1968 USC Trojans football team

The 1968 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their ninth year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 9–1–1 record (6–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 259 to 168.[1] The team was ranked #2 in the final Coaches Poll and #4 in the final AP Poll.

1968 USC Trojans football
Pac-8 champion
Rose Bowl, L 16–27 vs. Ohio State
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 4
Record9–1–1 (6–0 Pac-8)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 94,500, grass)
1968 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 USC $ 6 –0 –09 –1 –1
No. 15 Oregon State 5 –1 –07 –3 –0
Stanford 3 –3 –16 –3 –1
California 2 –2 –17 –3 –1
Oregon 2 –4 –04 –6 –0
UCLA 2 –4 –03 –7 –0
Washington State 1 –3 –13 –6 –1
Washington 1 –5 –13 –5 –2
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Steve Sogge led the team in passing, completing 122 of 207 passes for 1,454 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. O. J. Simpson led the team in rushing with 383 carries for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns. Jim Lawrence led the team in receiving with 26 catches for 386 yards and two touchdowns.[2] Simpson won both the Heisman Trophy and the Walter Camp Award.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 21at No. 16 Minnesota*No. 2
W 29–2060,820
September 28at Northwestern*No. 3
W 24–747,277
October 5No. 13 Miami (FL)*No. 2
W 28–371,189
October 12at No. 18 StanfordNo. 2
W 27–2481,000
October 19WashingtonNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 14–760,990
November 2at OregonNo. 1
W 20–1333,500
November 9No. 11 CaliforniadaggerNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 35–1780,871
November 16No. 13 Oregon StateNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 17–1359,236
November 23at UCLANo. 1
W 28–1675,066
November 30No. 9 Notre Dame*No. 2
T 21–2182,659
January 1, 1969vs. No. 1 Ohio State*No. 2
L 16–27102,063
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1968 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 9 Bob Chandler So
QB 7 Mike Holmgren Jr
TE 84 Bob Klein Sr
WR 28 Jim Lawrence Sr
TE 86 Bob Miller Sr
OT 78 Marv Montgomery Jr
QB 6 Steve Sogge Sr
RB 32 O. J. Simpson Sr
OT 77 Sid Smith Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
FS 17 Mike Battle Sr
DT 72 Al Cowlings Jr
CB 16 Sandy Durko Jr
DE 83 Jimmy Gunn Jr
DE 85 Bill Hayhoe Sr
LB 55 Jim Snow Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt
Source:[3][4][5]

Rankings
Main article: 1968 NCAA University Division football rankings

Game summaries

Minnesota
  • OJ Simpson 39 rushes, 236 yards [6]

Miami (FL)
See also: 1968 Miami Hurricanes football team

Stanford
  • O.J. Simpson 47 rushes, 220 yards [7]

Oregon State
  • O.J. Simpson 47 rushes, 238 yards [8]

Notre Dame
See also: 1968 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Notre Dame–USC football rivalry

[9]

Vs. Ohio State (Rose Bowl)
Main article: 1969 Rose Bowl
See also: 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 USC
1 234Total
• No. 1 Buckeyes 0 10314 27
No. 2 Trojans 0 1006 16
Scoring summary
29:40USCAyala 21-yard field goalUSC 3–0
26:38USCSimpson 80-yard run (Ayala kick)USC 10–0
21:45OSUOtis 1-yard run (Roman kick)USC 10–7
20:03OSURoman 26-yard field goalTie 10–10
31:40OSURoman 25-yard field goalOSU 13–10
413:52OSUHayden 4-yard pass from Kern (Roman kick)OSU 20–10
410:05OSUGillian 16-yard pass from Kern (Roman kick)OSU 27–10
40:45USCDickerson 19-yard pass from Sogge (pass failed)OSU 27–16

Awards and honors

1969 NFL/AFL Draft

Eight Trojans were selected in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft, held in late January.

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
O. J. SimpsonRunning back11Buffalo Bills
Bob KleinTight end121Los Angeles Rams
Bill HayhoeDefensive tackle5116Green Bay Packers
Bob MillerTackle6138New Orleans Saints
Jim LawrenceBack8189New Orleans Saints
Jack O’MalleyTackle12302San Francisco 49ers
Mike BattleDefensive back12311New York Jets
Wilson BowieRunning back13320Detroit Lions
Source:[11]

References
  1. "Southern California Yearly Results (1965-1969)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. "1968 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. "Probable lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 1, 1968. p. 3B.
  4. "Football statistics". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 3, 1968. p. 2B.
  5. "TV rosters: Rose Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1969. p. 52.
  6. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  7. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  8. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  9. Jenkins, Dan (December 9, 1968). "THE DAY THEY TIED UP O.J." Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  10. "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  11. "1969 NFL Draft". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
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