American college football season
1976 USC Trojans football Conference Pacific-8 Conference Coaches No. 2 AP No. 2 1976 record 11–1 (7–0 Pac-8) Head coach Captain Ricky Bell Vince Evans Eric WilliamsHome stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 94,500, grass)Seasons
1976 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 2 USC $
7
–
0
–
0
11
–
1
–
0
No. 15 UCLA
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
Rankings from AP Poll
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
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 11 Missouri * No. 8 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA L 25–4649,535
September 18 at Oregon W 53–040,600
September 25 at Purdue * No. 19 W 31–1365,425
October 2 Iowa * No. 13 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 55–055,518
October 9 at Washington State No. 11 W 23–1437,268
October 23 Oregon State No. 7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 56–053,216
October 30 California No. 4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 20–660,323
November 6 at Stanford No. 4 Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry )W 48–2476,500
November 13 Washington No. 3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 20–349,264
November 20 vs. No. 2 UCLA No. 3 ABC W 24–1490,519
November 27 No. 13 Notre Dame * No. 3 ABC W 17–1376,561
January 1, 1977 vs. No. 2 Michigan * No. 3 NBC W 14–6106,182
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Roster [ ]
1976 USC Trojans football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
RB
42
Ricky Bell
Sr
OL
Gary Bethel
OL
Brad Budde
RB
21
Lynn Cain
Jr
WR
26
Shelton Diggs
Sr
QB
8
Vince Evans
Sr
RB
Dave Farmer
TE
86
William Gay
Jr
QB
6
Rob Hertel
Jr
OG
61
Donnie Hickman
Sr
RB
Kurt Hollmer
OG
66
Pat Howell
So
RB
Vic Jackson
QB
Paul McDonald
TE
Jim Obradovich
OL
Otis Page
OL
Marvin Powell
WR
Ken Randle
WR
Mike Robinson
WR
Randy Simmrin
RB
Bernard Tarver
RB
Mosi Tatupu
RB
12
Charles White
Fr
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
CB
44
Mike Burns
Sr
DB
Ron Bush
LB
58
Mario Celotto
Jr
LB
85
Garry Cobb
So
DT
92
Rich Dimler
So
DL
Ed Gutierrez
DB
Carter Hartwig
DT
79
Gary Jeter
Sr
DT
96
Myron Lapka
So
LB
57
David Lewis
Sr
LB
52
Rod Martin
Sr
LB
60
Clay Matthews
Jr
DB
Ricky Odom
DL
Harold Steele
DB
Clint Strozier
DB
Dennis Thurman
DL
Walt Underwood
DL
Vinny Van Dyke
DL
Eric Williams
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster Last update: 2021-Jan-04
Game summaries [ ]
Missouri [ ]
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at Oregon [ ]
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at Purdue [ ]
#19 USC Trojans (1–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–1)
1
2
3 4 Total
USC
7
0
14 10 31
Purdue
7
0
6 0 13
at Ross–Ade Stadium , West Lafayette, Indiana
Date : September 25Game attendance : 65,425[4] [5]
Game information
First quarter
USC – Mosi Tatupu 1-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive:
PUR – Scott Dierking 2-yard run (Turner kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:
Second quarter
Third quarter
USC – Ricky Bell 5-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 14–7. Drive:
USC – Simmrin 4-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick). USC 21–7. Drive:
PUR – Skibinski 1-yard run (kick failed). USC 21–13. Drive:
Fourth quarter
USC – Mosi Tatupu 27-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 28–13. Drive:
USC – Glen Walker 44-yard field goal. USC 31–13. Drive:
Top passers
USC – Vince Evans – 168 yards, TD
PUR
Top rushers
USC – Ricky Bell – 37 rushes, 177 yards, TD
PUR
Top receivers
Iowa [ ]
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at Washington State [ ]
#11 USC Trojans (3–1) at Washington State Cougars (1–3)
1
2
3 4 Total
USC
0
14
0 9 23
Washington State
0
7
0 7 14
at Kingdome , Seattle, Washington
Date : October 9Game weather : Indoors (dome)Game attendance : 37,268[6]
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
USC – Ricky Bell 1-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive:
USC – Shelton Diggs 55-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick, 6:23. USC 14–0. Drive:
WSU – Harold Gillum 4-yard run (Chuck Diedrick kick). USC 14–7. Drive:
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
WSU – Brian Kelly 23-yard pass from Jack Thompson (Chuck Diedrick kick). Tie 14–14. Drive:
USC – Glen Walker 26-yard field goal, 9:26. USC 17–14. Drive:
USC – Ricky Bell 9-yard run (kick failed). USC 23–14. Drive:
Top passers
USC
WSU – Jack Thompson – 26/48, 341 yards, TD
Top rushers
USC – Ricky Bell – 51 rushes, 346 yards, 2 TD
WSU
Top receivers
Oregon State [ ]
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California [ ]
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at Stanford [ ]
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Washington [ ]
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vs. UCLA [ ]
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Notre Dame [ ]
#13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8–2) at #3 USC Trojans (9–1)
1
2
3 4 Total
Notre Dame
0
0
0 13 13
USC
0
7
7 3 17
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los Angeles, California
Date : November 27Game attendance : 76,561TV : ABCRecap/Box
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
USC – Randy Simmrin 63-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick), 13:30. USC 14–0. Drive:
Fourth quarter
ND – Vagas Ferguson 17-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick), 14:06. USC 14–7. Drive: 4 plays, 68 yards.
USC – Glen Walker 46-yard field goal. USC 17–7. Drive:
ND – Rusty Lisch 1-yard run (two-point conversion failed). USC 17–13. Drive: 76 yards.
Top passers
ND
USC – Vince Evans – 6/14, 106 yards, TD
Top rushers
ND
USC – Ricky Bell – 21 rushes, 75 yards
Top receivers
ND
USC – Randy Simmrin – 6 receptions, 121 yards, TD
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.
[7]
Rose Bowl (vs Michigan) [ ]
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References [ ]
External links [ ]
Venues
Athletic Park (1895–98)
Fiesta Park (1897–98, 1902, 1904–06, 1916)
Chutes Park (1900)
Prager Park (1903)
Bovard Field (1904–10, 1914–15, 1917–22)
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present)
Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)
Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10
USC (1978)
USC (1979)
Washington (1980)
Washington (1981)
UCLA (1982)
UCLA (1983)
USC (1984)
UCLA (1985)
Arizona State (1986)
USC & UCLA (1987)
USC (1988)
USC (1989)
Washington (1990)
Washington (1991)
Washington & Stanford (1992)
Arizona , UCLA , & USC (1993)
Oregon (1994)
USC & Washington (1995)
Arizona State (1996)
UCLA & Washington State (1997)
UCLA (1998)
Stanford (1999)
Oregon , Oregon State , & Washington (2000)
Oregon (2001)
USC & Washington State (2002)
USC (2003)
USC (2004) vacated
USC (2005) vacated
California & USC (2006)
Arizona State & USC (2007)
USC (2008)
Oregon (2009)
Oregon (2010)
Pac-12 National championships in bold