1960 USC Trojans football team

The 1960 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1960 college football season. In their first year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 4–6 record (3–1 against conference opponents), finished in second place in the Athletic Association of Western Universities, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 152 to 95.^[1]

1960 USC Trojans football
Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Record	4–6 (3–1 AAWU)
Head coach	John McKay (1st season)
Captains	Mike McKeever George Van Vliet
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1959 1961 →

1960 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Washington $	4	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
USC	3	–	1	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
UCLA	2	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
California	1	–	3	–	0			2	–	7	–	1
Stanford	0	–	4	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Bill Nelsen led the team in passing with 29 of 72 passes completed for 446 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Marlin McKeever was the leading receiver with 15 catches for 218 yards. Hal Tobin was the leading rusher with 318 yard on 61 carries.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Oregon State*	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 0–14	32,928
September 24	TCU*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 6–7	31,475
October 1	at No. 9 Ohio State*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 0–20	83,204
October 7	Georgia*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 10–3	28,120	[3]
October 15	California		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 27–10	39,830
October 29	at Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	W 21–10	29,000
November 5	No. 7 Washington		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 0–34	43,475
November 12	at Baylor*		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 14–35	23,000
November 19	at No. 11 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 17–6	66,865
November 26	Notre Dame*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	L 0–17	28,297
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1960 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Ben Charles E Marlin McKeever QB Bill Nelsen   George Van Vliet FB Ben Wilson	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John McKay Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

Oregon State

TCU

At Ohio State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio St	6	7	0	7	20

USC Trojans (0–2) at #9 Ohio State Buckeyes (1–0)

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: October 1, 1960
• Game weather: Sunny, 64 °F (18 °C)
• Game attendance: 83,204
• Box Score

^[4]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
USC	Passing	Ben Charles	4/8, 46 Yds, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ben Wilson	3 Rush, 29 Yds
	Receiving	Marlin McKeever	1 Rec, 29 Yds
Ohio St	Passing	Tom Matte	6/11, 78 Yds, INT
	Rushing	Bob Ferguson	20 Rush, 157 Yds, 3 TD
	Receiving	Charles Bryant	2 Rec, 28 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP USC OSU 1 8:25 1 74 0:19 Ohio St Ben Ferguson 74-yard touchdown run, Ben Jones kick no good (blocked) 0 6 2 4:36 8 57 4:10 Ohio St Bob Ferguson 2-yard touchdown run, Ben Jones kick good 0 13 4 4:36 9 75 4:12 Ohio St Bob Ferguson 19-yard touchdown run, Ben Jones kick good 0 20 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 0 20

References

1. "Southern California Yearly Results (1960-1964)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
2. "1960 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
3. "Georgia aerial backfires and Trojans win 10–3". The Sacramento Bee. October 8, 1960. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Ferguson Sparks 20-0 Buck Romp." Palm Beach Post. 1960 Oct 2. Retrieved 2014-Feb-10.