# 1989 USC Trojans football team

The 1989 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was intended to start in historic fashion, with USC set to play Illinois in Moscow in what was dubbed the Glasnost Bowl. However, the plan to play the game at Dynamo Stadium fell through, and the game was rescheduled at Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans lost the game as the Illini scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
USC won their third consecutive Pac-10 conference championship and gained their 600th program win in a victory against Oregon State. They played third-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl and won, giving Larry Smith his only bowl victory in his six seasons as head coach.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 22 Illinois* | No. 5 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | L 13–14 | 54,622 |
| September 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Utah State* | No. 13 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 66–10 | 50,249 |
| September 23 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 20 Ohio State* | No. 12 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 42–3 | 69,876 |
| September 30 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 19 Washington State | No. 11 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | ABC | W 18–17 | 38,434 |
| October 7 | 12:30 p.m. | Washington | No. 9 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 24–16 | 58,410 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | at California | No. 10 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | Prime | W 31–15 | 52,000 |
| October 21 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Notre Dame* | No. 9 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh) | CBS | L 24–28 | 59,075 |
| October 28 | 3:30 p.m. | Stanford | No. 10 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | Prime | W 19–0 | 67,411 |
| November 4 | 3:30 p.m. | Oregon State | No. 9 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | Prime | W 48–6 | 65,430 |
| November 11 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 25 Arizona | No. 9 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | ABC | W 24–3 | 52,606 |
| November 18 | 12:30 p.m. | UCLA | No. 8 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (Victory Bell) | ABC | T 10–10 | 86,672 |
| January 1, 1990 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Michigan* | No. 12 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | ABC | W 17–10 | 103,450 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Season summary
### Illinois
### Ohio State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| USC | 0 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: Sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 69,876
* Referee: Pat Flood
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Pat O'Morrow 45-yard field goal, 4:18. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 49 yards, 5:20.
Second quarter
USC – Scott Galbraith 3-yard pass from Shane Foley (Quin Rodriguez kick), 11:20. USC 7–3. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 5:12.
USC – John Jackson 87-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 8:21. USC 14–3. Drive: 3 plays, 95 yards, 1:36.
USC – Scott Galbraith 11-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 7:31. USC 21–3. Drive: 1 play, 11 yards, 0:08.
Third quarter
USC – Gary Wellman 19-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 3:16. USC 28–3. Drive: 8 plays, 88 yards, 3:46.
USC – Gary Wellman 17-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 0:04. USC 35–3. Drive: 6 plays, 35 yards, 2:41.
Fourth quarter
USC – Mazio Royster 1-yard run (Quin Rodriguez kick), 1:38. USC 42–3. Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 3:57.
Top passers
OSU – Greg Frey – 13/28, 135 yards, INT
USC – Todd Marinovich – 14/22, 246 yards, 4 TD, INT
Top rushers
OSU – Carlos Snow – 11 rushes, 83 yards
USC – Ricky Ervins – 21 rushes, 117 yards
Top receivers
OSU – Jeff Graham – 3 receptions, 43 yards
USC – John Jackson – 2 receptions, 108 yards, TD :

### At Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • USC | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 18 |
| Washington St | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### At Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| USC | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Notre Dame | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
* Date: October 21, 1989
* Game attendance: 59,075
* TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz
* Recap/Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
USC – Larry Wallace 12-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 12:47. USC 7–0.
ND – Tony Rice 7-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:10. Tie 7–7.
USC – John Jackson 15-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 7:47. USC 14–7.
Second quarter
USC – Quin Rodriguez 25-yard field goal, 10:22. USC 17–7.
Third quarter
ND – Ricky Watters 2-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:17. USC 17–14. Drive: 8 plays.
Fourth quarter
ND – Anthony Johnson 35-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 13:51. Notre Dame 21–17. Drive: 80 yards.
USC – Gary Wellman 16-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 9:01. USC 24–21. Drive: 4 plays.
ND – Tony Rice 15-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 5:18. Notre Dame 28–24. Drive: 80 yards.
Top passers
USC – Todd Marinovich – 33/55, 333 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
ND – Tony Rice – 5/16, 91 yards
Top rushers
USC – Ricky Ervins – 12 rushes, 64 yards
ND – Tony Rice – 18 rushes, 99 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
USC – John Jackson – 14 receptions, 200 yards, TD
ND – Raghib Ismail – 2 receptions, 62 yards :
* Pregame fight in tunnel

### Stanford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 10 Trojans | 0 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 19 |

### Vs. Michigan (Rose Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 12 Trojans | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 3 Wolverines | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
The Trojans avenged last season's loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl, beating the Wolverines in Bo Schembechler's last game as head coach.

## Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were selected in the 1990 NFL draft:
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Junior Seau | Linebacker | 1 | 5 | San Diego Chargers |
| Mark Carrier | Safety | 1 | 6 | Chicago Bears |
| Dan Owens | Defensive end | 2 | 35 | Detroit Lions |
| Tim Ryan | Defensive end | 3 | 61 | Chicago Bears |
| William Schultz | Guard | 4 | 94 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Leroy Holt | Running back | 5 | 137 | Miami Dolphins |
| Scott Galbraith | Tight end | 7 | 178 | Cleveland Browns |
| Aaron Emanuel | Running back | 7 | 191 | New York Giants |
| Brad Leggett | Center | 8 | 219 | Denver Broncos |
| Ernest Spears | Defensive back | 10 | 216 | New Orleans Saints |