1978 USC Trojans football team

American college football season

1978 USC Trojans football

Coaches Poll national champion Pac-10 champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–10 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	12–1 (6–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	John Robinson (3rd season)
Captain	Lynn Cain Rich Dimler
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	1	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
No. 14 UCLA	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	1
Washington	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Arizona State	4	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Stanford	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Arizona	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	1
Washington State	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Following the season, the Trojans were crowned national champions according to the Coaches Poll. While Alabama claimed the AP Poll title because it had defeated top-ranked Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, the Trojans felt they deserved the title since they had defeated Alabama and Notre Dame during the regular season, and then Michigan in the Rose Bowl.^[1] Both USC and Alabama ended their seasons with a single loss.

This would be the last national championship won by the Trojans until 2003.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 09	Texas Tech	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 17–9	50,321
September 16	at Oregon	No. 8	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 37–10	31,000
September 23	at No. 1 Alabama*	No. 7	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	W 24–14	77,313	^[2]
September 29	Michigan State*	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 30–9	65,319
October 14	at Arizona State	No. 2	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 7–20	70,138
October 21	Oregon State	No. 7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 38–7	53,734
October 28	California	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 42–17	56,954
November 4	at Stanford	No. 6	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	W 13–7	84,084
November 11	No. 19 Washington	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 28–10	54,071
November 18	at No. 14 UCLA	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 17–10	90,387
November 25	No. 8 Notre Dame*	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	W 27–25	84,256
December 2	at Hawaii*	No. 3	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 21–5	48,767
January 1, 1979	vs. No. 5 Michigan*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 17–10	105,629	^[3]^[4]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1978 USC Trojans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		Marcus Allen
TE		Hoby Brenner
OL		Brad Budde
WR		Ray Butler
RB		Lynn Cain (C)
RB		Paul DiLulo
RB		Dwight Ford
WR		Dan Garcia
WR		Michael Hayes
OL		Pat Howell
TE		James Hunter
QB		Paul McDonald
OL		Anthony Muñoz
OL		Otis Page
OL		Ray Peters
QB		Rob Preston
TE		Vic Rakhshani
QB		Walt Ransom
WR		Calvin Sweeney
OL		Keith Van Horne
RB		Charles White
WR		Kevin Williams

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL		Chip Banks
DB		Larry Braziel
DL		Gary Cobb
DB		Willie Crawford
DL		Rich Dimler (C)
DL		Dennis Edwards
LB		Riki Ellison
DB		Carter Hartwig
LB		Dennis Johnson
DL		Myron Lapka
DB		Tim Lavender
DB		Ronnie Lott
LB		Larry McGrew
LB		Charlie Moses
LB		Eric Scoggins
DB		Dennis Smith
DL		Ty Sperling
DB		Herb Ward

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Frank Jordan
P		Marty King

Head coach

John Robinson

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	3	0	3	19	25
• USC	6	11	7	3	27

Date: November 25
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Game attendance: 84,256

Scoring summary

1		USC	Williams 50-yard pass from McDonald (kick failed)	USC 6–0

1		ND	Unis 47-yard field goal	USC 6–3

2		USC	Garcia 35-yard pass from McDonald (McDonald to Hunter pass)	USC 14–3

2		USC	Jordan 39-yard field goal	USC 17–3

3		ND	Unis 26-yard field goal	USC 17–6

3	7:38	USC	White 1-yard run (Jordan kick)	USC 24–6

4	12:26	ND	Haines 57-yard pass from Montana (pass failed)	USC 24–12

4	3:01	ND	Buchanan 1-yard run (Unis kick)	USC 24–19

4	0:46	ND	Holohan 2-yard pass from Montana (pass failed)	ND 25–24

4	0:02	USC	Jordan 37-yard field goal	USC 27–25

^[5]

Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl: Michigan Wolverines vs. USC Trojans

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	0	3	7	0	10
USC	7	10	0	0	17

at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Date: January 1
Game attendance: 105,629
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, John Brodie, and O.J. Simpson
Recap/Box

Game information

First quarter

USC – Hoby Brenner 9-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Frank Jordan kick). USC 7–0. Drive:

Second quarter

MICH – Gregg Willner 36-yard field goal. USC 7–3. Drive:
USC – Charles White 3-yard run (Frank Jordan kick). USC 14–3. Drive:
USC – Frank Jordan 35-yard field goal. USC 17–3. Drive:

Third quarter

MICH – R. Smith 44-yard pass from Rick Leach (Gregg Willner kick). USC 17–10. Drive:

Top passers

MICH – Rick Leach – 10/21, 137 yards, TD, 2 INT
USC – Paul McDonald – 4/9, 23 yards, TD

Top rushers

MICH – Russell Davis – 8 rushes, 28 yards
USC – Charles White – 32 rushes, 99 yards, TD

Top receivers

MICH – Roosevelt Smith – 4 receptions, 58 yards, TD
USC – Dan Garcia – 1 reception, 12 yards

1978 Trojans in the NFL

All 22 starters played in the NFL.^[6]

Marcus Allen
Chip Banks
Lynn Cain
Rich Dimler
Ronnie Lott
Anthony Muñoz
Charles White
Brad Budde
Garry Cobb
Larry Braziel
Paul McDonald
Riki Gray
Ray Butler
Steve Busick
Keith Van Horne
Dennis Smith
Allen, Lott, and Muñoz are the only three starters on the team enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Awards and honors

Charles White: Heisman trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, UPI Player of the Year

References

^ "USC Claims Title". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. January 2, 1979. p. C7. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "USC has No. 1 'Bama on the run, 24–14". Los Angeles Times. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Mal Florence (January 2, 1979). "USC Wins Rose Bowl but the Replay's a Tie: White Scores (or Did He?) as Trojans Beat Michigan, 17-10". Los Angeles Times. pp. III-1, III-10 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Tom Henderson (January 2, 1979). "Phantom TD helps Southern Cal -- Michigan's Roses wilt again, 17-10". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 5D – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans' Late Field Goal Stymies Irish Comeback." Palm Beach Post. 1978 Nov 26.
^ Sikahema, Vai (March 25, 2011). "Vai's View: What's in a name? Bobby Salazar knows". Deseret News. Retrieved February 13, 2019.

v t e 1978 USC Trojans football—UPI national champions
Marcus Allen Chip Banks Larry Braziel Hoby Brenner Brad Budde Steve Busick Lynn Cain Garry Cobb Jeff Fisher Chris Foote Roy Foster Riki Gray Carter Hartwig Pat Howell Dennis Johnson Ronnie Lott Paul McDonald Anthony Muñoz Dennis Smith Calvin Sweeney Keith Van Horne Charles White Kevin Williams Head coach: John Robinson Assistant coaches: Paul Hackett Gil Haskell Hudson Houck John Marshall Bob Toledo Norv Turner

1978 USC Trojans football—UPI national champions

Marcus Allen
Chip Banks
Larry Braziel
Hoby Brenner
Brad Budde
Steve Busick
Lynn Cain
Garry Cobb
Jeff Fisher
Chris Foote
Roy Foster
Riki Gray
Carter Hartwig
Pat Howell
Dennis Johnson
Ronnie Lott
Paul McDonald
Anthony Muñoz
Dennis Smith
Calvin Sweeney
Keith Van Horne
Charles White
Kevin Williams

Head coach: John Robinson

Assistant coaches: Paul Hackett
Gil Haskell
Hudson Houck
John Marshall
Bob Toledo
Norv Turner

v t e USC Trojans football
Venues	Athletic Park (1895–1898) Fiesta Park (1897–1898, 1901–1902, 1904–1906, 1916) Chutes Park (1900) Prager Park (1903) Bovard Field (1904–1910, 1914–1915, 1917–1923) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame Stanford UCLA: Victory Bell
Culture & lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Tribute to Troy Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game So This Is College
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911–1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e College football national champions (poll era)
1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP) 1937: Pittsburgh 1938: TCU 1939: Texas A&M 1940: Minnesota 1941: Minnesota 1942: Ohio State 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (Coaches) 1946: Notre Dame 1947: Notre Dame 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame
1950s	1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches) 1951: Tennessee 1952: Michigan State 1953: Maryland 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas
1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches) 1979: Alabama
1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

v t e Pac-12 Conference football champions
Pacific Coast	Washington (1916) Washington State (1917) California (1918) Oregon & Washington (1919) California (1920) California (1921) California (1922) California (1923) Stanford (1924) Washington (1925) Stanford (1926) Idaho, Stanford, & USC (1927) USC (1928) USC (1929) Washington State (1930) USC (1931) USC (1932) Oregon & Stanford (1933) Stanford (1934) California, Stanford, & UCLA (1935) Washington (1936) California (1937) California & USC (1938) USC (1939) Stanford (1940) Oregon State (1941) UCLA (1942) USC (1943) USC (1944) USC (1945) UCLA (1946) USC (1947) California & Oregon (1948) California (1949) California (1950) Stanford (1951) USC (1952) UCLA (1953) UCLA (1954) UCLA (1955) Oregon State (1956) Oregon & Oregon State (1957) California (1958)
AAWU	UCLA, USC, & Washington (1959) Washington (1960) UCLA (1961) USC (1962) Washington (1963) Oregon State & USC (1964) UCLA (1965) USC (1966) USC (1967)
Pacific-8	USC (1968) USC (1969) Stanford (1970) Stanford (1971) USC (1972) USC (1973) USC (1974) California & UCLA (1975) USC (1976) Washington (1977)
Pacific-10	USC (1978) USC (1979) Washington (1980) Washington (1981) UCLA (1982) UCLA (1983) USC (1984) UCLA (1985) Arizona State (1986) USC & UCLA (1987) USC (1988) USC (1989) Washington (1990) Washington (1991) Washington & Stanford (1992) Arizona, UCLA, & USC (1993) Oregon (1994) USC & Washington (1995) Arizona State (1996) UCLA & Washington State (1997) UCLA (1998) Stanford (1999) Oregon, Oregon State, & Washington (2000) Oregon (2001) USC & Washington State (2002) USC (2003) USC (2004) vacated USC (2005) vacated California & USC (2006) Arizona State & USC (2007) USC (2008) Oregon (2009) Oregon (2010)
Pac-12	Oregon (2011) Stanford (2012) Stanford (2013) Oregon (2014) Stanford (2015) Washington (2016) USC (2017) Washington (2018) Oregon (2019) Oregon (2020) Utah (2021) Utah (2022) Washington (2023)
National championships in bold