# 1976 USC Trojans football team

The 1976 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their first year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–1 record (7–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) championship, defeated Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl, 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 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, Dunkel, Football Research, and Matthews, all NCAA-designated major selectors.$^{:114}$

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | Missouri* | No. 8 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | L 25–46 | 49,535 |
| September 18 | at Oregon | | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | | W 53–0 | 40,600 |
| September 25 | at Purdue* | No. 19 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | W 31–13 | 65,425 |
| October 2 | Iowa* | No. 13 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 55–0 | 55,518 |
| October 9 | at Washington State | No. 11 | KingdomeSeattle, WA | | W 23–14 | 37,268 |
| October 23 | Oregon State | No. 7 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 56–0 | 53,216 |
| October 30 | California | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 20–6 | 60,323 |
| November 6 | at Stanford | No. 4 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (rivalry) | | W 48–24 | 76,500 |
| November 13 | Washington | No. 3 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 20–3 | 49,264 |
| November 20 | at No. 2 UCLA | No. 3 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (Victory Bell) | ABC | W 24–14 | 90,519 |
| November 27 | No. 13 Notre Dame* | No. 3 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | ABC | W 17–13 | 76,561 |
| January 1, 1977 | vs. No. 2 Michigan* | No. 3 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | W 14–6 | 106,182 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Game summaries
### Missouri
### At Purdue

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| USC | 7 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 31 |
| Purdue | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: September 25
* Game attendance: 65,425
Game information :
First quarter
USC – Mosi Tatupu 1-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive:
PUR – Scott Dierking 2-yard run (Turner kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter
USC – Ricky Bell 5-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 14–7. Drive:
USC – Simmrin 4-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick). USC 21–7. Drive:
PUR – Skibinski 1-yard run (kick failed). USC 21–13. Drive:
Fourth quarter
USC – Mosi Tatupu 27-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 28–13. Drive:
USC – Glen Walker 44-yard field goal. USC 31–13. Drive:
Top passers
USC – Vince Evans – 168 yards, TD
PUR
Top rushers
USC – Ricky Bell – 37 rushes, 177 yards, TD
PUR
Top receivers
USC
PUR :

### At Washington State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| USC | 0 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
| Washington State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
* Date: October 9
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 37,268
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
USC – Ricky Bell 1-yard run (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive:
USC – Shelton Diggs 55-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick, 6:23. USC 14–0. Drive:
WSU – Harold Gillum 4-yard run (Chuck Diedrick kick). USC 14–7. Drive:
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
WSU – Brian Kelly 23-yard pass from Jack Thompson (Chuck Diedrick kick). Tie 14–14. Drive:
USC – Glen Walker 26-yard field goal, 9:26. USC 17–14. Drive:
USC – Ricky Bell 9-yard run (kick failed). USC 23–14. Drive:
Top passers
USC
WSU – Jack Thompson – 26/48, 341 yards, TD
Top rushers
USC – Ricky Bell – 51 rushes, 346 yards, 2 TD
WSU
Top receivers
USC
WSU :

### Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| USC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
* Date: November 27
* Game attendance: 76,561
* TV: ABC
* Recap/Box
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
USC – Shelton Diggs 6-yard pass from Rob Hertel (Glen Walker kick). USC 7–0. Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards.
Third quarter
USC – Randy Simmrin 63-yard pass from Vince Evans (Glen Walker kick), 13:30. USC 14–0. Drive:
Fourth quarter
ND – Vagas Ferguson 17-yard pass from Rusty Lisch (Dave Reeve kick), 14:06. USC 14–7. Drive: 4 plays, 68 yards.
USC – Glen Walker 46-yard field goal. USC 17–7. Drive:
ND – Rusty Lisch 1-yard run (two-point conversion failed). USC 17–13. Drive: 76 yards.
Top passers
ND
USC – Vince Evans – 6/14, 106 yards, TD
Top rushers
ND
USC – Ricky Bell – 21 rushes, 75 yards
Top receivers
ND
USC – Randy Simmrin – 6 receptions, 121 yards, TD :
Ricky Bell was held to 75 yards on 21 carries but USC's passing game thrived with Vince Evans completing six of his 14 passes for 106 yards with Randy Simmrin hauling in six passes for 121 yards and Evans' touchdown pass.