1962 USC Trojans football
National champion
AAWU champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 42–37 vs. Wisconsin
ConferenceAthletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record11–0 (4–0 AAWU)
Head coach
Captains
  • Marv Marinovich
  • Ben Wilson
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1961
1963 →
1962 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 USC $ 4 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0
Washington 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 2
Washington State 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Stanford 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
UCLA 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
California 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1962 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. In their third year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled an 11–0 record (4–0 against conference opponents), won the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU or Big 6) championship, and defeated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. USC outscored their opponents 261 to 92, and finished first in both major polls, released prior to the bowls.[1]

Junior quarterback Pete Beathard completed 54 of 107 passes for 989 yards with ten touchdown passes and only one interception. (Bill Nelsen also completed 36 of 80 passes for 682 yards and eight touchdown passes with two interceptions.) Willie Brown was the team's leading rusher with 574 rushing yards (and 291 receiving yards). Hal Bedsole was USC's leading receiver with 33 catches for 827 yards and 11 touchdowns.[2] Bedsole was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Two USC players were selected by the Associated Press (AP) for the All-Coast team; end Bedsole and linebacker Damon Bame.[3] Bedsole was a consensus All-American in 1962,[4] while Bame received first-team honors from the AP.[5]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 22No. 8 Duke*
W 14–726,400[6]
September 29at SMU*No. 9
W 33–314,000
October 6at Iowa*No. 6
W 7–055,300
October 20CaliforniaNo. 6
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 32–638,500
October 27at Illinois*No. 4
W 28–1631,375
November 3No. 9 WashingtondaggerNo. 3
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 14–046,456
November 10at StanfordNo. 2
W 39–1441,000
November 17Navy*No. 2
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 13–651,701
November 24at UCLANo. 1
W 14–386,740
December 1Notre Dame*No. 1
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
W 25–081,676
January 1, 1963vs. No. 2 Wisconsin*No. 1
W 42–3798,698
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Duke

#8 Duke at USC
1 234Total
No. 8 Blue Devils 7 000 7
• Trojans 0 1400 14
Scoring summary
1DUKEJay Wilkinson 25-yard pass from Gil Garner (Reynolds kick)DUKE 7-0
2USCBrown 4-yard pass from Beathard (Lupo kick)Tied 7-7
21:30USCHal Bedsole 51-yard pass from Bill Nelsen (Lupo kick)USC 14-7

[7]

SMU

Statistics

California

Statistics

Players

The following players were members of the 1962 USC football team.[9]

Coaching staff and administration

References

  1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1960-1964)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "1962 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ^ Jack Hewins (December 4, 1962). "Explosive Backfield, Fast Line Form All-Coast '11'". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 8.
  4. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  5. ^ "AP's 1962 All-America Team". The Miami News. December 6, 1962. p. 19C.
  6. ^ "Trojans topple favored Duke 14–7". The Sacramento Bee. September 23, 1962. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Southern Cal Upsets Duke". The Palm Beach Post. September 23, 1962.
  8. ^ a b 2012 USC football media supplement.
  9. ^ 1963 "El Rodeo" (USC yearbook), pages 206-209.
  10. ^ a b 1963 "El Rodeo", page 211.
  11. ^ 1963 "El Rodeo", page 202.

Further reading

Categories