American college football season
The 1972 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season . The Trojans won all 12 of their games and were consensus national champions .
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance September 9 at No. 4 Arkansas * No. 8 W 31–1054,461
September 16 Oregon State No. 1 W 51–656,305
September 23 at Illinois * No. 1 W 55–2061,277
September 30 Michigan State * No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 51–663,934
October 7 at No. 15 Stanford No. 1 W 30–2184,000
October 14 California No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 42–1456,488
October 21 No. 18 Washington No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 34–759,151
October 28 Oregon No. 1 W 18–032,000
November 4 vs. Washington State No. 1 W 44–346,000
November 18 at No. 14 UCLA No. 1 W 24–782,929
December 2 No. 10 Notre Dame * No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry ) W 45–2375,243
January 1, 1973 vs. No. 3 Ohio State * No. 1 W 42–17106,869
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Roster
1972 USC Trojans football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Source: [1] [2]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final AP 8 1 (13) 1 (28) 1 (28) 1 (36) 1 (34) 1(28) 1 (44) 1 (41) 1 (40) 1 (42) 1 (44) 1 (46) 1 (50) 1 (50) Coaches 8 2 (11) 1 (14) 1 (20) 1 (22) 1 (21) 1 (22) 1 (32) 1 (31) 1 (27) 1 (31) 1 (31) 1 (31) 1 (35) Not released
Game summaries
At No. 4 Arkansas
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 8 Trojans
0
3 14 14
31
No. 4 Razorbacks
3
0 0 7
10
Tailback Rod McNeill , who sat out the previous year with a hip injury, led the Trojans with 117 yards on 28 carries while Mike Rae , a backup for two seasons, completed 18 of 24 passes for 269 yards and in the second half completed nine straight passes at one point in his first start.[3]
Oregon State
1
2 3 4 Total
Beavers
0
6 0 0
6
• No. 1 Trojans
7
13 17 14
51
[4]
Anthony Davis 25 rushes, 206 yards [5]
At Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Trojans
7
13 15 20
55
Fighting Illini
7
7 6 0
20
[6] [7]
Michigan State
1
2 3 4 Total
Spartans
0
6 0 0
6
• No. 1 Trojans
14
7 3 27
51
[8]
At No. 15 Stanford
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Trojans
13
7 3 7
30
No. 15 Cardinals
10
3 0 8
21
[9]
California
1
2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears
0
0 7 7
14
• No. 1 Trojans
14
7 14 7
42
[10]
No. 18 Washington
1
2 3 4 Total
Huskies
0
0 0 7
7
• No. 1 Trojans
7
13 14 0
34
[11]
Oregon
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Trojans
0
0 12 6
18
Webfoots
0
0 0 0
0
On a very rainy and cold day, the Trojans were held to their lowest score of the season.
[12] [13] [14]
Washington State
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Trojans
3
14 7 20
44
Cougars
3
0 0 0
3
[15]
At No. 14 UCLA
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Trojans
10
7 7 0
24
No. 14 Bruins
7
0 0 0
7
Anthony Davis 25 Rush, 178 Yds
[16]
No. 10 Notre Dame
1
2 3 4 Total
No. 10 Fighting Irish
3
7 13 0
23
• No. 1 Trojans
19
0 13 13
45
[17]
Vs. No. 3 Ohio State (Rose Bowl)
1
2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Buckeyes
0
7 3 7
17
• No. 1 Trojans
7
0 21 14
42
[18]
NFL Draft
Ten Trojans were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft , with three in the first round.
References
^ "Starting lineups" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). October 28, 1972. p. 1B.
^ "TV bowl rosters: Rose Bowl" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . January 1, 1973. p. 62.
^ "U.S.C. Turns Back Arkansas, 31-10" . The New York Times . September 10, 1972. Retrieved August 20, 2022 .
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Sept 17.
^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
^ "USC Buries Illinois." 1972 Sept 24.
^ "Trojans Rip Illinois." Palm Beach Post. 1972 Sept 24.
^ "Top-rated Trojans blitz Sparts, 51–6." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 1.
^ "USC gets revenge as Cards halted." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 8.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 15.
^ "Trojans overpower Washington by 34-7." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 22.
^ Cawood, Neil (October 29, 1972). "Ducks, Fouts kayoed by Trojans" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1C.
^ "Davis leads Southern Cal past Oregon" . Pittsburgh Press . UPI. October 29, 1972. p. D-8.
^ "Ducks stubborn, but finally fall" . The Bulletin . (Bend, Oregon). UPI. October 30, 1972. p. 9.
^ "Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search" .
^ "Trojans roll past Bruins, 24-7." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Nov 19.
^ "Davis' spree leads USC to 45-23 rout." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Dec 3.
^ "It's 'bring on Miami' after USC wins easily." Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Jan 2.
External links
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 1960s
1960 : Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF ) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
1961 : Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
1962 : USC
1963 : Texas
1964 : Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
1965 : Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1966 : Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
1967 : USC
1968 : Ohio State
1969 : Texas
1970s 1980–1991
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10 Pac-12 National championships in bold