1974 USC Trojans football team

The 1974 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pacific-8 Conference during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. In their 15th year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 10–1–1 record (6–0–1 in Pac-8, first)), and outscored their opponents 363 to 142.[1] The team was ranked #1 in the final UPI Coaches Poll and #2 in the final AP Poll due to Oklahoma being on probation from the Coaches’ Poll.

1974 USC Trojans football
Coaches' Poll national champion
Pac-8 champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 18–17 vs. Ohio State
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 2
Record10–1–1 (6–0–1 Pac-8)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1973
1975 →
1974 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 USC $ 6 0 1 10 1 1
Stanford 5 1 1 5 4 2
California 4 2 1 7 3 1
UCLA 4 2 1 6 3 2
Washington 3 4 0 5 6 0
Oregon State 3 4 0 3 8 0
Washington State 1 6 0 2 9 0
Oregon 0 7 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Quarterback Pat Haden led the team in passing, completing 70 of 149 passes for 988 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Anthony Davis led the team in rushing with 301 carries for 1,421 yards and 13 touchdowns. J.K. McKay led the team in receiving with 34 catches for 550 yards and eight touchdowns.[2] Vince Evans backed up Haden. Allen Carter backed up Davis. The fullbacks were Ricky Bell, Dave Farmer and Mosi Tatupu. The starting flanker, Shelton Diggs, caught the two point conversion that lifted USC over Ohio State in the January 1975 Rose Bowl.

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 14vs. No. 20 Arkansas*No. 5L 7–2254,622
September 28at No. 8 Pittsburgh*No. 18W 16–752,934
October 5Iowa*No. 9W 41–352,095
October 12vs. Washington StateNo. 7W 54–732,000
October 19at OregonNo. 6W 16–732,500
October 26Oregon State No. 6
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 35–1052,392
November 2CaliforniaNo. 6
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
T 15–1553,921
November 9at StanfordNo. 11W 35–1083,500
November 16WashingtonNo. 8
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 42–1151,157
November 23at UCLANo. 8
W 34–982,467
November 30No. 5 Notre Dame*No. 6
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
W 55–2483,552
January 1, 1975vs. No. 3 Ohio State*No. 5W 18–17106,721
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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1974 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB 42 Ricky Bell So
RB 28 Anthony Davis Sr
WR 26 Shelton Diggs So
QB 8 Vince Evans So
QB 10 Pat Haden Sr
G 61 Donnie Hickman So
G 65 Melvin Jackson Jr
WR 25 J.K. McKay Sr
OT 76 Marvin Powell So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 44 Mike Burns So
DT 79 Gary Jeter So
LB 57 David Lewis So
DT Greg Marderian
LB 52 Rod Martin So
CB 46 Danny Reece Jr
LB 55 Eric Williams So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K/P 39 Glen Walker So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

[3]

Game summaries

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Washington

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1 234Total
Washington 0 308 11
USC 7 14147 42

[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "1974 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Trojans vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 12, 1974. p. 14.
  4. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. November 17, 1974
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