1967 USC Trojans football team

The 1967 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. In their eighth year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 10–1 record (6–1 against conference opponents), won the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU or Pac-8) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 258 to 87.^[1] The team was ranked #1 in the final AP and Coaches Polls.

1967 USC Trojans football
Consensus national champion AAWU champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 14–3 vs. Indiana
Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	10–1 (6–1 AAWU)
Head coach	John McKay (8th season)
Captains	Tim Rossovich Adrian Young
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 94,500, grass)
Seasons ← 1966 1968 →

1967 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 USC $	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Oregon State	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
UCLA	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Stanford	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Washington	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
California	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Oregon	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Washington State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Steve Sogge led the team in passing, completing 75 of 151 passes for 1,032 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. O. J. Simpson led the team in rushing with 291 carries for 1,543 yards and 13 touchdowns. Earl McCullouch led the team in receiving with 30 catches for 540 yards and five touchdowns.^[2] Simpson won the Walter Camp Award.

Robert Kardashian is said to have met OJ Simpson while serving as a water boy for the team.^[3] The relationship would later culminate in Kardashian being a part of the Dream Team in the O. J. Simpson murder case.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 15	Washington State	No. 7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 49–0	44,364
September 23	No. 5 Texas*	No. 4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 17–13	67,705
September 30	at Michigan State*	No. 2	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 21–17	75,287
October 7	Stanford	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	W 30–0	62,598
October 14	at No. 5 Notre Dame*	No. 1	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	W 24–7	59,075
October 21	at Washington	No. 1	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 23–6	58,754
October 28	Oregon	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 28–6	48,807
November 4	at California	No. 1	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 31–12	43,028
November 11	at Oregon State	No. 1	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 0–3	41,494
November 18	No. 1 UCLA	No. 4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	W 21–20	90,772
January 1, 1968	vs. No. 4 Indiana*	No. 1	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 14–3	102,946
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1967 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR, K 27 Rikki Aldridge C 66 Dick Allmon WR 83 Ron Drake WR 84 Bob Klein G 68 Steve Lehmer HB 22 Earl McCullouch QB 15 Toby Page G 76 Mike Scarpace FB 38 Dan Scott HB 32 O. J. Simpson Jr QB 12 Steve Sogge Sr OT 74 Mike Taylor OT 77 Ron Yary Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 30 Pat Cashman DL 56 Jim Gunn DL 85 Bill Hayhoe DT 75 Gary Magner DL, K 88 Tim Rossovich LB 50 Adrian Young	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John McKay Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Source:^[4]

Game summaries

Washington

• OJ Simpson 30 rushes, 235 yards ^[5]

UCLA

Main article: 1967 USC vs. UCLA football game

See also: 1967 UCLA Bruins football team

#1 UCLA Bruins (7–0–1) vs. ##4 USC Trojans (8–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
UCLA	7	0	7	6	20
USC	7	7	0	7	21

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

• Date: November 18, 1967
• Game weather: Sunny
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson
• Recap

Game information

First quarter UCLA – Greg Jones 12-yard run (Zenon Andrusyshyn kick). UCLA 7–0. Drive: USC – Pat Cashman 55-yard interception return (Rikki Aldridge kick). Tie 7–7. Second quarter USC – O. J. Simpson 13-yard run (Rikki Aldridge kick). USC 14–7. Drive: Third quarter UCLA – George Farmer 53-yard pass from Gary Beban (Zenon Andrusyshyn kick). Tie 14–14. Drive: Fourth quarter UCLA – Dave Nuttall -yard pass from Gary Beban (kick blocked). UCLA 20—14. Drive: USC – O. J. Simpson 64-yard run (Rikki Aldridge kick). USC 21—20. Drive:

The University of California at Los Angeles, 7-0-1 and ranked Number 1, with senior quarterback Gary Beban as a Heisman Trophy candidate, played the University of Southern California, 8-1 and ranked Number 4, with junior running back O. J. Simpson as a Heisman candidate. This game is widely regarded as the signature game in the UCLA–USC rivalry and the Trojans won the game by a score of 21-20.

1967 Trojans in the NFL

• O. J. Simpson
• Ron Yary

Awards and honors

• O. J. Simpson (Junior), Running back, Walter Camp Award
• Ron Yary (Senior), Tackle, Outland Trophy

References

1. . College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
2. "1967 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
3. "A History of O.J. Simpson's Relationship with the Kardashian Family".
4. "Today's bowl rosters: Rose". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1968. p. 54.
5. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement