1976 USC Trojans football team

1976 USC Trojans football
1976 USC Trojans football
National champion (multiple selectors); Pac-8 champion; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 14–6 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	11–1 (7–0 Pac-8)
Head coach	John Robinson (1st season);
Captains	Ricky Bell; Vince Evans; Eric Williams;
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1976 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	7	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 15 UCLA	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
Stanford	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Washington	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Washington State	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Oregon	1	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their first year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–1 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, defeated Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 386 to 139.^[1] The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.

Quarterback Vince Evans led the team in passing, completing 95 of 177 passes for 1,440 yards with ten touchdowns and six interceptions. Ricky Bell led the team in rushing with 280 carries for 1,433 yards and 14 touchdowns. Shelton Diggs led the team in receiving with 37 catches for 655 yards and eight touchdowns.^[2]

The team was named national champion by Berryman, Billingsley MOV, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, and Matthews, all NCAA-designated major selectors.^[3]^: 114

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	Missouri*	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		L 25–46	49,535	^[4]
September 18	at Oregon		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		W 53–0	40,600	^[5]
September 25	at Purdue*	No. 19	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 31–13	65,425	^[6]
October 2	Iowa*	No. 13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 55–0	55,518	^[7]
October 9	at Washington State	No. 11	Kingdome Seattle, WA		W 23–14	37,268	^[8]
October 23	Oregon State	No. 7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 56–0	53,216	^[9]
October 30	California	No. 4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 20–6	60,323	^[10]
November 6	at Stanford	No. 4	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)		W 48–24	76,500	^[11]
November 13	Washington	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 20–3	49,264	^[12]
November 20	at No. 2 UCLA	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	W 24–14	90,519	^[13]
November 27	No. 13 Notre Dame*	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	ABC	W 17–13	76,561	^[14]
January 1, 1977	vs. No. 2 Michigan*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 14–6	106,182	^[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Missouri

At Oregon

At Purdue

#19 USC Trojans (1–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	7	0	14	10	31
Purdue	7	0	6	0	13

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: September 25
Game attendance: 65,425
^[16]^[17]

Game information

First quarter

USC – Mosi Tatupu 1-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive:
PUR – Scott Dierking 2-yard run (Turner kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

USC – Ricky Bell 5-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 14–7. Drive:
USC – Simmrin 4-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick). USC 21–7. Drive:
PUR – Skibinski 1-yard run (kick failed). USC 21–13. Drive:

Fourth quarter

USC – Mosi Tatupu 27-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 28–13. Drive:
USC – Glen Walker 44-yard field goal. USC 31–13. Drive:

Top passers

USC – Vince Evans – 168 yards, TD
PUR

Top rushers

USC – Ricky Bell – 37 rushes, 177 yards, TD
PUR

Top receivers

USC
PUR

Iowa

At Washington State

#11 USC Trojans (3–1) at Washington State Cougars (1–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	14	0	9	23
Washington State	0	7	0	7	14

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

Date: October 9
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Game attendance: 37,268
^[18]

Game information

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

USC – Ricky Bell 1-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive:
USC – Shelton Diggs 55-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick, 6:23. USC 14–0. Drive:
WSU – Harold Gillum 4-yard run (Chuck Diedrick kick). USC 14–7. Drive:

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

WSU – Brian Kelly 23-yard pass from Jack Thompson (Chuck Diedrick kick). Tie 14–14. Drive:
USC – Glen Walker 26-yard field goal, 9:26. USC 17–14. Drive:
USC – Ricky Bell 9-yard run (kick failed). USC 23–14. Drive:

Top passers

USC
WSU – Jack Thompson – 26/48, 341 yards, TD

Top rushers

USC – Ricky Bell – 51 rushes, 346 yards, 2 TD
WSU

Top receivers

USC
WSU

Oregon State

California

At Stanford

Washington

Vs. UCLA

Notre Dame

#13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8–2) at #3 USC Trojans (9–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	0	0	13	13
USC	0	7	7	3	17

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Date: November 27
Game attendance: 76,561
TV: ABC
Recap/Box

Game information

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

USC – Shelton Diggs 6-yard pass from Rob Hertel (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards.

Third quarter

USC – Randy Simmrin 63-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick), 13:30. USC 14–0. Drive:

Fourth quarter

ND – Vagas Ferguson 17-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick), 14:06. USC 14–7. Drive: 4 plays, 68 yards.
USC – Glen Walker 46-yard field goal. USC 17–7. Drive:
ND – Rusty Lisch 1-yard run (two-point conversion failed). USC 17–13. Drive: 76 yards.

Top passers

ND
USC – Vince Evans – 6/14, 106 yards, TD

Top rushers

ND
USC – Ricky Bell – 21 rushes, 75 yards

Top receivers

ND
USC – Randy Simmrin – 6 receptions, 121 yards, TD

Ricky Bell was held to 75 yards on 21 carries but USC's passing game thrived with Vince Evans completing six of his 14 passes for 106 yards with Randy Simmrin hauling in six passes for 121 yards and Evans' touchdown pass.

^[19]

Rose Bowl (vs Michigan)

Roster

1976 USC Trojans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`42`	Ricky Bell	Sr
OL		Gary Bethel
OL		Brad Budde
RB	`21`	Lynn Cain	Jr
WR	`26`	Shelton Diggs	Sr
QB	`8`	Vince Evans	Sr
RB		Dave Farmer
TE	`86`	William Gay	Jr
QB	`6`	Rob Hertel	Jr
G	`61`	Donnie Hickman	Sr
RB		Kurt Hollmer
G	`66`	Pat Howell	So
RB		Vic Jackson
QB		Paul McDonald
TE		Jim Obradovich
OL		Otis Page
OL		Marvin Powell
WR		Ken Randle
WR		Mike Robinson
WR		Randy Simmrin
RB		Bernard Tarver
RB		Mosi Tatupu
RB	`12`	Charles White	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`44`	Mike Burns	Sr
DB		Ron Bush
LB	`58`	Mario Celotto	Jr
LB	`85`	Garry Cobb	So
DT	`92`	Rich Dimler	So
DL		Ed Gutierrez
DB		Carter Hartwig
DT	`79`	Gary Jeter	Sr
DT	`96`	Myron Lapka	So
LB	`57`	David Lewis	Sr
LB	`52`	Rod Martin	Sr
LB	`60`	Clay Matthews	Jr
DB		Ricky Odom
DL		Harold Steele
DB		Clint Strozier
DB		Dennis Thurman
DL		Walt Underwood
DL		Vinny Van Dyke
DL		Eric Williams

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K, P		Glen Walker

Head coach

John Robinson (1st year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2021-Jan-04

References

^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
^ "1976 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
^ "USC beaten from here to Tampa, 46–25". The Los Angeles Times. September 12, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Aroused Trojans rip Ducks". Tri-City Herald. September 19, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Southern Cal downs Purdue". The Lima News. September 26, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sub backs spark USC's rout". The Sunday Oregonian. October 3, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "WSU scares USC, Bell sets record". The Columbian. October 10, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC sends Oregon St. reeling, 56–0". The San Bernardino County Sun-Telegram. October 24, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "No. 4 USC wins 20–6". The Billings Gazette. October 31, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "No Bell, but USC still ringer". The Sacramento Bee. November 7, 1976. Retrieved September 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC defeats Huskies". The Columbian. November 14, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC's power knocks out UCLA". The Daily Breeze. November 21, 1976. Retrieved September 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC trips Irish 17–13". The Times Recorder. November 28, 1976. Retrieved September 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Evans' passing puts Michigan on the run". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1977. Retrieved September 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Sep 26. Retrieved 2018-Sep-23.
^ "U.S.C. Crushes Purdue 31-13; Bell 177 yards." New York Times. 1976 Sep 26. Retrieved 2021-Jan-05.
^ "Bell runs for 346 as USC clips Cougars." Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 OCt 10. Retrieved 2018-Dec-29.
^ "Trojans Trip Up Error-Prone Irish". Ocala Star-Banner. November 28, 1976. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

External links

Game program: USC vs. Washington State at Seattle – October 9, 1976

[1] "Southern California Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.

[2] "1976 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

[2018ncaabook-3] 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.

[4] "USC beaten from here to Tampa, 46–25". The Los Angeles Times. September 12, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Aroused Trojans rip Ducks". Tri-City Herald. September 19, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Southern Cal downs Purdue". The Lima News. September 26, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Sub backs spark USC's rout". The Sunday Oregonian. October 3, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "WSU scares USC, Bell sets record". The Columbian. October 10, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "USC sends Oregon St. reeling, 56–0". The San Bernardino County Sun-Telegram. October 24, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "No. 4 USC wins 20–6". The Billings Gazette. October 31, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "No Bell, but USC still ringer". The Sacramento Bee. November 7, 1976. Retrieved September 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "USC defeats Huskies". The Columbian. November 14, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] "USC's power knocks out UCLA". The Daily Breeze. November 21, 1976. Retrieved September 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[14] "USC trips Irish 17–13". The Times Recorder. November 28, 1976. Retrieved September 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[15] "Evans' passing puts Michigan on the run". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1977. Retrieved September 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[16] Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 Sep 26. Retrieved 2018-Sep-23.

[17] "U.S.C. Crushes Purdue 31-13; Bell 177 yards." New York Times. 1976 Sep 26. Retrieved 2021-Jan-05.

[18] "Bell runs for 346 as USC clips Cougars." Eugene Register-Guard. 1976 OCt 10. Retrieved 2018-Dec-29.

[19] "Trojans Trip Up Error-Prone Irish". Ocala Star-Banner. November 28, 1976. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

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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)
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