1974 USC Trojans football team

1974 USC Trojans football
1974 USC Trojans football
Coaches' Poll national champion; Pac-8 champion; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 18–17 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	10–1–1 (6–0–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	John McKay (15th season);
Captains	Pat Haden; Richard Wood;
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1973 1975 →

1974 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
v t e	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

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.

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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 14	vs. No. 20 Arkansas*	No. 5	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 7–22	54,622
September 28	at No. 8 Pittsburgh*	No. 18	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 16–7	52,934
October 5	Iowa*	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 41–3	52,095
October 12	vs. Washington State	No. 7	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 54–7	32,000
October 19	at Oregon	No. 6	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 16–7	32,500
October 26	Oregon State	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 35–10	52,392
November 2	California	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	T 15–15	53,921
November 9	at Stanford	No. 11	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	W 35–10	83,500
November 16	Washington	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 42–11	51,157
November 23	at UCLA	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 34–9	82,467
November 30	No. 5 Notre Dame*	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	W 55–24	83,552
January 1, 1975	vs. No. 3 Ohio State*	No. 5	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 18–17	106,721
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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
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

John McKay (15th year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

^[3]

Game summaries

Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington	0	3	0	8	11
• USC	7	14	14	7	42

Date: November 16
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA
Game attendance: 51,157

^[4]

References

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