1981 USC Trojans football team
The 1981 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled a 9–3 record (5–2 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for second place in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 284 to 170.[1]
Quarterback John Mazur led the team in passing, completing 93 of 194 passes for 1,128 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Marcus Allen led the team in rushing with 433 carries for 2,427 yards and 22 touchdowns. Jeff Simmons led the team in receiving yards with 28 catches for 543 yards and one touchdown.[2] Allen became the first player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards in one season. He also gained a total of 2,683 offensive yards, led the nation in scoring, and won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award and was also the Pac-10 player of the year.
Schedule
Date |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
September 12 |
Tennessee* |
No. 5 |
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA |
|
W 43–7 |
62,147 |
September 19 |
at Indiana* |
No. 2 |
Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN |
ONTV |
W 21–0 |
51,167 |
September 26 |
No. 2 Oklahoma* |
No. 1 |
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA |
ABC |
W 28–24 |
85,651 |
October 3 |
at Oregon State |
No. 1 |
Parker Stadium • Corvallis, OR |
|
W 56–22 |
33,000 |
October 10 |
Arizona |
No. 1 |
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA |
|
L 10–13 |
56,315 |
October 17 |
Stanford |
No. 7 |
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA |
|
W 25–17 |
76,291 |
October 24 |
at Notre Dame* |
No. 5 |
Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry) |
|
W 14–7 |
59,075 |
October 31 |
No. 14 Washington State |
No. 4 |
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA |
|
W 41–17 |
60,972 |
November 7 |
at California |
No. 3 |
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
|
W 21–3 |
74,000 |
November 14 |
at Washington |
No. 3 |
Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA |
|
L 3–13 |
47,347 |
November 21 |
No. 15 UCLA |
No. 10 |
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell) |
ABC |
W 22–21 |
89,432 |
January 1 |
vs. No. 7 Penn State* |
No. 8 |
Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) |
NBC |
L 10–26 |
71,053 |
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. |
Game notes
Tennessee
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Tennessee |
0 |
0 | 7 | 0 |
7 |
• USC |
6 |
20 | 10 | 7 |
43 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
|
Q1 |
| USC | Allen 9 yard run (kick failed) | USC 6–0 |
|
Q2 |
| USC | White 50 yard pass from Mazur (run failed) | USC 12–0 |
|
Q2 |
| USC | Allen 12 yard run (Livingston kick) | USC 19–0 |
|
Q2 |
| USC | Allen 4 yard run (Livingston kick) | USC 26–0 |
|
Q3 |
| USC | Allen 55 yard run (Livingston kick) | USC 33–0 |
|
Q3 |
| USC | Livingston 47 yard field goal | USC 36–0 |
|
Q3 |
| TEN | Morris 1 yard pass from Cockrell (Reveiz kick) | USC 36–7 |
|
Q4 |
| USC | Boyer 3 yard pass from Salisbury (Jordan kick) | USC 43–7 |
|
Marcus Allen 22 Rush, 210 Yds (sat out most of second half)[3]
UCLA
UCLA vs. USC
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
UCLA |
7 |
11 | 3 | 0 |
21 |
• USC |
3 |
9 | 0 | 10 |
22 |
- Source: Eugene Register-Guard
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
|
1 |
| USC | Jordan 38-yard field goal | USC 3-0 |
|
1 |
| UCLA | Nelson 11-yard run (Johnson kick) | UCLA 7-3 |
|
2 |
| USC | Jordan 44-yard field goal | UCLA 7-6 |
|
2 |
| USC | Allen 7-yard run (pass failed) | USC 12-7 |
|
2 |
| UCLA | Coffman 23-yard pass from Ramsey (Ramsey to Coffman pass) | UCLA 15-12 |
|
2 |
| UCLA | Johnson 32-yard field goal | UCLA 18-12 |
|
3 |
| UCLA | Johnson 28-yard field goal | UCLA 21-12 |
|
4 |
| USC | Jordan 22-yard field goal | UCLA 21-15 |
|
4 |
2:14 | USC | Allen 5-yard run (Jordan kick) | USC 22-21 |
|
1981 Team Players in the NFL
Awards pand honors
References
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |