1980 USC Trojans football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 11
Record8–2–1 (4–2–1 Pac-10)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1979
1981 →
1980 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 Washington $ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 13 UCLA 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 11 USC 4 – 2 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
Arizona State 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Oregon 4 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 2
Stanford 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Arizona 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Washington State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
California 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Oregon State 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 8–2–1 record (4–2–1 against conference opponents), finished in third place in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 265 to 134.[1]

Quarterback Gordon Adams led the team in passing, completing 104 of 179 passes for 1,237 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Marcus Allen led the team in rushing with 354 carries for 1,563 yards and 14 touchdowns. Hoby Brenner led the team in receiving with 26 catches for 315 yards and no touchdowns.[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 13at Tennessee*No. 5
ESPNW 20–1795,049[3]
September 20No. 20 South Carolina*No. 4
W 23–1358,385[4]
September 27at Minnesota*No. 5
W 24–755,115
October 4Arizona StatedaggerNo. 4
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 23–2169,052
October 11at ArizonaNo. 2
ONTVW 27–1054,789
October 18at OregonNo. 2
USAT 7–743,733
November 1CaliforniaNo. 7
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 60–755,658
November 8at StanfordNo. 4
ABCW 34–984,892
November 15WashingtonNo. 2
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
L 10–2055,515
November 22at No. 18 UCLANo. 12
ABCL 17–2083,491
December 6No. 2 Notre Dame*No. 17
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
ABCW 20–382,663
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1980 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB Gordon Adams
RB 33 Marcus Allen Jr
TE 89 Hoby Brenner Sr
RB Paul DiLulo
G 64 Roy Foster Jr
RB Anthony Gibson
RB Michael Harper
WR 5 Speedy Hart RSr
TE 85 James Hunter Sr
WR Thomas Jefferson
RB Doug MacKenzie
C 66 Bruce Matthews So
RB Bob McClanahan
WR Malcolm Moore
OT 72 Don Mosebar So
OL Allen Pugh
WR Vic Rakshani
G 77 Ken Ruettgers Fr
WR 25 Jeff Simmons So
OT 67 Kelly Thomas So
QB 15 Scott Tinsley So
OT 68 Keith Van Horne Sr
WR Timmy White
WR 8 Kevin Williams Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL George Achica
LB 51 Chip Banks Jr
DT 94 Bryon Darby So
S 47 Joey Browner So
DL Keith Browner
LB 54 Steve Busick Sr
DL 87 August Curley So
DL 94 Byron Darby So
DL Dennis Edwards
CB 40 Jeff Fisher Sr
LB Riki Gray
DB Don Jones
S 42 Ronnie Lott Sr
LB 81 Eric Scoggins Sr
DB 49 Dennis Smith Sr
DL Charles Ussery
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Eric Hipp
P 13 John Perry Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Minnesota

Arizona St

1 234Total
Arizona St 0 777 21
• USC 7 1330 23
  • Date: October 4
  • Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Game attendance: 69,052
Scoring summary
Q1USCAllen 2 yard run (Hipp kick)USC 7–0
Q2ASUMistler 3 yard pass from Pagel (Lewis kick)Tie 7–7
Q2USCHipp 33 yard field goalUSC 10–7
Q2USCSimmons 15 yard pass from Adams (Hipp kick)USC 17–7
Q2USCHipp 43 yard field goalUSC 20–7
Q3ASUGittens 59 yard run (Lewis kick)USC 20–14
Q3USCHipp 27 yard field goalUSC 23–14
Q4ASUWetzel 14 yard pass from Pagel (Lewis kick)USC 23–21

[6]

Oregon

1 234Total
USC 0 700 7
Oregon 0 070 7
Scoring summary
Q2USCSimmons 38 yard pass from Adams (Hipp kick)USC 7–0
Q3OREJones 3 yard run (Jollymour kick)Tie 7–7

[7]

Washington

Vs. UCLA

See also: 1980 UCLA Bruins football team and The Victory Bell (UCLA–USC)
#18 UCLA Bruins (7–2) vs. #12 USC Trojans (7–1–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
USC 3 0 7717
UCLA 0 7 7620

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

  • Date: November 22
  • Game attendance: 83,491
  • Eugene Register-Guard, 1980 Nov 23.
Game information

Notre Dame

1 234Total
Notre Dame 0 030 3
• USC 0 10010 20
Scoring summary
28:23USCHarper 6-yard run (Hipp kick)USC 7-0
2USCHipp 22-yard field goalUSC 10-0
3NDOliver 30-yard field goalUSC 10-3
4USCHipp 17-yard field goalUSC 13-3
41:09USCHarper 10-yard run (Hipp kick)USC 20-3

[9][10]

Team players drafted into the NFL

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "1980 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Trojans win by a Hipp and a foot". The Daily Breeze. September 14, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "USC wins easily". The Los Angeles Times. September 21, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  6. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. "Southern Cal wins, but sloppily, 23-21." 1980 Oct 5. Retrieved 2018-Sep-02.
  7. ^ Gadsden Times. 1980 Oct 19. Retrieved 2018-Dec-16.
  8. ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement
  9. ^ "USC Makes Sure Notre Dame Won't Be No. 1". The Register-Guard. Eugene. December 7, 1980. p. 11. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  10. ^ "Trojans Knock Irish From Pedestal, 20-3". Ocala Star-Banner. December 7, 1980.
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