The 1976 USC Trojans football team represented the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC) in the

1976 NCAA Division I football season The 1976 NCAA Division I football season ended with a championship for the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Led by head coach Johnny Majors (voted the AFCA Coach of the Year), the Pitt Panthers brought a college football championship to ...

. In their first year under head coach

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' * John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *Joh ...

, the Trojans compiled an 11–1 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the

Pacific-8 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-8) championship, defeated Michigan in the

1977 Rose Bowl The 1977 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1977. It was the 63rd Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, USC qua ...

, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 386 to 139. The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll. Quarterback

Vince Evans Vince is a given name, it is the anglicisation and shortened form of the name Vincent, as well as a surname. It may refer to: Given name People * Vince Agnew (born 1987), American football player * Vince Cable (born 1943), British politici ...

led the team in passing, completing 95 of 177 passes for 1,440 yards with ten touchdowns and six interceptions. Ricky Bell led the team in rushing with 280 carries for 1,433 yards and 14 touchdowns. Shelton Diggs led the team in receiving with 37 catches for 655 yards and eight touchdowns. The team was named national champion by Berryman, Billingsley MOV, DeVold,

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, Football Research, and

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, all NCAA-designated major selectors.

Schedule

Roster

Game summaries

Missouri

at Oregon

at Purdue

Iowa

at Washington State

Oregon State

California

at Stanford

Washington

vs. UCLA

Notre Dame

Ricky Bell was held to 75 yards on 21 carries but USC's passing game thrived with

completing six of his 14 passes for 106 yards with Randy Simmrin hauling in six passes for 121 yards and Evans' touchdown pass.

Rose Bowl (vs Michigan)

References

External links

Game program: USC vs. Washington State at Seattle
– October 9, 1976 {{Pac-12 Conference football champions

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 Pac-12 Conference football champion seasons Rose Bowl champion 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 ...