From TributeToTroy

Howard Jones won his last national championship in 1932. John McKay won his first in 1962. That’s a 30-year drought between legendary coaches.

USC wouldn’t have to wait that long after McKay resigned. John Robinson, McKay’s replacement, not only maintained the winning Trojan tradition, he added a new dimension to the USC football program.

Robinson went 67-14-2 (.819) in his first seven-year stint at USC (1976-1982). He won the 1978 national championship. His teams finished second in the final wire service polls twice, in 1976 and in 1979. He won three Rose Bowls (1977, 1979, and 1980) and a Bluebonnet Bowl game (New Year’s Eve, 1977).

As a tactician, he retained the best from McKay—the formation and tailback-oriented offense along with a sound defense—while establishing the quarterback as a more important figure in his offense.

McKay’s best teams were balanced offensively (running and passing), but, in 1975, when USC slumped, the poor play of quarterback Vince Evans was a contributing factor. Evans was much improved under Robinson in 1976. Robinson was also responsible for the improvement of Rob Hertel in 1977. It was in 1978 and 1979 that the quarterback, Paul McDonald, really came into a position of eminence in the USC offense, rivaling that of the tailback, Charles White.

Robinson, like McKay, was a virtually unknown assistant when he was named USC’s coach. He was a reserve end on Oregon’s 1957 Rose Bowl team and he stayed at his alma mater for 12 years as an assistant before becoming McKay’s offensive coordinator from 1972 through 1974. He left USC in 1975 to join the Oakland Raiders as an offensive assistant coach.

Robinson’s first night as a head football coach was a nightmare. That was September 11, 1976, when Missouri shocked Robinson’s Trojans, 46-25, in the opener.

But the game was hardly a harbinger for the season. The Trojans got their act together and won their next eight games to set up another Rose Bowl-deciding game with UCLA, unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the country under new head coach Terry Donahue. USC won, 21-14.

Ricky Bell was the latest model off the USC tailback assembly line that season. He had broken O.J. Simpson’s single season rushing record the previous year, gaining 1,957 yards on 385 carries.

Bell didn’t fit the mold of a typical USC tailback. Mike Garrett, Clarence Davis, Anthony Davis and, later, White, were short, stocky types. Bell, a former fullback and linebacker, was a battering, bruising runner with good speed for a big man. He gained 1,433 yards for the season to become USC’s No.2 all-time leading rusher behind Anthony Davis, 3,724 to 3,689.

After the 1976 win over UCLA, USC beat Notre Dame, 17-13, the next week and then the Trojan defense completely destroyed powerful Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl. The Wolverines were the nation’s leading scoring (39 points average) and rushing team (448 yards), but they could score only six points and rush for 217 yards as USC won, 14-6, without Bell.

Bell was knocked unconscious on USC’s first series. White, who would go on to become the school’s most prolific rusher, filled in with 114 yards on 32 carries. Evans completed 14 of 20 passes for 181 yards, scored a touchdown on a one-yard keeper and was named Player of the Game. Robinson became the first rookie head coach from the Pac-8 to win the Rose Bowl game in 61 years.

Bell, safety Dennis Thurman, defensive tackle Gary Jeter and offensive tackle Marvin Powell got All-American recognition. USC finished with an 11-1 record and a No. 2 national rating behind undefeated Pittsburgh.

Expectations were high for 1977. The Trojans started fast, winning their first four games and moving to the top of the rankings. Alabama snapped USC’s 15-game unbeaten streak with a 21-20 victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Trojans suddenly became an inconsistent team. They lost three of their next five games, including an embarrassing 49-19 setback to Notre Dame at South Bend, where the Irish switched from blue to green jerseys before the game to get a psychological advantage.

The Trojans were out of the Rose Bowl running by the time they met UCLA. But it was an important game for the Bruins. If they beat USC, they would get the Rose Bowl bid; a loss would send Washington to Pasadena. In one of the most exciting games of the city series, the Bruins were leading, 27-26, with only a few minutes remaining. Then, Frank Jordan kicked a 38-yard field goal with two seconds left, kicking UCLA out of the Rose Bowl, 29-27.

USC got a consolation prize, a 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl bid against Texas A&M at Houston’s Astrodome. It was a wild offensive party on New Year’s Eve. USC gained 620 yards rushing and passing; A&M gained 519. USC won, 47-28.

For a change, USC wasn’t highly ranked in the 1978 preseason polls. Nor were the Trojans the consensus favorite to win the newly-expanded Pacific-10 with the addition of Arizona and Arizona State.

USC opened with lackluster wins over Texas Tech and Oregon. No. 1-ranked Alabama was waiting for USC in Birmingham. The Trojans, with tailback Charles White who was now a junior gaining 199 yards on 29 carries, toppled Alabama, 24-14. USC didn’t let down the next week against Michigan State, the Big Ten co-champion. The Trojans buried the Spartans, 30-9. USC seemed unbeatable then, but it was walking into a trap at Tempe.

Arizona State surprised USC, 20-7. The Trojans couldn’t afford to lose another game if they expected to get to the Rose Bowl. They didn’t. The Trojans had the Rose Bowl bid but if they were to stay in contention for the national championship, they had to beat their old rival, Notre Dame, the following week at the Coliseum.

USC had Notre Dame reeling, leading them, 24-6, after three quarters. The Irish made a comeback to rival any in the school’s illustrious history. Incredibly, Notre Dame scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 25-24 lead with 46 seconds remaining. There was time enough for USC to make an even more amazing comeback. Jordan, who had kicked a 38-yard field goal with two seconds left to beat UCLA in 1977, booted a 37-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to shock Notre Dame, 27-25.

It was on to the 1979 Rose Bowl for USC, where the Trojans scored a 17-10 win over Michigan. USC went into the game as the nation’s third-ranked team, behind unbeaten Penn State and once-beaten Alabama, in both wire service polls. After Alabama beat Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, the Tide won the national championship in the AP poll and USC barely won in the UPI balloting.

If USC was overlooked in preseason ratings in 1978, they made up for it in 1979. The Trojans seemed awesome. They were coming off a 12-1 season, a share of the national championship and White and McDonald, now seniors, represented the best one-two offensive punch in college football. Besides White and McDonald, Robinson had such skilled players as offensive tackle Anthony Munoz and guard Brad Budde, both All-American prospects; wide receiver Kevin Williams, tight ends Hoby Brenner, James Hunter and Vic Rakhshani; defensive linemen Myron Lapka, Ty Sperling and Dennis Edwards; linebackers Dennis Johnson and Larry McGrew; and two of the nation’s best safeties, Ronnie Lott and Dennis Smith.

USC won its first five games, but then lost its No.1 ranking in an improbable manner. Stanford was the spoiler. The Cardinals stunned USC with 21 unanswered points in the second half and the game ended in a tie, 21-21. USC had had its letdown for the season, but it didn’t falter again.

The Trojans were back in the 1980 Rose Bowl, this time against Ohio State. With 5:21 to play, the Buckeyes led, 16-10, and the Trojans were in deep trouble at their own 17-yard line. White, who was already the runaway winner in the Heisman Trophy balloting, simply ran through Ohio State. The Trojan tailback gained 71 yards of an 83-yard stay-on-the-ground assault climaxed by his diving touchdown inches away from the goal line. The successful conversion enabled USC to preserve its unbeaten record, 11-0-1.

The Trojans wound up as the nation’s No. 2 team in both polls. White and McDonald had superb seasons. White was the nation’s leading rusher in 1979. He wound up his regular season career with 5,598 yards—second highest total in NCAA history. McDonald set 17 NCAA, Pac-l0 and school passing records. All-American guard Brad Budde won the Lombardi Award as the nation’s best lineman and linebacker Dennis Johnson also won All-American honors.

The decade of the ’80s marked the emergence of still another tailback to carry on the legacy of excellence that is inherent with the USC football program.

Marcus Allen, who had served his apprenticeship as Charles White’s fullback in 1979 (gaining 649 yards and scoring eight touchdowns), was now prepared to assume the demanding responsibility as tailback in the I-formation. Allen was a reserve tailback in 1977 as a freshman, with only limited experience at the position considering that he was a quarterback and defensive back in high school.

The graduation loss of Paul McDonald left John Robinson without an experienced quarterback in 1980, so USC was one dimensional on offense, student body left and right.

Despite his inexperience at the position and a limited passing game, Allen still managed to gain 1,563 yards, and catch 30 passes. He also showed his versatility by completing the only two passes he threw, one for a 36-yard touchdown.

The Trojans, who were ineligible to play in a bowl game due to conference sanctions, finished with an 8-2-1 record, losing to Washington, the Rose Bowl representative, and narrowly to UCLA, 20-17—the Trojans’ first loss to the Bruins in Robinson’s five seasons as USC’s coach.

Three Trojans, defensive back Ronnie Lott, offensive tackle Keith Van Horne and offensive guard Roy Foster were recognized as All-Americans.

Allen had a productive first season as USC’s tailback. Still, it wasn’t an indication of what he would accomplish in 1981. A more confident, skilled player now, his statistics were awesome even though he was a marked man.

Allen was virtually the USC offense as he gained 2,342 yards through 11 regular season games, an NCAA mark, while averaging a record 212.9 yards per game. His record-breaking season was validated as he became the fourth Trojan tailback to win the Heisman Trophy.

Even though USC won its first four games, including a thrilling lastsecond 28-24 victory over Oklahoma on national TV, an upset loss to Arizona, 13-10, and a 13-3 setback to Washington in Seattle prevented the Trojans from going to the Rose Bowl. However, USC ended the regular season with a 22-21 victory over UCLA as nose guard George Achica blocked a late Bruin field goal try to preserve the win.

The Trojans didn’t fare so well in the 1982 Fiesta Bowl, where they were dominated by Penn State, losing, 26-10, to finish with a 9-3 record. Allen was a unanimous All-American with Foster repeating and linebacker Chip Banks getting equal recognition.

Because of NCAA and conference sanctions, USC was ineligible to participate in any bowl games the next two seasons.

USC still had a respectable 8-3 season in 1982 despite the loss of Allen and an injury-decimated tailback corps.

It was in the week preceding the 1982 Notre Dame game that Robinson disclosed that he was leaving USC as football coach to become a senior vice president in the school’s administration. He wouldn’t remain at that position long, though, leaving USC soon after to become the Rams’ coach.

So the theme for the Notre Dame game was “Win One for the Fat Guy,” pertaining to Robinson’s girth and his popularity. The Trojans did just that, 17-13, with tailback Michael Harper scoring the winning and controversial touchdown in the closing minutes. It was argued that Harper didn’t have the ball when he sky-dived over a pile at the goal line.

Achica and offensive linemen Don Mosebar and Bruce Mathews were named All-Americans.

TROJAN TIMELINE

• Early Years (1888-1924)
• Thundering Herd (1925-1940)
• Forties & Fifties (1941-1959)
• Glory Years, Part I (1960-1975)
• Glory Years, Part II (1976-1982)
• Wilderness Years (1983-2001)
• Return to Glory (2002-present)

(Much of the material on the page is adapted from Mal Florence's 1980 book about USC’s football history, “The Trojan Heritage.”)