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American college football season
The 1981 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season . 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 (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 284 to 170.[1]
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 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.[2] Heisman Trophy , the Maxwell Award , and Walter Camp Award and was also the Pac-10 player of the year .
Schedule [ edit ] Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 12 Tennessee * No. 5 W 43–762,147 [3] September 19 at Indiana * No. 2 ONTV W 21–051,167 September 26 No. 2 Oklahoma * No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA ABC W 28–2485,651 October 3 at Oregon State No. 1 W 56–2233,000 October 10 Arizona No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA L 10–1356,315 October 17 Stanford No. 7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry ) W 25–1776,291 October 24 at Notre Dame * No. 5 W 14–759,075 October 31 No. 14 Washington State No. 4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 41–1760,972 November 7 at California No. 3 W 21–374,000 November 14 at Washington No. 3 L 3–1347,347 November 21 No. 15 UCLA No. 10 ABC W 22–2189,432 January 1, 1982 vs. No. 7 Penn State * No. 8 NBC L 10–2671,053 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Personnel [ edit ]
1981 USC Trojans football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
5
Steve Jordan Fr
K
Scott Livingston
P
Dave Pryor
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
Game summaries [ edit ] Tennessee [ edit ]
Tennessee at #5 USC
1
2 3 4 Total
Volunteers
0
0 7 0
7
• No. 5 Trojans
6
20 10 7
43
Scoring summary 1 USC Allen 9-yard run (kick failed)USC 6–0 2 USC White 50-yard pass from Mazur (run failed) USC 12–0 2 USC Allen 12-yard run (Livingston kick) USC 19–0 2 USC Allen 4-yard run (Livingston kick) USC 26–0 3 USC Allen 55-yard run (Livingston kick) USC 33–0 3 USC Livingston 47-yard field goal USC 36–0 3 TEN Morris 1-yard pass from Cockrell (Reveiz kick) USC 36–7 4 USC Boyer 3-yard pass from Salisbury (Jordan kick)USC 43–7
Marcus Allen 22 Rush, 210 Yds, 4 TD (sat out most of second half)[4]
Indiana [ edit ] Oklahoma [ edit ]
#2 Oklahoma at #1 USC
1
2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Sooners
7
10 0 7
24
• No. 1 Trojans
7
7 0 14
28
[6]
Marcus Allen 39 rushes, 208 yards [7]
Oregon State [ edit ] Marcus Allen 35 rushes, 233 yards [8] Washington State [ edit ] California [ edit ] Marcus Allen 46 rushes, 243 yards [10]
Game information
First quarter
USC – Steve Jordan 38-yard field goal. USC 3–0.
UCLA – Kevin Nelson 11-yard run (Norm Johnson kick). UCLA 7–3. Second quarter
USC – Steve Jordan 44-yard field goal. UCLA 7–6.
USC – Marcus Allen 7-yard run (pass failed). USC 12–7.
UCLA – Ricky Coffman 23-yard pass from Tom Ramsey (pass good). UCLA 15–12.
UCLA – Norm Johnson 32-yard field goal. UCLA 18–12. Third quarter
UCLA – Norm Johnson 28-yard field goal. UCLA 21–12. Fourth quarter
USC – Steve Jordan 22-yard field goal. UCLA 21–15.
USC – Marcus Allen 5-yard run (Steve Jordan kick), 2:14. USC 22–21.
Top passers Top rushers UCLA – Kevin Nelson – 26 rushes, 79 yards, TD
USC – Marcus Allen – 40 rushes, 219 yards, 2 TD Top receivers
George Achica blocked Norm Johnson 's game-winning 46-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds to preserve the USC victory.
Vs. Penn State (Fiesta Bowl) [ edit ]
#7 Penn State vs. #8 USC
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 7 Nittany Lions
7
10 9 0
26
No. 8 Trojans
7
0 3 0
10
Awards and honors [ edit ] 1981 team players in the NFL [ edit ] References [ edit ]
^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1980-1984)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015 .^ "1981 Southern California Trojans Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015 .^ "USC puts Tennessee to rout in 43–7 win" . The Los Angeles Times . September 13, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .^ "USC Mauls Vols". The Register-Guard ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement ^ "USC Wins, 28-24, in Final 2 Seconds" . The New York Times . Retrieved November 23, 2019 .^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement ^ 2020 USC Media Guide Supplement ^ Eugene Register-Guard, 1981 Nov 22.
^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy" . Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007 .^ "Football" . Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2008 .^ "Sports" . Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2009 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
