1962 USC Trojans football team

American college football season

1962 USC Trojans football

Consensus national champion
AAWU champion
Rose Bowl champion

Rose Bowl, W 42–37 vs. Wisconsin

Conference| Athletic Association of Western Universities
Ranking
Coaches| No. 1
AP| No. 1
Record| 11–0 (4–0 AAWU)
Head coach|

* John McKay (3rd season)

Captains|

* Marv Marinovich
* Ben Wilson

Home stadium| Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Seasons

<- 1961

1963 ->

1962 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 1 USC $  | 4  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 11  | - | 0  | - | 0
Washington | 4  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 1  | - | 2
Washington State | 1  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 4  | - | 1
Stanford | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 5  | - | 0
UCLA | 1  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 6  | - | 0
California | 0  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 9  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1962 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. In their third year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled an 11–0 record (4–0 against conference opponents), won the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU or Big 6) championship, and defeated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. USC outscored their opponents 261 to 92, and finished first in both major polls, released prior to the bowls.[1]

Junior quarterback Pete Beathard completed 54 of 107 passes for 989 yards with ten touchdown passes and only one interception. (Bill Nelsen also completed 36 of 80 passes for 682 yards and eight touchdown passes with two interceptions.) Willie Brown was the team's leading rusher with 574 rushing yards (and 291 receiving yards). Hal Bedsole was USC's leading receiver with 33 catches for 827 yards and 11 touchdowns.[2] Bedsole was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Two USC players were selected by the Associated Press (AP) for the All-Coast team; end Bedsole and linebacker Damon Bame.[3] Bedsole was a consensus All-American in 1962,[4] while Bame received first-team honors from the AP.[5]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 22| No. 8 Duke*| |

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| W 14–7| 26,400| [6]
September 29| at SMU*| No. 9|

* Cotton Bowl
* Dallas, TX

| W 33–3| 14,000|
October 6| at Iowa*| No. 6|

* Iowa Stadium
* Iowa City, IA

| W 7–0| 55,300|
October 20| California| No. 6|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| W 32–6| 38,500|
October 27| at Illinois*| No. 4|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL

| W 28–16| 31,375|
November 3| No. 9 Washington| No. 3|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| W 14–0| 46,456|
November 10| at Stanford| No. 2|

* Stanford Stadium
* Stanford, CA (rivalry)

| W 39–14| 41,000|
November 17| Navy*| No. 2|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| W 13–6| 51,701|
November 24| at UCLA| No. 1|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)

| W 14–3| 86,740|
December 1| Notre Dame*| No. 1|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)

| W 25–0| 81,676|
January 1, 1963| vs. No. 2 Wisconsin*| No. 1|

* Rose Bowl
* Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)

| W 42–37| 98,698|

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Game summaries

[edit]

### Duke

[edit]

#8 Duke at USC  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

|
|
|
|
|

No. 8 Blue Devils | 7 | 0| 0| 0 | 7
• Trojans | 0 | 14| 0| 0 | 14

* Date: September 22
* Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
* Game attendance: 26,400

| Scoring summary

1| | DUKE| Jay Wilkinson 25-yard pass from Gil Garner (Reynolds kick)| DUKE 7-0
2| | USC| Brown 4-yard pass from Beathard (Lupo kick)| Tied 7-7
2| 1:30| USC| Hal Bedsole 51-yard pass from Bill Nelsen (Lupo kick)| USC 14-7

[7]

### SMU

[edit]

Statistics

* Receiving: Hal Bedsole 4 receptions, 112 yards, 2 TD[8]

### California

[edit]

Statistics

* Receiving: Hal Bedsole 6 receptions, 201 yards, 2 TD[8]

## Players

[edit]

The following players were members of the 1962 USC football team.[9]

* Damon Bame, linebacker
* Pete Beathard, quarterback
* Hal Bedsole, end
* Willie Brown, halfback
* John Brownwood, end
* Ron Butcher
* Mac Byrd
* Jay Clark
* Ken Del Conte, halfback
* Craig Fertig, quarterback
* Bill Fisk
* Mike Gale
* Stan Gonta
* Ron Heller
* Fred Hill
* Gary Hill
* Phil Hoover
* Hudson Houck
* Loran Hunt
* Tom Johnson
* Ernie Jones
* Randy Jones
* Gary Kirner, tackle
* Pete Lubisich, guard
* Tom Lupo
* Marv Marinovich, guard
* Rich McMahon
* Bill Nelsen, quarterback
* Gary Potter
* Ernie Pye
* John Ratliff, guard
* Lynn Reade
* Larry Sagouspe
* Armando Sanchez
* Denny Schmidt
* Ron Smedley
* Bob Svihus, tackle
* Toby Thurlow
* Gary Winslow
* Ben Wilson, fullback

## Coaching staff and administration

[edit]

* Head coach: John McKay
* Assistant coaches: Mel Hein, Mike Giddings, Raymond George, Dave Levy, Charlie Hall, Marv Goux, and Joe Margucci[10]
* Athletic director: Jess Hill[11]
* Senior manager: Mike Leddel[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1960-1964)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
2. ^ "1962 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
3. ^ Jack Hewins (December 4, 1962). "Explosive Backfield, Fast Line Form All-Coast '11'". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 8.
4. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 7\. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
5. ^ "AP's 1962 All-America Team". The Miami News. December 6, 1962. p. 19C.
6. ^ "Trojans topple favored Duke 14–7". The Sacramento Bee. September 23, 1962. Retrieved January 20, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Southern Cal Upsets Duke". The Palm Beach Post. September 23, 1962.
8. ^ a b 2012 USC football media supplement.
9. ^ 1963 "El Rodeo" (USC yearbook), pages 206-209.
10. ^ a b 1963 "El Rodeo", page 211.
11. ^ 1963 "El Rodeo", page 202.

## Further reading

[edit]

* "Trojans 1962: John McKay's First National Championship", by Bill Block, iUniverse, 2012

* v
* t
* e

1962 USC Trojans football—consensus national champions

* Pete Beathard
* Hal Bedsole
* Willie Brown
* Craig Fertig
* Fred Hill
* Gary Kirner
* Marv Marinovich
* Bill Nelsen
* Bob Svihus
* Ben Wilson

* Head coach: John McKay

* Assistant coaches: Raymond George
* Mel Hein
* Mike Giddings
* Joe Margucci

* v
* t
* e

USC Trojans football

Venues|

* Athletic Park (1895–1898)
* Fiesta Park (1897–1898, 1901–1902, 1904–1906, 1916)
* Chutes Park (1900)
* Prager Park (1903)
* Bovard Field (1904–1910, 1914–1915, 1917–1923)
* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present)
* Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)

Bowls and rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Notre Dame
* Stanford
* UCLA: Victory Bell

Culture and lore|

* Traveler
* George Tirebiter
* Giles Pellerin
* "Fight On"
* Spirit of Troy
* Student Body Right
* Tommy Trojan
* Tribute to Troy
* Athletics scandal
* 1967 "Game of the Century"
* "Bush Push"
* 2007 Stanford game
* So This Is College

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911–1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

College football national champions (poll era)

1936–1949|

* 1936: Minnesota (AP)
* 1937: Pittsburgh
* 1938: TCU
* 1939: Texas A&M
* 1940: Minnesota
* 1941: Minnesota
* 1942: Ohio State
* 1943: Notre Dame
* 1944: Army
* 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (AFCA)
* 1946: Notre Dame
* 1947: Notre Dame
* 1948: Michigan
* 1949: Notre Dame

1950s|

* 1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches)
* 1951: Tennessee
* 1952: Michigan State
* 1953: Maryland
* 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches)
* 1955: Oklahoma
* 1956: Oklahoma
* 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA)
* 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA)
* 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)

1960s|

* 1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
* 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
* 1962: USC
* 1963: Texas
* 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
* 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
* 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
* 1967: USC
* 1968: Ohio State
* 1969: Texas

1970s|

* 1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF)
* 1971: Nebraska
* 1972: USC
* 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches)
* 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches)
* 1975: Oklahoma
* 1976: Pittsburgh
* 1977: Notre Dame
* 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches)
* 1979: Alabama

1980–1991|

* 1980: Georgia
* 1981: Clemson
* 1982: Penn State
* 1983: Miami (FL)
* 1984: BYU
* 1985: Oklahoma
* 1986: Penn State
* 1987: Miami (FL)
* 1988: Notre Dame
* 1989: Miami (FL)
* 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches)
* 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

* v
* t
* e

Pac-12 Conference football champions

Pacific Coast|

* Washington (1916)
* Washington State (1917)
* California (1918)
* Oregon & Washington (1919)
* California (1920)
* California (1921)
* California (1922)
* California (1923)
* California & Stanford (1924)
* Washington (1925)
* Stanford (1926)
* Idaho, Stanford, & USC (1927)
* USC (1928)
* California, Oregon, Stanford, & USC (1929)
* Washington State (1930)
* USC (1931)
* USC (1932)
* Oregon & Stanford (1933)
* Stanford (1934)
* California, Stanford, & UCLA (1935)
* Washington (1936)
* California (1937)
* California & USC (1938)
* USC (1939)
* Stanford (1940)
* Oregon State (1941)
* UCLA (1942)
* USC (1943)
* USC (1944)
* USC (1945)
* UCLA (1946)
* USC (1947)
* California & Oregon (1948)
* California (1949)
* California (1950)
* Stanford (1951)
* USC (1952)
* UCLA (1953)
* UCLA (1954)
* UCLA (1955)
* Oregon State (1956)
* Oregon & Oregon State (1957)
* California (1958)

AAWU|

* UCLA, USC, & Washington (1959)
* Washington (1960)
* UCLA (1961)
* USC (1962)
* Washington (1963)
* Oregon State & USC (1964)
* UCLA (1965)
* USC (1966)
* USC (1967)

Pacific-8|

* USC (1968)
* USC (1969)
* Stanford (1970)
* Stanford (1971)
* USC (1972)
* USC (1973)
* USC (1974)
* California & UCLA (1975)
* USC (1976)
* Washington (1977)

Pacific-10|

* USC (1978)
* USC (1979)
* Washington (1980)
* Washington (1981)
* UCLA (1982)
* UCLA (1983)
* USC (1984)
* UCLA (1985)
* Arizona State (1986)
* USC & UCLA (1987)
* USC (1988)
* USC (1989)
* Washington (1990)
* Washington (1991)
* Washington & Stanford (1992)
* Arizona, UCLA, & USC (1993)
* Oregon (1994)
* USC & Washington (1995)
* Arizona State (1996)
* UCLA & Washington State (1997)
* UCLA (1998)
* Stanford (1999)
* Oregon, Oregon State, & Washington (2000)
* Oregon (2001)
* USC & Washington State (2002)
* USC (2003)
* USC (2004) vacated
* USC (2005) vacated
* California & USC (2006)
* Arizona State & USC (2007)
* USC (2008)
* Oregon (2009)
* Oregon (2010)

Pac-12|

* Oregon (2011)
* Stanford (2012)
* Stanford (2013)
* Oregon (2014)
* Stanford (2015)
* Washington (2016)
* USC (2017)
* Washington (2018)
* Oregon (2019)
* Oregon (2020)
* Utah (2021)
* Utah (2022)
* Washington (2023)

National championships in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number