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The 1976 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their first year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–1 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, defeated Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 386 to 139.[1] The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.
| 1976 USC Trojans football | |
|---|---|
National champion (multiple selectors) Pac-8 champion Rose Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Pacific-8 Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 2 |
| AP | No. 2 |
| Record | 11–1 (7–0 Pac-8) |
| Head coach |
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| Captain | Ricky Bell Vince Evans Eric Williams |
| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 USC $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 UCLA | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quarterback Vince Evans led the team in passing, completing 95 of 177 passes for 1,440 yards with ten touchdowns and six interceptions. Ricky Bell led the team in rushing with 280 carries for 1,433 yards and 14 touchdowns. Shelton Diggs led the team in receiving with 37 catches for 655 yards and eight touchdowns.[2]
The team was named national champion by Berryman, Billingsley MOV, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, and Matthews, all NCAA-designated major selectors.[3]: 114
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| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | Missouri* | No. 8 | L 25–46 | 49,535 | ||
| September 18 | at Oregon | W 53–0 | 40,600 | |||
| September 25 | at Purdue* | No. 19 | W 31–13 | 65,425 | ||
| October 2 | Iowa* | No. 13 |
| W 55–0 | 55,518 | |
| October 9 | at Washington State | No. 11 | W 23–14 | 37,268 | ||
| October 23 | Oregon State | No. 7 |
| W 56–0 | 53,216 | |
| October 30 | California | No. 4 |
| W 20–6 | 60,323 | |
| November 6 | at Stanford | No. 4 | W 48–24 | 76,500 | ||
| November 13 | Washington | No. 3 |
| W 20–3 | 49,264 | |
| November 20 | at No. 2 UCLA | No. 3 |
| ABC | W 24–14 | 90,519 |
| November 27 | No. 13 Notre Dame* | No. 3 |
| ABC | W 17–13 | 76,561 |
| January 1, 1977 | vs. No. 2 Michigan* | No. 3 | NBC | W 14–6 | 106,182 | |
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| 1976 USC Trojans football team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Missouri
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
At Oregon
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
At Purdue
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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#19 USC Trojans (1–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–1)
Iowa
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
At Washington State
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC | 0 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
| Washington State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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#11 USC Trojans (3–1) at Washington State Cougars (1–3)
at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
- Date: October 9
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
- Game attendance: 37,268
- [6]
Oregon State
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
California
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
At Stanford
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
Washington
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
Vs. UCLA
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
Notre Dame
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| USC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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#13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8–2) at #3 USC Trojans (9–1)
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
- Date: November 27
- Game attendance: 76,561
- TV: ABC
- Recap/Box
Ricky Bell was held to 75 yards on 21 carries but USC's passing game thrived with Vince Evans completing six of his 14 passes for 106 yards with Randy Simmrin hauling in six passes for 121 yards and Evans' touchdown pass.
Rose Bowl (vs Michigan)
| This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
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