for 1,109 yards and six touchdowns. Erik Affholter led the team in receiving yards with 44 catches for 640 yards and four touchdowns.^[2]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	5:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Michigan State*	No. 19	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	L 13–27	77,922
September 19	12:30 p.m.	No. 19 Boston College*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 23–17	46,205
September 26	1:00 p.m.	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA		W 31–14	62,000
October 3	6:30 p.m.	Oregon State		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 48–14	47,979
October 10	1:00 p.m.	at Oregon		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		L 27–34	39,587
October 17	12:30 p.m.	at Washington		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	ABC	W 37–23	71,678
October 24	12:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	CBS	L 15–26	59,075
October 31	1:30 p.m.	Washington State		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 42–7	24,834
November 7	12:30 p.m.	Stanford		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	ABC	W 39–24	58,922
November 14	1:30 p.m.	Arizona		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 12–10	51,428
November 21	12:30 p.m.	No. 5 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	W 17–13	92,516
January 1, 1988	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Michigan State*	No. 16	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 17–20	103,847
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[3]

USC clinched berth in the Rose Bowl with the win.^[4]

1987 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 42 Erik Affholter Jr WR 88 Gene Arrington Jr RB Aaron Emanuel So RB 34 Ricky Ervins Fr TE 86 Scott Galbraith So TE 17 Paul Green Jr OT John Guerrero  Jr RB 39 Leroy Holt So QB 4 Pat O'Hara Fr C 63 Brad Leggett So RB 40 Scott Lockwood Fr QB 16 Rodney Peete Jr G 75 Mark Tucker Fr WR 83 Gary Wellman Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 7 Mark Carrier Fr CB 2 Chris Hale Jr DT 93 Pat Harlow Fr DT 90 Dan Owens So LB 35 Scott Ross Fr DT 99 Tim Ryan So LB 55 Junior Seau Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 11 Quin Rodriguez Fr	Head coach Larry Smith Coordinators/assistant coaches John Matsko Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt