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1970 USC Trojans football team

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1970 USC Trojans football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 15
Record6–4–1 (3–4 Pac-8)
Head coach
CaptainBob Chandler
Charlie Weaver
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Stanford $ 6 1 0 9 3 0
Washington 4 3 0 6 4 0
Oregon 4 3 0 6 4 1
UCLA 4 3 0 6 5 0
California 4 3 0 6 5 0
No. 15 USC 3 4 0 6 4 1
Oregon State 3 4 0 6 5 0
Washington State 0 7 0 1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their 11th year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 6–4–1 record (3–4 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 343 to 233.[1] The team was ranked #15 in the final AP Poll and #19 in the final Coaches Poll.

On September 12, 1970, USC opened the season visiting the University of Alabama under coach Bear Bryant and became the first fully integrated team to play in the State of Alabama.[2] The game, scheduled by Bryant, resulted in a 42–21 win for the Trojans. More importantly, all six touchdowns scored by USC team were by African-American players, two by USC running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham, against an all-white Crimson Tide team.[3] The game hastened the racial integration of football at Alabama and in the American South.[2][4]

Jimmy Jones led the team in passing, completing 121 of 234 passes for 1,877 yards with 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Clarence Davis led the team in rushing with 214 carries for 972 yards and nine touchdowns. Bob Chandler led the team in receiving with 41 catches for 590 yards and three touchdowns.[5]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 12vs. No. 16 Alabama*No. 3W 42–2172,175[6][7]
September 19No. 9 Nebraska*No. 3T 21–2173,768
September 26at Iowa*No. 7W 48–056,131
October 3Oregon StateNo. 5
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 45–1357,769
October 10at No. 12 StanfordNo. 4L 14–2486,000
October 17WashingtonNo. 11
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 28–2556,166
October 24at OregonNo. 10L 7–1034,000
October 31CaliforniadaggerNo. 18
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
L 10–1354,750
November 7vs. Washington StateW 70–3314,500
November 21at UCLA
L 20–4578,773
November 28No. 4 Notre Dame*
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
W 38–2864,694
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

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Alabama

[edit]
1 234Total
USC 12 101010 42
Alabama 0 768 21

Nebraska

[edit]

Iowa

[edit]
1 234Total
USC 7 27140 48
Iowa 0 000 0

[8]

Oregon State

[edit]

Jimmy Jones 15/21, 304 Yds, 3 TD, rush TD

[9]

Notre Dame

[edit]
1 234Total
Notre Dame 7 777 28
USC 21 3140 38

[10]

Personnel

[edit]
1970 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 77 Pete Adams So
RB Mike Berry
OL Dave Brown
WR 10 Bob Chandler (C) Sr
RB 39 Sam Cunningham So
RB 28 Clarence Davis Sr
WR Sam Dickerson
RB 33 Charlie Evans Sr
OL Allan Graf
RB Lou Harris
RB Bill Holland
QB 8 Jimmy Jones Jr
RB Rod McNeill
OT 78 Marv Montgomery Sr
WR Mike Morgan
TE 86 Gerry Mullins Sr
QB 6 Mike Rae So
OL Mike Ryan
TE Chris Vella
OT 75 John Vella Jr
OL Wayne Yary
TE 89 Charle Young Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Ken Carter
DB Bruce Dyer
DB Walt Failor
DE 94 John Grant So
DL John Grissum
DE 83 Willie Hall Sr
LB Mike Haluchak
DB Tyrone Hudson
LB John Papadakis
LB Ron Preston
DL John Skiles
LB Greg Slough
DT 93 Tody Smith Sr
DB 46 Skip Thomas Jr
DB Curt Timmons
DL 84 Charlie Weaver (C) Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Ron Ayala
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

1970 team players in the NFL

[edit]

The following players were claimed in the 1971 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Marv Montgomery Tackle 1 12 Denver Broncos
Tody Smith Defensive tackle 1 25 Dallas Cowboys
Charles Weaver Defensive end 2 48 Detroit Lions
Sam Dickerson Wide receiver 3 55 San Francisco 49ers
Gerry Mullins Tight end 4 86 Pittsburgh Steelers
Clarence Davis Running back 4 97 Oakland Raiders
Greg Slough Linebacker 6 149 Oakland Raiders
Herman Franklin Wide receiver 6 152 Detroit Lions
Bob Chandler Wide receiver 7 160 Buffalo Bills
Charles Evans Running back 14 356 New York Giants

[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Yaeger, Don; Sam Cunningham; John Papadakis (September 1, 2006). Turning of the Tide: How One Game Changed the South. Center Street. ISBN 1-931722-94-3.
  3. ^ Robbins, Lenn (August 26, 2007). "Trojans Have Horses". New York Post. Retrieved August 26, 2007.
  4. ^ Forde, Pat (August 28, 2007). "The Dash Is Off and Running". ESPN. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  5. ^ "1970 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  6. ^ Land, Charles (September 13, 1970). "Tough Trojans top Tide, 42–21". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  7. ^ Thomas, Ronnie (September 13, 1970). "Tide drubbed 42–21 by USC". The Florence Times. p. 17. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  8. ^ "Trojans Roll Past Iowa". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. September 27, 1970.
  9. ^ "Jimmy Jones quiets critics by passing USC past OSU". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. October 4, 1970.
  10. ^ "Trojans Down Irish by 38-28". The Register-Guard. Eugene. November 29, 1970.
  11. ^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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