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1976 USC Trojans football team

American college football season

Field	Value
year	1976
team	USC Trojans
sport	football
conference	Pacific-8 Conference
short_conf	Pac-8
CoachRank	2
APRank	2
record	11–1
conf_record	7–0
head_coach	John Robinson
hc_year	1st
captain	Ricky Bell
captain2	Vince Evans
captain3	Eric Williams
stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
champion	National champion (multiple selectors)
Pac-8 champion
Rose Bowl champion
bowl	[Rose Bowl](1977-rose-bowl)
bowl_result	W 14–6 vs. [Michigan](1976-michigan-wolverines-football-team)

Pac-8 champion Rose Bowl champion 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. 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.

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

Schedule

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Game summaries

Missouri

At Oregon

At Purdue

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

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

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.

Rose Bowl (vs Michigan)

Roster

References

"Southern California Yearly Results (1975-1979)". David DeLassus.
"1976 Southern California Trojans Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
(August 2018). "2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records". National Collegiate Athletic Association.
(September 12, 1976). "USC beaten from here to Tampa, 46–25". The Los Angeles Times.
(September 19, 1976). "Aroused Trojans rip Ducks". Tri-City Herald.
(September 26, 1976). "Southern Cal downs Purdue". The Lima News.
(October 3, 1976). "Sub backs spark USC's rout". The Sunday Oregonian.
(October 10, 1976). "WSU scares USC, Bell sets record". The Columbian.
(October 24, 1976). "USC sends Oregon St. reeling, 56–0". The San Bernardino County Sun-Telegram.
(October 31, 1976). "No. 4 USC wins 20–6". The Billings Gazette.
(November 7, 1976). "No Bell, but USC still ringer". The Sacramento Bee.
(November 14, 1976). "USC defeats Huskies". The Columbian.
(November 21, 1976). "USC's power knocks out UCLA". The Daily Breeze.
(November 28, 1976). "USC trips Irish 17–13". The Times Recorder.
(January 2, 1977). "Evans' passing puts Michigan on the run". The Los Angeles Times.
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.
(November 28, 1976). "Trojans Trip Up Error-Prone Irish". [[Ocala Star-Banner]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

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