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 twelve of their games, outscored their opponents 467–134, and were consensus national champions .
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 , 1973 vs. No. 3 Ohio State * No. 1 W 42–17106,869 *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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] 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
1 2 3 4 Total • No. 8 Trojans 0 3 14 14 31 No. 4 Razorbacks 3 0 0 7 10
Scoring summary 1 ARK Bolton 27-yard field goal ARK 3–0 2 USC Rae 26-yard field goalTie 3–3 3 USC Rae 5-yard run (Rae kick) USC 10–3 USC McNeill 18-yard run (Rae kick)USC 17–3 4 USC McNeill 3-yard run (Rae kick) USC 24–3 ARK Richardson 1-yard run (Bolton kick) USC 24–10 USC Cunningham 18-yard run (Rae kick)USC 31–10
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]
1 2 3 4 Total Beavers 0 6 0 0 6 • No. 1 Trojans 7 13 17 14 51
Scoring summary Q1 11:20 USC McNeill 14-yard run (Rae kick) USC 7–0 Q2 14:37 USC McNeill 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14–0 Q2 9:40 ORST Morris 10-yard run (kick failed) USC 14–6 Q2 7:35 USC McNeill 5-yard run (kick failed) USC 20–6 Q3 8:48 USC Rae 20-yard field goal USC 23–6 Q3 3:11 USC Young 37-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) USC 30–6 Q3 1:32 USC McKay 3-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) USC 37–6 Q4 4:19 USC Haden 10-yard run (Rae kick) USC 44–6 Q4 :55 USC Washmara 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 51–6
[ 4]
Anthony Davis 25 rushes, 206 yards [ 5]
1 2 3 4 Total • No. 1 Trojans 7 13 15 20 55 Fighting Illini 7 7 6 0 20
Scoring summary Q1 4:26 ILL Hayes 5-yard run (Rucks kick) ILL 7–0 Q1 USC Garrison 58-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 ILL Uremovich 5-yard run (Rucks kick) ILL 14–7 Q2 USC Davis 2-yard run (Rae kick) Tie 14–14 Q2 :21 USC McKay 31-yard pass from Rae (kick failed) USC 20–14 Q3 USC Davis 2-yard run (McKay pass from Davis) USC 28–14 Q3 ILL Hayes 1-yard run (run failed) USC 28–20 Q3 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 35–20 Q4 USC Sims 35-yard blocked punt return (Rae kick) USC 42–20 Q4 USC McKay 6-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 49–20 Q4 USC Carter 1-yard run (kick failed) USC 55–20
[ 6] [ 7]
1 2 3 4 Total Spartans 0 6 0 0 6 • No. 1 Trojans 14 7 3 27 51
Scoring summary 1 USC Swann 92-yard punt return (Rae kick)USC 7–0 USC McNeill 8-yard run (Rae kick)USC 14–0 2 USC McKay 9-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick)USC 21–0 MSU Werner 1-yard run (pass failed) USC 21–6 3 USC Rae 20-yard field goal USC 24–6 4 USC Wood 25-yard interception return (Rae kick)USC 31–6 USC Moore 9-yard pass from Haden (kick failed) USC 37–6 USC Carter 21-yard run (Limahelu kick) USC 44–6 USC Swann 30-yard pass from Haden (Limahelu kick) USC 51–6
[ 8]
1 2 3 4 Total • No. 1 Trojans 13 7 3 7 30 No. 15 Cardinals 10 3 0 8 21
Scoring summary Q1 STAN J. Ferguson recovered fumble in end zone (Garcia kick) STAN 7–0 Q1 USC Davis 8-yard run (Rae kick) Tie 7–7 Q1 STAN Garcia 49-yard field goal STAN 10–7 Q1 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (kick failed) USC 13–10 Q2 STAN Garcia 35-yard field goal Tie 13–13 Q2 USC Davis 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 20–13 Q3 USC Rae 37-yard field goal USC 23–13 Q4 5:40 USC Swann 4-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 30–13 Q4 STAN Cross 30-yard pass from Boryla (Stone pass from Boryla) USC 30–21
[ 9]
1 2 3 4 Total Golden Bears 0 0 7 7 14 • No. 1 Trojans 14 7 14 7 42
Scoring summary 1 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 7-0 1 USC Rae 10-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14-0 2 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 21-0 3 CAL Schmidt 3-yard pass from Cruze (Wersching kick) USC 21-7 3 USC Rae 8-yard run (Rae kick) USC 28-7 3 USC Young 40-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 35-7 4 USC Young 9-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 42-7 4 CAL Youngblood 1-yard run (Wersching kick) USC 42-14
[ 10]
1 2 3 4 Total Huskies 0 0 0 7 7 • No. 1 Trojans 7 13 14 0 34
Scoring summary Q1 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 7–0 Q2 USC Davis 44-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14–0 Q2 USC Rae 22-yard field goal USC 17–0 Q2 USC Rae 26-yard field goal USC 20–0 Q3 USC Davis 14-yard run (Rae kick) USC 27–0 Q3 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 34–0 Q4 WASH Fitzpatrick 10-yard run (Wiezbowski kick) USC 34–7
[ 11]
1 2 3 4 Total • No. 1 Trojans 0 0 12 6 18 Webfoots 0 0 0 0 0
Scoring summary Q3 6:06 USC Davis 48-yard run USC 6–0 Q3 3:58 USC Davis 55-yard run USC 12–0 Q4 5:45 USC Cunningham 2-yard run USC 18–0
On a very rainy and cold day, the Trojans were held to their lowest score of the season.
[ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
1 2 3 4 Total • No. 1 Trojans 3 14 7 20 44 Cougars 3 0 0 0 3
Scoring summary 1 USC Rae 23-yard field goal USC 3-0 1 WSU Danelo 50-yard field goal Tied 3-3 2 USC Rae 11-yard run (Rae kick) USC 10-3 2 USC Davis 3-yard run (Rae kick) USC 17-3 3 USC Davis 6-yard run (Rae kick) USC 24-3 4 USC Davis 14-yard run (Rae kick) USC 31-3 4 USC Moore 1-yard run (kick failed) USC 37-3 4 USC Powell 21-yard interception return (Rae kick) USC 44-3
[ 15]
1 2 3 4 Total • No. 1 Trojans 10 7 7 0 24 No. 14 Bruins 7 0 0 0 7
Scoring summary 1 USC Rae 32-yard field goal USC 3–0 USC Davis 23-yard run (Rae kick) USC 10–0 UCLA McAlister 2-yard run (Herrera kick) USC 10–7 2 USC McNeill 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 17–7 3 USC Rae 7-yard run (Rae kick) USC 24–7
Anthony Davis 25 Rush, 178 Yds
[ 16]
1 2 3 4 Total No. 10 Fighting Irish 3 7 13 0 23 • No. 1 Trojans 19 0 13 13 45
Scoring summary 1 USC Davis 97-yard kickoff return (kick failed) USC 6-0 ND Thomas 45-yard field goal USC 6-3 USC Davis 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 13-3 USC Davis 5-yard run (kick failed) USC 19-3 2 ND W. Townsend 5-yard pass from Clements (Thomas kick) USC 19-10 3 USC Davis 4-yard run (run failed) USC 25-10 ND Diminick 11-yard pass from Clements (Thomas kick) USC 25-17 ND Creaney 10-yard pass from Clements (pass failed) USC 25-23 4 USC Davis 96-yard kickoff return (Rae kick) USC 32-23 USC Davis 8-yard run (Rae kick) USC 39-23 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (kick failed) USC 45-23
[ 17]
Vs. No. 3 Ohio State (Rose Bowl)[ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total No. 3 Buckeyes 0 7 3 7 17 • No. 1 Trojans 7 0 21 14 42
Scoring summary 1 USC Swann 10-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) USC 7–0 2 OHST Keith 1-yard run (Conway kick) Tie 7–7 3 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14–7 OHST Conway 21-yard field goal USC 14–10 USC Davis 20-yard run (Rae kick) USC 21–10 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 28–10 Q4 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 35–10 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 42–10 OHST Bledsoe 5-yard run (Conway kick) USC 42–17
[ 18]
Ten Trojans were selected in the 1973 NFL draft , with three in the first round.
^ "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.
Venues Bowls and rivalries Culture and 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