1966 USC Trojans football team

1966 USC Trojans football
AAWU champion
Rose Bowl, L 13–14 vs. Purdue
ConferenceAthletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
CoachesNo. 18
Record7–4 (4–1 AAWU)
Head coach
Captains
  • Nate Shaw
  • Rod Sherman
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1966 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
USC $ 4 1 0 7 4 0
No. 5 UCLA 3 1 0 9 1 0
Oregon State 3 1 0 7 3 0
Washington 4 3 0 6 4 0
California 2 3 0 3 7 0
Oregon 1 3 0 3 7 0
Washington State 1 3 0 3 7 0
Stanford 1 4 0 5 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1966 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 7–4 record (4–1 against conference opponents), won the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU or Pac-8) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 199 to 128.[1] The team was ranked #18 in the final Coaches Poll in late November; the final AP poll of early December included only the top ten this season

Quarterback Troy Winslow led the Trojans in passing, completing 82 of 138 passes for 1,023 yards with 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Don McCall led the team in rushing with 127 carries for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns. Ron Drake led USC in receiving with 52 catches for 607 yards and four touchdowns.[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 17at Texas*No. 9W 10–642,000[3]
September 24Wisconsin*No. 5W 38–352,325[4]
October 1at Oregon StateNo. 5W 21–029,217[5]
October 8WashingtonNo. 6
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 17–1455,960[6]
October 15at StanfordNo. 5W 21–761,500[7]
October 22Clemson*No. 5
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 30–044,614[8]
October 28at Miami (FL)*No. 5L 7–1051,156[9]
November 5CaliforniaNo. 9
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 35–947,199[10]
November 19at No. 8 UCLANo. 7
L 7–1481,980[11]
November 26No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 10
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
L 0–5188,520[12]
January 2, 1967vs. No. 7 Purdue*NBCL 13–14101,455[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[14]

Game summaries

At Texas

USC at Texas
Team 1 234Total
No. 9 Trojans 3 700 10
Longhorns 0 006 6

[15]

At Miami (FL)

Notre Dame

Notre Dame at USC
Team 1 234Total
No. 1 Fighting Irish 14 17137 51
No. 10 Trojans 0 000 0

[16]

Purdue (Rose Bowl)

Purdue vs. USC
Team 1 234Total
No. 7 Boilermakers 0 770 14
Trojans 0 706 13

References

  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. ^ "1966 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Troy's Winslow lassoes Longhorns 10–6". The Sacramento Bee. September 18, 1966. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Southern Cal smothers Wisconsin 38–3". The Sacramento Bee. September 25, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Trojans baffle Beavers". Independent Press-Telegram. October 2, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "SC outlasts Huskies". The Register. October 9, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Trojans wallop Indians". The News and Observer. October 16, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Trojans paddle Clemson". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 23, 1966. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Giant-killer Miami bops No. 5 Southern Cal 10–7". The Courier-Journal. October 29, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Trojans roll over California, 35–9". Tri-City Herald. November 6, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Dow leads UCLA to 14–7 upset". The Daily Breeze. November 20, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Irish bombard U.S.C., 51–0". The Kansas City Star. November 27, 1966. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "USC loses 14–13 gamble". The Sacramento Union. January 3, 1967. Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Schedule/Results (1966 Southern California)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  15. ^ Palm Beach Post. September 18, 1966
  16. ^ "Irish Trouncing of U.S.C. Worst in Trojans' History". The New York Times. November 27, 1966. Retrieved August 17, 2019.