American college football season
The 1970 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season . In their 11th year under head coach John McKay , the Trojans compiled a 6–4–1 record (3–4 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 343 to 233.[ 1] The team was ranked #15 in the final AP Poll and #19 in the final Coaches Poll.
On September 12, 1970, USC opened the season visiting the University of Alabama under coach Bear Bryant and became the first fully integrated team to play in the State of Alabama .[ 2] The game, scheduled by Bryant, resulted in a 42–21 win for the Trojans. More importantly, all six touchdowns scored by USC team were by African-American players, two by USC running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham , against an all-white Crimson Tide team.[ 3] The game hastened the racial integration of football at Alabama and in the American South .[ 2] [ 4]
Jimmy Jones led the team in passing, completing 121 of 234 passes for 1,877 yards with 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Clarence Davis led the team in rushing with 214 carries for 972 yards and nine touchdowns. Bob Chandler led the team in receiving with 41 catches for 590 yards and three touchdowns.[ 5]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 12 vs. No. 16 Alabama * No. 3 W 42–2172,175 [ 6] [ 7] September 19 No. 9 Nebraska * No. 3 T 21–2173,768 September 26 at Iowa * No. 7 W 48–056,131 October 3 Oregon State No. 5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 45–1357,769 October 10 at No. 12 Stanford No. 4 L 14–2486,000 October 17 Washington No. 11 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 28–2556,166 October 24 at Oregon No. 10 L 7–1034,000 October 31 California No. 18 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA L 10–1354,750 November 7 vs. Washington State W 70–3314,500 November, 21 at UCLA L 20–4578,773 November, 28 No. 4 Notre Dame * Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry ) W 38–2864,694 *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1970 USC Trojans football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Ron Ayala
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
1 2 3 4 Total • USC 12 10 10 10 42 Alabama 0 7 6 8 21
Scoring summary 1 USC Cunningham 22-yard run (kick failed) USC 6-0 1 USC Cunningham 4-yard run (pass failed) USC 12-0 2 USC Ayala 32-yard field goal USC 15-0 2 ALA Musso 1-yard run (Clemny kick) USC 15-7 2 USC Evans 7-yard run (Ayala kick) USC 22-7 3 USC Davis 23-yard pass from Jones (Ayala kick) USC 29-7 3 USC Ayala 25-yard field goal USC 32-7 3 ALA Bailey 6-yard pass from Hayden (kick failed) USC 32-13 4 USC Ayala 27-yard field goal USC 35-13 4 USC Holland 6-yard pass from Rae (Ayala kick) USC 42-13 4 ALA Musso 1-yard run (Hunter to Ceav pass) USC 42-21
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1 2 3 4 Total • USC 7 27 14 0 48 Iowa 0 0 0 0 0
Scoring summary 1 USC Jones 1-yard run (Ayala kick) USC 7-0 2 USC Davis 3-yard run (Ayala kick) USC 14-0 2 USC Jones 8-yard run (kick failed) USC 20-0 2 USC Chandler 9-yard pass from Jones (Dickerson pass from Jones) USC 28-0 2 USC Rae 4-yard run (run failed) USC 34-0 3 USC Harris 1-yard run (Ayala kick) USC 41-0 3 USC McNeill 4-yard run (Ayala kick) USC 48-0
[ 8]
Jimmy Jones 15/21, 304 Yds, 3 TD, rush TD
[ 9]
1 2 3 4 Total Notre Dame 7 7 7 7 28 • USC 21 3 14 0 38
Scoring summary 1 ND Theismann 25-yard run (Hempel kick) ND 7-0 1 USC Davis 3-yard run (Ayala kick) Tied 7-7 1 USC Davis 5-yard run (kick failed) USC 13-7 1 USC Dickerson 45-yard pass from Jones (Jones to Chandler pass) USC 21-7 2 ND Cieszkowski 9-yard pass from Theismann (Hempel kick) USC 21-14 2 USC Ayala 19-yard field goal USC 24-14 3 USC Adams recovered fumble in end zone (Ayala kick) USC 31-14 3 USC Vella recovered fumble in end zone (Ayala kick) USC 38-14 3 ND Parker 46-yard pass from Theismann (Hempel kick) USC 38-21 4 ND Theismann 1-yard run (Hempel kick) USC 38-28
[ 10]
1970 team players in the NFL [ edit ] The following players were claimed in the 1971 NFL draft .
[ 11]
^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1970-1974)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015 . ^ a b Yaeger, Don; Sam Cunningham; John Papadakis (September 1, 2006). Turning of the Tide: How One Game Changed the South . Center Street . ISBN 1-931722-94-3 . ^ Robbins, Lenn (August 26, 2007). "Trojans Have Horses" . New York Post . Retrieved August 26, 2007 . ^ Forde, Pat (August 28, 2007). "The Dash Is Off and Running" . ESPN . Retrieved August 28, 2007 . ^ "1970 Southern California Trojans Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015 . ^ Land, Charles (September 13, 1970). "Tough Trojans top Tide, 42–21" . The Tuscaloosa News . p. 1. Retrieved January 20, 2014 . ^ Thomas, Ronnie (September 13, 1970). "Tide drubbed 42–21 by USC" . The Florence Times . p. 17. Retrieved January 20, 2014 . ^ "Trojans Roll Past Iowa". The Register-Guard . Eugene, Oregon. September 27, 1970. ^ "Jimmy Jones quiets critics by passing USC past OSU". The Register-Guard . Eugene, Oregon. October 4, 1970. ^ "Trojans Down Irish by 38-28". The Register-Guard . Eugene. November 29, 1970. ^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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