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1987 USC Trojans football
Pac-10 co-champion
Rose Bowl, L 17–20 vs. Michigan State
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 18
1987 record8–4 (7–1 Pac-10)
Head coachLarry Smith (1st season)
Offensive coordinatorChuck Stobart (1st season)
CaptainDave Cadigan
Greg Coauette
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,516, grass)
Seasons
← 1986
1988 →
1987 Pacific-10 football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#18 USC § 7 1 0     8 4 0
#9 UCLA § 7 1 0     10 2 0
Washington 4 3 1     7 4 1
#20 Arizona State 3 3 1     7 4 1
Oregon 4 4 0     6 5 0
Stanford 4 4 0     5 6 0
Arizona 2 3 3     4 4 3
California 2 3 2     3 6 2
Washington State 1 5 1     3 7 1
Oregon State 0 7 0     2 9 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1987 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Larry Smith, the Trojans compiled an 8–4 record (7–1 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 321 to 229.[1]

The Trojans lost their inaugural game of Larry Smith's tenure to Michigan State in the first night game ever played at Spartan Stadium. USC secured a Rose Bowl berth by tying UCLA for the Pacific-10 championship and winning the head to head match. They faced Michigan State again, and lost 17–20.

Quarterback Rodney Peete led the team in passing, completing 197 of 332 passes for 2,709 yards with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Steven Webster led the team in rushing with 239 carries for 1,109 yards and six touchdowns. Erik Affholter led the team in receiving yards with 44 catches for 640 yards and four touchdowns.[2]

Schedule[]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 75:00 p.m.at No. 17 Michigan State*No. 19ABCL 13–2777,922
September 1912:30 p.m.Boston College*ABCW 23–1746,205
September 261:00 p.m.at CaliforniaW 31–1462,000
October 36:30 p.m.Oregon State
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 48–1447,979
October 101:00 p.m.at OregonL 27–3439,587
October 1712:30 p.m.at WashingtonABCW 37–2371,678
October 2412:30 p.m.at No. 10 Notre Dame*CBSL 15–2659,075
October 311:30 p.m.Washington State
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 42–724,834
November 712:30 p.m.Stanforddagger
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
ABCW 39–2458,922
November 141:30 p.m.Arizona
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 12–1051,428
November 2112:30 p.m.No. 5 UCLA
ABCW 17–1392,516
January 1, 19882:00 p.m.vs. No. 8 Michigan State*No. 16NBCL 17–20103,847
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game


Game summaries[]

Arizona[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Arizona 7 0 3 0 10
USC 3 3 0 6 12



[3]


UCLA[]

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total
UCLA 7 3 3 0 13
USC 0 0 3 14 17

USC clinches berth in the Rose Bowl with the win. [4]


Roster[]

1987 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 42 Affholter, ErikErik Affholter Jr
WR 88 Arrington, GeneGene Arrington Jr
RB 34 Ervins, RickyRicky Ervins Fr
TE 86 Galbraith, ScottScott Galbraith So
TE 17 Green, PaulPaul Green Jr
RB 39 Holt, LeroyLeroy Holt So
QB 4 O'Hara, PatPat O'Hara Fr
C 63 Leggett, BradBrad Leggett So
QB 16 Peete, RodneyRodney Peete Jr
G 75 Tucker, MarkMark Tucker Fr
WR 83 Wellman, GaryGary Wellman Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
S 7 Carrier, MarkMark Carrier Fr
CB 2 Hale, ChrisChris Hale Jr
DT 93 Harlow, PatPat Harlow Fr
DT 90 Owens, DanDan Owens So
LB 35 Ross, ScottScott Ross Fr
DT 99 Ryan, TimTim Ryan So
LB 55 Seau, JuniorJunior Seau Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References[]

  1. "Southern California Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/s/southern_california/1985-1989_yearly_results.php. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. "1987 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/southern-california/1987.html. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.
  4. "Southern Cal takes roses from UCLA." Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 22.
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