# 1990 USC Trojans football team

The 1990 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach Larry Smith, the Trojans compiled an 8–4–1 record (5–2–1 against conference opponents), finished in second place in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 348 to 274.
USC began the season by beating Syracuse in the eighth Kickoff Classic. They also won non-conference games against Penn State and Ohio State, the latter of which was suspended with 2:36 remaining because of severe thunderstorms. The Trojans would finish second in the Pac-10 and lost to Michigan State in their bowl game in an outcome reminiscent of their 1987 season.
Quarterback Todd Marinovich led the team in passing, completing 196 of 322 passes for 2,423 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Mazio Royster led the team in rushing with 235 carries for 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns. Gary Wellman led the team in receiving with 66 catches for 1,015 yards and five touchdowns.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 4:30 p.m. | vs. Syracuse* | No. 9 | Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic) | Raycom | W 34–16 | 57,293 |
| September 15 | 12:30 p.m. | Penn State* | No. 6 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 19–14 | 70,594 |
| September 22 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 21 Washington | No. 5 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | Prime | L 0–31 | 72,617 |
| September 29 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Ohio State* | No. 18 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | W 35–26 | 89,422 |
| October 6 | 7:30 p.m. | Washington State | No. 15 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | Prime | W 30–17 | 59,357 |
| October 13 | 12:30 p.m. | at Stanford | No. 16 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (rivalry) | ABC | W 37–22 | 62,000 |
| October 20 | 3:30 p.m. | Arizona | No. 15 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | Prime | L 26–35 | 68,212 |
| October 27 | 12:30 p.m. | at Arizona State | No. 21 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | ABC | W 13–6 | 64,717 |
| November 3 | 3:30 p.m. | California | No. 21 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | Prime | T 31–31 | 62,974 |
| November 10 | 3:30 p.m. | at Oregon State | No. 23 | Parker StadiumCorvallis, OR | Prime | W 56–7 | 18,795 |
| November 17 | 12:30 p.m. | at UCLA | No. 19 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Victory Bell) | ABC | W 45–42 | 98,088 |
| November 24 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 Notre Dame* | No. 18 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (Jeweled Shillelagh) | ABC | L 6–10 | 91,639 |
| December 31 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. No. 22 Michigan State* | No. 21 | Sun Bowl StadiumEl Paso, TX (John Hancock Bowl) | CBS | L 16–17 | 50,562 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Season summary
### Syracuse
### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penn St | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • USC | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 19 |

### At Washington

   All I saw was purple.
Todd Marinovich

### At UCLA

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| USC | 14 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 45 |
| UCLA | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
* Date: November 17
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 98,088
* TV: ABC
Game information :
First quarter
USC – Stephon Pace 27-yard interception return (pass failed). USC 6–0.
UCLA – Tommy Maddox 9-yard run (Brad Daluiso kick). UCLA 7–6.
USC – Mazio Royster 7-yard run (pass good). USC 14–7.
Second quarter
UCLA – Sean LaChapelle 47-yard pass from Tommy Maddox (Brad Daluiso kick). Tie 14–14.
USC – Todd Marinovich 1-yard run (Quin Rodriguez kick). USC 21–14.
Third quarter
USC – Quin Rodriguez 20-yard field goal, 4:19. USC 24–14. Drive: 19 plays, 68 yards.
UCLA – Brian Brown 5-yard run (Brad Daluiso kick). USC 24–21.
Fourth quarter
USC – Jason Oliver 34-yard interception return (Quin Rodriguez kick), 12:02. USC 31–21.
UCLA – Scott Miller 29-yard pass from Tommy Maddox (Brad Daluiso kick), 10:46. USC 31–28.
UCLA – Scott Miller 38-yard pass from Tommy Maddox (Brad Daluiso kick), 9:17. UCLA 35–31.
USC – Johnnie Morton 21-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 3:09. USC 38–35. Drive: 8 plays, 47 yards.
UCLA – Kevin Smith 1-yard run (Brad Daluiso kick), 1:19. UCLA 42–38. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards.
USC – Johnnie Morton 23-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 0:16. USC 45–42. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards.
Top passers
USC – Todd Marinovich – 16/25, 215 yards, 2 TD, INT
UCLA – Tommy Maddox – 26/40, 409 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
Top rushers
USC – Mazio Royster – 31 rushes, 157 yards, TD
UCLA – Tommy Maddox – 9 rushes, 36 yards, TD
Top receivers
USC – Gary Wellman – 7 receptions, 99 yards
UCLA – Scott Miller – 8 receptions, 175 yards, 2 TD :
* 60th meeting
* Marinovich wasn't named starter until morning of the game