1989 USC Trojans football team

The 1989 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was intended to start historic fashion, with USC set to play Illinois in Moscow in what was dubbed the Glasnost Bowl. However, the plan to play the game at Dynamo Stadium fell through, and the game was rescheduled at Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans lost the game as the Illini scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

1989 USC Trojans football
Pacific-10 champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–10 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 8
1989 record	9–2–1 (6–0–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Larry Smith
Captain	Leroy Holt Tim Ryan
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,516, grass)

1989 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 USC $	6	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 23 Washington	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Oregon	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 25 Arizona	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Arizona State	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Oregon State	3	–	4	–	1			4	–	7	–	1
Washington State	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Stanford	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UCLA	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
California	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

USC won their third consecutive conference championship and gained their 600th program win in a victory against Oregon State. They played third-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl and won giving Larry Smith his only bowl victory as head coach.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	5:00 p.m.	No. 22 Illinois*	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 13–14	54,622
September 16	7:00 p.m.	Utah State*	No. 13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 66–10	50,249
September 23	12:30 p.m.	No. 20 Ohio State*	No. 12	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 42–3	69,876
September 30	12:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Washington State	No. 11	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ABC	W 18–17	38,434
October 7	12:30 p.m.	Washington	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 24–16	58,410
October 14	3:30 p.m.	at California	No. 10	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	Prime	W 31–15	52,000
October 21	12:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Notre Dame*	No. 9	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh)	CBS	L 24–28	59,075
October 28	3:30 p.m.	Stanford	No. 10	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	Prime	W 19–0	67,411
November 4	3:30 p.m.	Oregon State	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	Prime	W 48–6	65,430
November 11	12:30 p.m.	at No. 25 Arizona	No. 9	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	ABC	W 24–3	52,606
November 18	12:30 p.m.	UCLA	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	T 10–10	86,672
January 1, 1990	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Michigan*	No. 12	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ABC	W 17–10	103,450
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1989 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Aaron Emanuel Sr RB 34 Ricky Ervins Jr TE 86 Scott Galbraith Sr RB 39 Leroy Holt Sr QB 13 Todd Marinovich So QB 4 Pat O'Hara Jr C 63 Brad Leggett Sr G 75 Mark Tucker Jr WR 83 Gary Wellman Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 98 Kurt Barber So S 7 Mark Carrier Jr DT 93 Pat Harlow Jr DT 90 Dan Owens Sr LB 35 Scott Ross Jr DT 99 Tim Ryan Sr LB 55 Junior Seau Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 11 Quin Rodriguez Jr	Head coach Larry Smith Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Rankings

Game summaries

Illinois

Ohio State

Ohio State at USC

1 2 3 4 Total No. 20 Buckeyes 3 0 0 0 3 • No. 12 Trojans 0 21 14 7 42 Date: September 23 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 69,876

Scoring summary Q1 OHST O'Morrow 45 yard field goal OHST 3–0 Q2 USC Galbrath 3 yard pass from Foley (Rodriguez kick) USC 7–3 Q2 USC Jackson 87 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 14–3 Q2 USC Galbrath 11 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 21–3 Q3 USC Wellman 19 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 28–3 Q3 USC Wellman 17 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 35–3 Q4 USC Royster 1 yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 42–3

[1]

at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 0 10 0 8 18 Washington St 7 3 7 0 17 Date: September 30 Location: Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA Game weather: Overcast Source:

Scoring summary 1 WSU Stallworth 77-yard pass from Garcia (Hanson kick) WSU 7-0 2 USC Rodriguez 33-yard field goal WSU 7-3 2 WSU Hanson 23-yard field goal WSU 10-3 2 USC Jackson 8-yard pass from Ervins (Rodriguez kick) Tied 10-10 3 WSU Broussard 49-yard pass from Garcia (Hanson kick) WSU 17-10 4 0:04 USC Ervins 2-yard pass from Marinovich (Marinovich to Wellman pass) USC 18-17

at Notre Dame

USC at Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total No. 9 Trojans 14 3 0 7 24 • No. 1 Fighting Irish 7 0 7 14 28 Date: October 21 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary Q1 USC Wallace 12 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 7–0 Q1 ND Rice 7 yard run (Hentrich kick) Tie 7–7 Q1 USC Jackson 15 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 14–7 Q2 USC Rodriguez 25 yard field goal USC 17–7 Q3 ND Watters 2 yard run (Hentrich kick) USC 17–14 Q4 ND Johnson 35 yard run (Hentrich kick) ND 21–17 Q4 USC Wellman 16 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 24–21 Q4 ND Rice 15 yard run (Hentrich kick) ND 28–24

Statistics

• Receiving: John Jackson 14 receptions, 200 yards, TD [2]

Stanford

Stanford at USC

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinal 0 0 0 0 0 • No. 10 Trojans 0 10 3 6 19 Date: October 28 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 67,411 Television network: Prime

Scoring summary Q2 USC Rodriguez 28 yard field goal USC 3–0 Q2 USC Ervins 9 yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 10–0 Q3 USC Rodriguez 25 yard field goal USC 13–0 Q4 USC Holt 5 yard run (pass failed) USC 19–0

[3]

UCLA

vs. Michigan (Rose Bowl)

USC vs. Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 12 Trojans 0 10 0 7 17 No. 3 Wolverines 0 3 7 0 10 Date: January 1 Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA Game attendance: 103,450 Referee: Jim Kemerling TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bob Griese

Scoring summary Q2 USC Marinovich 1-yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 7–0 Q2 6:28 MICH Carlson 19-yard field goal USC 7–3 Q2 USC Rodriguez 34-yard field goal USC 10–3 Q3 MICH Jeffereson 2-yard run (Carlson kick) Tied 10–10 Q4 USC Ervins 9 yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 17–10

The Trojans avenged last season's loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl, beating the Wolverines in Bo Schembechler's last game as head coach.[4]

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1990 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Junior Seau	Linebacker	1	5	San Diego Chargers
Mark Carrier	Safety	1	6	Chicago Bears
Dan Owens	Defensive End	2	35	Detroit Lions
Tim Ryan	Defensive End	3	61	Chicago Bears
William Schultz	Guard	4	94	Indianapolis Colts
Leroy Holt	Running Back	5	137	Miami Dolphins
Scott Galbraith	Tight End	7	178	Cleveland Browns
Aaron Emanuel	Running Back	7	191	New York Giants
Brad Leggett	Center	8	219	Denver Broncos
Ernest Spears	Defensive Back	10	216	New Orleans Saints

[5]

References

1. Gainesville Sun. 1989 Sept 24.
2. 2012 USC football media supplement.
3. Gainesville Sun. 1989 Oct 29.
4. "Farewell to Bo Played Strictly by Book, 17-10". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1990. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
5. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1990.htm