1976 USC Trojans football team

1976 USC Trojans football
Pac-8 Champions
Rose Bowl, W 14–6 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#2
AP	#2
1976 record	11–1 (7–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Robinson (1st year)
Captain	Ricky Bell
Captain	Vince Evans
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 94,500, grass)

1976 Pacific-8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2 USC $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
#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
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Quarterback Vince Evans led the team in passing, completing 95 of 77 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]

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 11	Missouri*	#8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA		L 25–46	49,535
September 18	at Oregon		Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR		W 53–0	40,600
September 25	at Purdue*	#19	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN		W 31–13	65,425
October 2	Iowa*	#13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA		W 55–0	55,518
October 9	vs. Washington State	#11	Kingdome • Seattle, WA		W 23–14	37,268
October 23	Oregon State	#7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA		W 56–0	53,216
October 30	California	#4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA		W 20–6	60,323
November 6	at Stanford	#4	Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA		W 48–24	76,500
November 13	Washington	#3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA		W 20–3	49,264
November 20	at #2 UCLA	#3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell)	ABC	W 24–14	90,519
November 27	#13 Notre Dame*	#3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Rivalry)	ABC	W 17–13	76,561
January 1	vs. #2 Michigan*	#3	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 14–6	106,182
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll.

Game notes

Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Notre Dame 0 0 0 13 13 • USC 0 7 7 3 17 Date: Saturday, November 27 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Scoring summary 2 USC Shelton Diggs 6-yard pass from Rob Hertel (Glen Walker kick) USC 7-0 3 USC Randy Simmrin 63-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick) USC 14-0 4 Notre Dame Vagas Ferguson 17-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (kick good) USC 14-7 4 USC Glen Walker 48-yard field goal USC 17-7 4 Notre Dame Rusty Lisch 1-yard run (two-point conversion failed) USC 17-13

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.

^[3]

References

1. "Southern California Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
2. "1976 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
3. "Trojans Trip Up Error-Prone Irish". Ocala Star-Banner. November 28, 1976. Retrieved November 22, 2014.