1987 USC Trojans football team
The 1987 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Larry Smith, the Trojans compiled an 8–4 record (7–1 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 321 to 229.[1]
1987 USC Trojans football | |
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Pac-10 co-champion | |
Rose Bowl, L 17–20 vs. Michigan State | |
Conference | Pacific-10 Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 17 |
AP | No. 18 |
1987 record | 8–4 (7–1 Pac-10) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Chuck Stobart (1st season) |
Captain | Dave Cadigan Greg Coauette |
Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,516, grass) |
1987 Pacific-10 Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 USC + | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 UCLA + | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Washington | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 20 Arizona State | 3 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oregon | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stanford | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arizona | 2 | – | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
California | 2 | – | 3 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Washington State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oregon State | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Trojans lost their inaugural game of Larry Smith's tenure to Michigan State in the first night game ever played at Spartan Stadium. USC secured a Rose Bowl berth by tying UCLA for the Pacific-10 championship and winning the head to head match. They faced Michigan State again, and lost 17–20.
Quarterback Rodney Peete led the team in passing, completing 197 of 332 passes for 2,709 yards with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Steven Webster led the team in rushing with 239 carries for 1,109 yards and six touchdowns. Erik Affholter led the team in receiving yards with 44 catches for 640 yards and four touchdowns.[2]
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 7 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Michigan State* | No. 19 | ABC | L 13–27 | 77,922 | |
September 19 | 12:30 p.m. | Boston College* | ABC | W 23–17 | 46,205 | ||
September 26 | 1:00 p.m. | at California | W 31–14 | 62,000 | |||
October 3 | 6:30 p.m. | Oregon State |
| W 48–14 | 47,979 | ||
October 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at Oregon | L 27–34 | 39,587 | |||
October 17 | 12:30 p.m. | at Washington | ABC | W 37–23 | 71,678 | ||
October 24 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 10 Notre Dame* | CBS | L 15–26 | 59,075 | ||
October 31 | 1:30 p.m. | Washington State |
| W 42–7 | 24,834 | ||
November 7 | 12:30 p.m. | Stanford![]() |
| ABC | W 39–24 | 58,922 | |
November 14 | 1:30 p.m. | Arizona |
| W 12–10 | 51,428 | ||
November 21 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 5 UCLA |
| ABC | W 17–13 | 92,516 | |
January 1, 1988 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. No. 8 Michigan State* | No. 16 | NBC | L 17–20 | 103,847 | |
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Roster
1987 USC Trojans football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Rankings
Game summaries
UCLA
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References
- "Southern California Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- "1987 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.
- "Southern Cal takes roses from UCLA." Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 22.