1972 USC Trojans football team

The 1972 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Trojans won all twelve games and were consensus national champions.

1972 USC Trojans football
Consensus national champion Pac-8 champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 42–17 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1972 record	12–0 (7–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John McKay (13th season)
Captains	Sam Cunningham, FB John Grant, DT
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1972 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 USC $	7	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 15 UCLA	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Washington State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 9	at No. 4 Arkansas*	No. 8	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	W 31–10	54,461
September 16	Oregon State	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 51–6	56,305
September 23	at Illinois*	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 55–20	61,277
September 30	Michigan State*	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 51–6	63,934
October 7	at No. 15 Stanford	No. 1	Stanford Stadium Palo Alto, CA (rivalry)	W 30–21	84,000
October 14	California	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 42–14	56,488
October 21	No. 18 Washington	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 34–7	59,151
October 28	Oregon	No. 1	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 18–0	32,000
November 4	vs. Washington State	No. 1	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 44–3	46,000
November 18	at No. 14 UCLA	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 24–7	82,929
December 2	No. 10 Notre Dame*	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Jeweled Shillelagh)	W 45–23	75,243
January 1, 1973	vs. No. 3 Ohio State*	No. 1	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 42–17	106,869
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

• Sam Cunningham, RB
• Mike Rae, QB/K
• Charle Young, TE
• Pete Adams, T
• Jeff Winans, DT
• John Grant, DE
• Karl Lorch, DT

Source:[1]

Game summaries

Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 0 3 14 14 31 Arkansas 3 0 0 7 10 Date: September 9 Location: War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, AR Game attendance: 54,461

Scoring summary Q1 ARK Bolton 27-yard field goal ARK 3–0 Q2 USC Rae 26-yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q3 USC Rae 5-yard run (Rae kick) USC 10–3 Q3 USC McNeill 18-yard run (Rae kick) USC 17–3 Q4 USC McNeill 3-yard run (Rae kick) USC 24–3 Q4 ARK Richardson 1-yard run (Bolton kick) USC 24–10 Q4 USC Cunningham 18-yard run (Rae kick) USC 31–10

Tailback Rod McNeill, who sat out the previous year with a hip injury, led the Trojans with 117 yards on 28 carries while Mike Rae, a backup for two seasons, completed 18 of 24 passes for 269 yards and in the second half completed nine straight passes at one point in his first start. [2]

Oregon State

1 2 3 4 Total Oregon St 0 6 0 0 6 • USC 7 13 17 14 51 Date: September 16 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 56,305

Scoring summary Q1 11:20 USC McNeill 14-yard run (Rae kick) USC 7–0 Q2 14:37 USC McNeill 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14–0 Q2 9:40 ORST Morris 10-yard run (kick failed) USC 14–6 Q2 7:35 USC McNeill 5-yard run (kick failed) USC 20–6 Q3 8:48 USC Rae 20-yard field goal USC 23–6 Q3 3:11 USC Young 37-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) USC 30–6 Q3 1:32 USC McKay 3-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) USC 37–6 Q4 4:19 USC Haden 10-yard run (Rae kick) USC 44–6 Q4 :55 USC Washmara 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 51–6

[3]

• Anthony Davis 25 rushes, 206 yards [4]

Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 7 13 15 20 55 Illinois 7 7 6 0 20 Date: September 23 Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL Game attendance: 61,277

Scoring summary Q1 4:26 ILL Hayes 5-yard run (Rucks kick) ILL 7–0 Q1 USC Garrison 58-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 ILL Uremovich 5-yard run (Rucks kick) ILL 14–7 Q2 USC Davis 2-yard run (Rae kick) Tie 14–14 Q2 :21 USC McKay 31-yard pass from Rae (kick failed) USC 20–14 Q3 USC Davis 2-yard run (McKay pass from Davis) USC 28–14 Q3 ILL Hayes 1-yard run (run failed) USC 28–20 Q3 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 35–20 Q4 USC Sims 35-yard blocked punt return (Rae kick) USC 42–20 Q4 USC McKay 6-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 49–20 Q4 USC Carter 1-yard run (kick failed) USC 55–20

[5][6]

Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan St 0 6 0 0 6 • USC 14 7 3 27 51 Date: September 30 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 63,934

Scoring summary Q1 USC Swann 92-yard punt return (Rae kick) USC 7–0 Q1 USC McNeill 8-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14–0 Q2 USC McKay 9-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) USC 21–0 Q2 MSU Werner 1-yard run (pass failed) USC 21–6 Q3 USC Rae 20-yard field goal USC 24–6 Q4 USC Wood 25-yard interception return (Rae kick) USC 31–6 Q4 USC Moore 9-yard pass from Haden (kick failed) USC 37–6 Q4 USC Carter 21-yard run (Limahelu kick) USC 44–6 Q4 USC Swann 30-yard pass from Haden (Limahelu kick) USC 51–6

[7]

Stanford

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 13 7 3 7 30 Stanford 10 3 0 8 21 Date: October 7 Location: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA Game attendance: 84,000

Scoring summary Q1 STAN J. Ferguson recovered fumble in end zone (Garcia kick) STAN 7–0 Q1 USC Davis 8-yard run (Rae kick) Tie 7–7 Q1 STAN Garcia 49-yard field goal STAN 10–7 Q1 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (kick failed) USC 13–10 Q2 STAN Garcia 35-yard field goal Tie 13–13 Q2 USC Davis 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 20–13 Q3 USC Rae 37-yard field goal USC 23–13 Q4 5:40 USC Swann 4-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 30–13 Q4 STAN Cross 30-yard pass from Boryla (Stone pass from Boryla) USC 30–21

[8]

California

1 2 3 4 Total California 0 0 7 7 14 • USC 14 7 14 7 42 Date: October 14 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California Game attendance: 56,488

Scoring summary 1 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 7-0 1 USC Rae 10-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14-0 2 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 21-0 3 CAL Schmidt 3-yard pass from Cruze (Wersching kick) USC 21-7 3 USC Rae 8-yard run (Rae kick) USC 28-7 3 USC Young 40-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 35-7 4 USC Young 9-yard pass from Haden (Rae kick) USC 42-7 4 CAL Youngblood 1-yard run (Wersching kick) USC 42-14

[9]

Washington

1 2 3 4 Total Washington 0 0 0 7 7 • USC 7 13 14 0 34 Date: October 21 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 59,151

Scoring summary Q1 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 7–0 Q2 USC Davis 44-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14–0 Q2 USC Rae 22-yard field goal USC 17–0 Q2 USC Rae 26-yard field goal USC 20–0 Q3 USC Davis 14-yard run (Rae kick) USC 27–0 Q3 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 34–0 Q4 WASH Fitzpatrick 10-yard run (Wiezbowski kick) USC 34–7

[10]

Oregon

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 0 0 12 6 18 Oregon 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 28 Location: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR Game attendance: 32,000

Scoring summary Q3 6:06 USC Davis 48-yard run USC 6–0 Q3 3:58 USC Davis 55-yard run USC 12–0 Q4 5:45 USC Cunningham 2-yard run USC 18–0

On a very rainy and cold day, the Trojans were held to their lowest score of the season.

[11]

Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 3 14 7 20 44 Washington State 3 0 0 0 3 Date: November 4 Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA

Scoring summary 1 USC Rae 23-yard field goal USC 3-0 1 WSU Danelo 50-yard field goal Tied 3-3 2 USC Rae 11-yard run (Rae kick) USC 10-3 2 USC Davis 3-yard run (Rae kick) USC 17-3 3 USC Davis 6-yard run (Rae kick) USC 24-3 4 USC Davis 14-yard run (Rae kick) USC 31-3 4 USC Moore 1-yard run (kick failed) USC 37-3 4 USC Powell 21-yard interception return (Rae kick) USC 44-3

[12]

UCLA

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 10 7 7 0 24 UCLA 7 0 0 0 7 Date: November 18 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 82,929

Scoring summary Q1 USC Rae 32-yard field goal USC 3–0 Q1 USC Davis 23-yard run (Rae kick) USC 10–0 Q1 UCLA McAlister 2-yard run (Herrera kick) USC 10–7 Q2 USC McNeill 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 17–7 Q3 USC Rae 7-yard run (Rae kick) USC 24–7

Anthony Davis 25 Rush, 178 Yds

[13]

Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Notre Dame 3 7 13 0 23 • USC 19 0 13 13 45 Date: December 2 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 75,243

Scoring summary 1 USC Davis 97-yard kickoff return (kick failed) USC 6-0 1 ND Thomas 45-yard field goal USC 6-3 1 USC Davis 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 13-3 1 USC Davis 5-yard run (kick failed) USC 19-3 2 ND W. Townsend 5-yard pass from Clements (Thomas kick) USC 19-10 3 USC Davis 4-yard run (run failed) USC 25-10 3 ND Diminick 11-yard pass from Clements (Thomas kick) USC 25-17 3 ND Creaney 10-yard pass from Clements (pass failed) USC 25-23 4 USC Davis 96-yard kickoff return (Rae kick) USC 32-23 4 USC Davis 8-yard run (Rae kick) USC 39-23 4 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (kick failed) USC 45-23

[14]

Rose Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio St 0 7 3 7 17 • USC 7 0 21 14 42 Date: January 1 Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA Game attendance: 106,869

Scoring summary Q1 USC Swann 10-yard pass from Rae (Rae kick) USC 7–0 Q2 OHST Keith 1-yard run (Conway kick) Tie 7–7 Q3 USC Cunningham 2-yard run (Rae kick) USC 14–7 Q3 OHST Conway 21-yard field goal USC 14–10 Q3 USC Davis 20-yard run (Rae kick) USC 21–10 Q3 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 28–10 Q4 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 35–10 Q4 USC Cunningham 1-yard run (Rae kick) USC 42–10 Q4 OHST Bledsoe 5-yard run (Conway kick) USC 42–17

• John McKay's 100th career victory
• Anthony Davis 157 Rush Yds
• Sam Cunningham set Rose Bowl scoring record (previous - 18 by three players)

[15]

NFL Draft

Ten Trojans were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft, with three in the first round.

• List of USC Trojans in the NFL Draft

References

1. "Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 28, 1972. p. 1B.
2. "Rae leads Southern Cal to 31-10 rout of Arkansas."
3. Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Sept 17.
4. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
5. "USC Buries Illinois." 1972 Sept 24.
6. "Trojans Rip Illinois." Palm Beach Post. 1972 Sept 24.
7. "Top-rated Trojans blitz Sparts, 51–6." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 1.
8. "USC gets revenge as Cards halted." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 8.
9. Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 15.
10. "Trojans overpower Washington by 34-7." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 22.
11. Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Oct 29.
13. "Trojans roll past Bruins, 24-7." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Nov 19.
14. "Davis' spree leads USC to 45-23 rout." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Dec 3.
15. "It's 'bring on Miami' after USC wins easily." Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Jan 2.

External links

• Game program: #1 USC vs. Washington State at Seattle – November 4, 1972