American college football season
1981 USC Trojans football Conference Pacific-10 Conference Coaches No. 13 AP No. 14 1981 record 9–3 (5–2 Pac-10) Head coach Defensive coordinator R. C. Slocum (1st season)Captain Marcus Allen Chip BanksHome stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,604, grass)Seasons
The 1981 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season . In their sixth year under head coach John Robinson , the Trojans compiled a 9–3 record (5–2 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for second place in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 284 to 170.[1]
Quarterback John Mazur led the team in passing, completing 93 of 194 passes for 1,128 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Marcus Allen led the team in rushing with 433 carries for 2,427 yards and 22 touchdowns. Jeff Simmons led the team in receiving yards with 28 catches for 543 yards and one touchdown.[2] Allen became the first player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards in one season. He also gained a total of 2,683 offensive yards, led the nation in scoring, and won the Heisman Trophy , the Maxwell Award , and Walter Camp Award and was also the Pac-10 player of the year .
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 12 Tennessee * No. 5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 43–762,147
September 19 at Indiana * No. 2 Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN ONTV W 21–051,167
September 26 No. 2 Oklahoma * No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA ABC W 28–2485,651
October 3 at Oregon State No. 1 Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR W 56–2233,000
October 10 Arizona No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA L 10–1356,315
October 17 Stanford No. 7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry ) W 25–1776,291
October 24 at Notre Dame * No. 5 W 14–759,075
October 31 No. 14 Washington State No. 4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 41–1760,972
November 7 at California No. 3 California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 21–374,000
November 14 at Washington No. 3 L 3–1347,347
November 21 No. 15 UCLA No. 10 ABC W 22–2189,432
January 1, 1982 vs. No. 7 Penn State * No. 8 NBC L 10–2671,053
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Personnel [ ]
1981 USC Trojans football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
RB
33
Marcus Allen
Sr
WR
Brad Anderson
TE
Mark Boyer
TE
Fred Cornwell
RB
Fred Crutcher
OG
64
Roy Foster
Sr
RB
Anthony Gibson
RB
John Kamana
RB
Zephrini Lee
C
66
Bruce Matthews
Jr
QB
11
John Mazur
So
RB
Bob McClanahan
WR
22
Malcolm Moore
So
OT
72
Don Mosebar
Jr
QB
7
Sean Salisbury
Fr
WR
29
Jeff Simmons
Jr
OL
Tony Slaton
RB
Todd Spencer
OL
93
Kelly Thomas
Jr
QB
15
Scott Tinsley
Jr
WR
Timmie Ware
WR
Timmy White
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
MG
George Achica
LB
51
Chip Banks
Sr
LB
Jeff Brown
S
47
Joey Browner
Jr
DL
Keith Browner
LB
87
August Curley
Jr
DT
94
Byron Darby
Jr
LB
52
Jack Del Rio
Fr
DL
Dennis Edwards
DL
John Harvey
LB
Neil Hope
LB
Tim Sullivan
DB
Joe Turner
DL
Charles Ussery
DB
Troy West
DB
Marv Williams
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
5
Steve Jordan
Fr
K
Scott Livingston
P
Dave Pryor
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Game summaries [ ]
Tennessee [ ]
Tennessee at #5 USC
1
2 3 4 Total
Volunteers
0
0 7 0
7
• No. 5 Trojans
6
20 10 7
43
Date: September 12Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los AngelesGame attendance: 62,147
Scoring summary 1 USC Allen 9-yard run (kick failed)USC 6–0
2 USC White 50-yard pass from Mazur (run failed) USC 12–0
2 USC Allen 12-yard run (Livingston kick) USC 19–0
2 USC Allen 4-yard run (Livingston kick) USC 26–0
3 USC Allen 55-yard run (Livingston kick) USC 33–0
3 USC Livingston 47-yard field goal USC 36–0
3 TEN Morris 1-yard pass from Cockrell (Reveiz kick) USC 36–7
4 USC Boyer 3-yard pass from Salisbury (Jordan kick)USC 43–7
Marcus Allen 22 Rush, 210 Yds, 4 TD (sat out most of second half)[3]
Indiana [ ]
Marcus Allen 40 rushes, 274 yards [4]
Oklahoma [ ]
#2 Oklahoma at #1 USC
1
2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Sooners
7
10 0 7
24
• No. 1 Trojans
7
7 0 14
28
Date: September 26Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los AngelesGame attendance: 85,651TV announcers (ABC ): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
[5]
Marcus Allen 39 rushes, 208 yards [6]
Oregon State [ ]
Marcus Allen 35 rushes, 233 yards [7]
Washington State [ ]
Marcus Allen 44 rushes, 289 yards [8]
California [ ]
Marcus Allen 46 rushes, 243 yards [9]
UCLA [ ]
#15 UCLA Bruins (7–2–1) vs #10 USC Trojans (8–2)
1
2
3 4 Total
UCLA
7
11
3 0 21
USC
3
9
0 10 22
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , Los Angeles, California
Date : November 21Game attendance : 89,432TV announcers (ABC ) : Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles [10]
Game information
First quarter
USC – Steve Jordan 38-yard field goal. USC 3–0.
UCLA – Kevin Nelson 11-yard run (Norm Johnson kick). UCLA 7–3.
Second quarter
USC – Steve Jordan 44-yard field goal. UCLA 7–6.
USC – Marcus Allen 7-yard run (pass failed). USC 12–7.
UCLA – Ricky Coffman 23-yard pass from Tom Ramsey (pass good). UCLA 15–12.
UCLA – Norm Johnson 32-yard field goal. UCLA 18–12.
Third quarter
UCLA – Norm Johnson 28-yard field goal. UCLA 21–12.
Fourth quarter
USC – Steve Jordan 22-yard field goal. UCLA 21–15.
USC – Marcus Allen 5-yard run (Steve Jordan kick), 2:14. USC 22–21.
Top passers
Top rushers
UCLA – Kevin Nelson – 26 rushes, 79 yards, TD
USC – Marcus Allen – 40 rushes, 219 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
George Achica blocked Norm Johnson 's game-winning 46-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds to preserve the USC victory.
vs. Penn State (Fiesta Bowl) [ ]
#7 Penn State vs. #8 USC
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 7 Nittany Lions
7
10 9 0
26
No. 8 Trojans
7
0 3 0
10
Date: January 1, 1982Location: Sun Devil Stadium , Tempe, Arizona Game attendance: 71,053TV announcers (NBC Sports ): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
Awards and honors [ ]
1981 Team Players in the NFL [ ]
References [ ]
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold