The 1981 USC Trojans football team represented the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) in the

1981 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Clemson Tigers, unbeaten and untied, claiming the national championship after a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This was also the first year of the California Bowl, played in Fres ...

. 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 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

(Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 284 to 170. 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 Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short-y ...

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. 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 Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

, the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

, and

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

and was also the Pac-10 player of the year.

Schedule

Personnel

Game summaries

Tennessee

22 Rush, 210 Yds, 4 TD (sat out most of second half)

Indiana

40 rushes, 274 yards

Oklahoma

*Marcus Allen 39 rushes, 208 yards

Oregon State

*Marcus Allen 35 rushes, 233 yards

Washington State

44 rushes, 289 yards

California

*Marcus Allen 46 rushes, 243 yards

UCLA

George Achica blocked

Norm Johnson Norman Douglas Johnson (born May 31, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). During that time, he played for the Seattle Seahawks (1982–90), Atlanta ...

's game-winning 46-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds to preserve the USC victory.

vs. Penn State (Fiesta Bowl)

*Source:

Awards and honors

*Marcus Allen,

*Marcus Allen, Pac-10 Player of the Year *Marcus Allen, All-Pac-10

1981 Team Players in the NFL

Chip Banks William "Chip" Banks (born September 18, 1959) is a former All-Pro professional American football linebacker. High school and college career Banks graduated from Lucy Craft Laney High School in Augusta, Georgia. He played college football at ...

Joey Browner Joey Matthew Browner (born May 15, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings from 1983 to 1991 and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1992. Browne ...

Keith Browner Keith Tellus Browner, Sr. (born January 24, 1962) is a former American football defensive end and outside linebacker. He is the father of Keith Browner, Jr. who was a linebacker for the Cal Golden Bears and played defensive end for the Houston ...

* Fred Cornwell * August Curley *

Byron Darby Byron Keith Darby (born June 4, 1960) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 1983 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC Trojans foo ...

Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a linebacker at the University of South ...

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a serie ...

Riki Ellison Riki Morgan Ellison (born 15 August 1960) is a New Zealand-American former professional player of American football who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was known as Riki Gray while playing college foo ...

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

* Michael Marper * Bruce Matthews *

Don Mosebar Donald Howard Mosebar (born September 11, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...

* Jeff Simmons *

Tony Slaton Anthony Tyrone Slaton (born April 12, 1961) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Slaton played college ...

* Kelly Thomas * Joe Turner *

Troy West Sports USA Media is the largest independent sports broadcasting radio network in the United States, specializing in live broadcasts of American football, specifically of the NCAA football Division I-A and National Football League. In 2018, more th ...

References

{{USC Trojans football navbox

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

USC Trojans football seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Con ...