1979 USC Trojans football team

The 1979 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–0–1 record (6–0–1 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 389 to 171.^[2] The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.

1979 USC Trojans football
National champion (Football Research) Pac-10 champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–16 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	11–0–1 (6–0–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	John Robinson (4th season)
Captains	Dennis Johnson Charles White
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 94,500, grass)
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	0	–	1			11	–	0	–	1
No. 11 Washington	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Arizona	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	1
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
California	5	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Stanford	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Arizona State †	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
UCLA	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Washington State	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion † – Arizona State later forfeited 5 wins (3 in conference) due to NCAA sanctions^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

Quarterback Paul McDonald led the team in passing, completing 164 of 264 passes for 2,223 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. Charles White led the team in rushing with 332 carries for 2,050 yards and 19 touchdowns. Dan Garcia led the team in receiving with 29 catches for 492 yards and three touchdowns.^[3]

The team was named national champion by the College Football Researchers Association, an NCAA-designated major selector.^[4]: 114

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	at Texas Tech*	No. 1	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX		W 21–7	52,991
September 15	at Oregon State	No. 1	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	ONTV	W 42–5	32,000
September 22	Minnesota*	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 48–14	61,766
September 29	at No. 20 LSU*	No. 1	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 17–12	78,322
October 6	Washington State	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 50–21	55,117
October 13	Stanford	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)		T 21–21	76,067
October 20	at No. 9 Notre Dame*	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh)	ABC	W 42–23	59,075
October 27	at California	No. 3	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA		W 24–14	76,780
November 3	Arizona	No. 3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 34–7	62,054
November 10	at No. 15 Washington	No. 4	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	ABC	W 24–17	60,527
November 24	UCLA	No. 4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	KABC	W 49–14	88,214
January 1	vs. No. 1 Ohio State*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	W 17–16	105,526
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Season summary

At Texas Tech

At Oregon State

Paul McDonald completed eight of nine passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns in just one half of action while Charles White watched from the sidelines with an injured shoulder. McDonald led the Trojans to touchdowns on their first five possessions before he and the rest of USC starters sat for the second half.^[5]

Minnesota

At LSU

Washington State

Stanford

• Charles White 32 rushes, 221 yards ^[6]

At Notre Dame

#4 USC Trojans (5–0–1) at #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	7	14	21	42
Notre Dame	0	7	7	9	23

at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

• Date: October 20
• Game attendance: 59,075
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson & Frank Broyles
• Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Oct 21.

Game information

First quarter No scoring Second quarter USC – Garcia 12-yard pass from McDonald (Hipp kick). USC 7–0. ND – Ferguson 1-yard run (Male kick). Tie 7–7. Third quarter USC – White 3-yard run (Hipp kick). USC 14–7 USC – White 1-yard run (Hipp kick). USC 21–7. ND – Ferguson 21-yard run (Male kick). USC 21–14. Fourth quarter USC – Williams 12-yard pass from McDonald (Hipp kick). USC 28–14. ND – Stone 2-yard run (kick failed). USC 28–20. USC – White 1-yard run (Hipp kick). USC 35–20. USC – White 1-yard run (Hipp kick). USC 42–20. ND – Male 42-yard field goal. USC 42–23. Top rushers USC – Charles White – 44 rushes, 261 yards, 4 TD ^[7]

At California

#3 USC Trojans (6–0–1) at California Golden Bears (4–3)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	7	0	0	17	24
California	0	7	0	7	14

at California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

• Date: October 27
• Game attendance: 76,780
• ^[8]

Game information

First quarter USC – James Hunter 3-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Eric Hipp kick). USC 7–0. Second quarter CAL – Darnell Chapman 74-yard blocked field goal return (Mick Luckhurst kick). Tie 7–7. Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter USC – Charles White 2-yard run (Eric Hipp kick). USC 14–7. CAL – Matt Bouza 13-yard pass from Rich Campbell (Mick Luckhurst kick), 5:24. Tie 14–14. USC – Eric Hipp 45-yard field goal, 2:46. USC 17–7. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards. USC – Charles White 5-yard run (Eric Hipp kick), 0:02. USC 24–7. Top passers USC – Paul McDonald – 15/35, 212 yards, TD CAL – Rich Campbell – 24/40, 266 yards, TD Top rushers USC – Charles White – 44 rushes, 198 yards, 2 TD CAL – Paul Jones – 13 rushes, 36 yards Top receivers USC – Ray Butler – 4 receptions, 56 yards CAL – Matt Bouza – 7 receptions, 101 yards, TD

Arizona

At Washington

#4 USC Trojans (8–0–1) at #15 Washington Huskies (7–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	10	7	7	24
Washington	3	0	7	7	17

at Husky Stadium, Seattle, Washington

• Date: November 10
• Game attendance: 60,527
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson & Frank Broyles
• ^[9]

Game information

First quarter WASH – Lansford 30-yard field goal. Washington 3–0. Second quarter USC – Garcia 8-yard pass from McDonald (Hipp kick). USC 7–3. USC – Hipp 31-yard field goal. USC 10–3. Third quarter USC – K. Williams 19-yard pass from McDonald (Hipp kick). USC 17–3. WASH – Flick 1-yard run (Lansford kick). USC 17–10. Fourth quarter WASH – Skansi 12-yard pass from Flick (Lansford kick). Tie 17–17. USC – M. Allen 10-yard run (Hipp kick). USC 24–17. Top rushers USC – Charles White – 38 rushes, 243 yards^[10]

Vs. UCLA

UCLA Bruins (5–5) vs. #4 USC Trojans (9–0–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
UCLA	0	0	7	7	14
USC	14	21	7	7	49

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

• Date: November 24
• Game attendance: 88,214
• ^[11]

Game information

First quarter USC – Charles White 2-yard run (Eric Hipp kick). USC 7–0. USC – Ronnie Lott 30-yard interception return (Eric Hipp kick). USC 14–0. Second quarter USC – Charles White 1-yard run (Eric Hipp kick). USC 21–0. USC – Charles White 26-yard run (Eric Hipp kick). USC 28–0. USC – Charles White 2-yard run (Eric Hipp kick). USC 35–0. Third quarter UCLA – Jo-Jo Townsell 79-yard pass from Rick Bashore (Peter Boermeester kick). USC 35–7. USC – Vic Rakhshani 5-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Eric Hipp kick). USC 42–7. Fourth quarter UCLA – Jo-Jo Townsell 5-yard pass from Rick Bashore (Peter Boermeester kick). USC 42–14. USC – Michael Hayes 54-yard run (Eric Hipp kick). USC 49–14. Top passers UCLA – Rick Bashore – 9/17, 224 yards, 2 TD, INT USC – Paul McDonald – 17/23, 199 yards, TD, INT Top rushers UCLA – Freeman McNeil – 30 rushes, 120 yards USC – Charles White – 35 rushes, 194 yards, 4 TD Top receivers UCLA – Jo-Jo Townsell – 5 receptions, 129 yards, 2 TD USC – Rod Garcia – 3 receptions, 42 yards

Rose Bowl (vs. Ohio State)

• Charles White 39 rushes, 247 yards^[12]

Personnel

1979 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 33 Marcus Allen So TE 89 Hoby Brenner Jr G 71 Brad Budde Sr WR 86 Ray Butler Sr RB Paul DiLulo C 68 Chris Foote Sr G 64 Roy Foster So WR Dan Garcia RB Anthony Gibson RB Michael Harper RB Michael Hayes TE 85 James Hunter Jr RB Ricky Johnson RB Doug MacKenzie C 66 Bruce Matthews Fr QB 16 Paul McDonald Sr WR Malcolm Moore OT 72 Don Mosebar Fr OT 77 Anthony Muñoz Sr WR 26 Danny Garcia Sr WR Vic Rakhshani QB Scott Tinsley OT 68 Keith Van Horne Jr RB 12 Charles White Sr WR 8 Kevin Williams Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL George Achica LB 51 Chip Banks So DT 94 Bryon Darby Fr S 47 Joey Browner Fr LB 54 Steve Busick Jr LB 87 August Curley Fr DL Byron Darby DL Dennis Edwards CB 40 Jeff Fisher Jr LB Riki Gray LB 56 Dennis Johnson Sr DT 96 Myron Lapka Sr S 42 Ronnie Lott Jr LB 58 Mike McDonald Sr LB 57 Larry McGrew Sr DB Kenney Moore LB 81 Eric Scoggins Jr DB 49 Dennis Smith Jr DL Ty Sperling DT 93 Kelly Thomas Fr DB 23 Herb Ward	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Eric Hipp P Dave Pryor	Head coach John Robinson Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

1979 team players in the NFL

• Marcus Allen
• Chip Banks
• Hoby Brenner
• Joey Browner
• Brad Budde
• Steve Busick
• Ray Butler
• Dennis Johnson
• Myron Lapka
• Ronnie Lott
• Jeff Fisher
• Chris Foote
• Roy Foster
• Bruce Matthews
• Paul McDonald
• Larry McGrew
• Don Mosebar
• Anthony Muñoz
• Eric Scoggins
• Dennis Smith
• Keith Van Horne
• Charles White

Awards and honors

• Brad Budde, Lombardi Award
• Charles White, Heisman Trophy^[13]
• Charles White, Maxwell Award
• Charles White, Walter Camp Award

References

1. "2017 Media Guide" (PDF). thesundevils.com. ASU Athletics. p. 127. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
2. . College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
3. "1979 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
4. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
5. Ocala Star-Banner. 1979 Sept 16. Page 2C. Retrieved 2021-Sep-12.
6. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
7. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
8. "Late scores sends Trojans past Bears." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Oct 28. Retrieved 2021-Sep-24.
9. "USC Wins Bowl Berth Unless...". The Register-Guard. Eugene. November 11, 1979.
10. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
11. "SC Gets Roses, White Wants Trophy." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Nov 25. Retrieved 2020-Oct-01.
12. 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
13. . Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.