1967 USC Trojans football team

1967 USC Trojans football
Consensus national champion
AAWU champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 14–3 vs. Indiana
ConferenceAthletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record10–1 (6–1 AAWU)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1966
1968 →
1967 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 USC $ 6 1 0 10 1 0
No. 7 Oregon State 4 1 1 7 2 1
UCLA 4 1 1 7 2 1
Stanford 3 4 0 5 5 0
Washington 3 4 0 5 5 0
California 2 3 0 5 5 0
Oregon 1 5 0 2 8 0
Washington State 1 5 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1967 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. In their eighth year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 10–1 record (6–1 against conference opponents), won the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU or Pac-8) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 258 to 87.[1] The team was ranked #1 in the final AP and Coaches Polls.

Steve Sogge led the team in passing, completing 75 of 151 passes for 1,032 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. O. J. Simpson led the team in rushing with 291 carries for 1,543 yards and 13 touchdowns. Earl McCullouch led the team in receiving with 30 catches for 540 yards and five touchdowns.[2] Simpson won the Walter Camp Award.

Robert Kardashian is said to have met OJ Simpson while serving as a water boy for the team.[3] The relationship would later culminate in Kardashian being a part of the Dream Team in the O. J. Simpson murder case.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 15Washington StateNo. 7W 49–044,364
September 23No. 5 Texas*No. 4
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 17–1367,705
September 30at Michigan State*No. 2W 21–1775,287
October 7StanfordNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
W 30–062,598
October 14at No. 5 Notre Dame*No. 1W 24–759,075
October 21at WashingtonNo. 1W 23–658,754
October 28OregondaggerNo. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 28–648,807[4][5]
November 4at CaliforniaNo. 1W 31–1243,028
November 11at Oregon StateNo. 1L 0–341,494
November 18No. 1 UCLANo. 4
W 21–2090,772
January 1, 1968vs. No. 4 Indiana*No. 1W 14–3102,946
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

[edit]
1967 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR, K 27 Rikki Aldridge
C 66 Dick Allmon
WR 83 Ron Drake
WR 84 Bob Klein
G 68 Steve Lehmer
HB 22 Earl McCullouch
QB 15 Toby Page
G 76 Mike Scarpace
FB 38 Dan Scott
HB 32 O. J. Simpson Jr
QB 12 Steve Sogge Sr
OT 74 Mike Taylor
OT 77 Ron Yary Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 30 Pat Cashman
DL 56 Jim Gunn
DL 85 Bill Hayhoe
DT 75 Gary Magner
DL, K 88 Tim Rossovich
LB 50 Adrian Young
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt
Source:[6]

Game summaries

[edit]

Washington

[edit]
  • OJ Simpson 30 rushes, 235 yards [7]

UCLA

[edit]
#1 UCLA Bruins (7–0–1) vs. ##4 USC Trojans (8–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
UCLA 7 0 7620
USC 7 7 0721

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Game information
First quarter
  • UCLA – Greg Jones 12-yard run (Zenon Andrusyshyn kick). UCLA 7–0. Drive:
  • USC – Pat Cashman 55-yard interception return (Rikki Aldridge kick). Tie 7–7.

Second quarter

  • USC – O. J. Simpson 13-yard run (Rikki Aldridge kick). USC 14–7. Drive:

Third quarter

Fourth quarter

  • UCLA – Dave Nuttall -yard pass from Gary Beban (kick blocked). UCLA 20—14. Drive:
  • USC – O. J. Simpson 64-yard run (Rikki Aldridge kick). USC 21—20. Drive:

The University of California at Los Angeles, 7-0-1 and ranked Number 1, with senior quarterback Gary Beban as a Heisman Trophy candidate, played the University of Southern California, 8-1 and ranked Number 4, with junior running back O. J. Simpson as a Heisman candidate. This game is widely regarded as the signature game in the UCLA–USC rivalry and the Trojans won the game by a score of 21-20.

1967 Trojans in the NFL

[edit]

Awards and honors

[edit]
  • O. J. Simpson (Junior), running back, Walter Camp Award
  • Ron Yary (Senior), Tackle, Outland Trophy

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1965-1969)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "1967 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "A History of O.J. Simpson's Relationship with the Kardashian Family". Biography. June 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Trojans roll over Ducks". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 29, 1967. p. 1, sports.
  5. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (October 29, 1967). "Ducks put squeeze on 'Orange Juice'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  6. ^ "Today's bowl rosters: Rose". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1968. p. 54.
  7. ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement