USC Pac-12 goodbye tour: Remembering the Trojans’ 1928 football season
In 1928, USC program godfather and architect Howard Jones was beginning to build the Trojans’ first football dynasty.
We noted in our Big Ten tour with Hawkeyes Wire that “USC’s two most important sports figures, football architect Howard Jones and basketball-baseball wizard Sam Barry, both coached at Iowa before they coached at USC. Two Iowa coaches wanted to move west and coach in a different part of the country. The West Coast was alluring and attractive for them, and they changed the course of college sports history by turning USC into a sports juggernaut.”
Jones was around in 1928. Barry would join him one year later in 1929.
In 1928, USC football — under Jones’ watch — created one of the greatest defenses in school history. Washington and Stanford had been the main college football powers in the West in previous years, but a new force was beginning to emerge in Los Angeles as the Pacific Coast Conference evolved.
As we say goodbye to the Pac-12, we remember USC’s unbeaten teams through the decades. We start with the 1928 team which was almost impossible to score against. Not one opponent scored more than 14 points against the Trojans all season long.
Let’s step back into the time machine:
UTAH STATE
The Trojans defeated the Aggies, 40-12, on September 29, 1928. The Aggies were part of the Rocky Mountain Conference back then. The Trojans represented what was then known as the Pacific Coast Conference, a forerunner of what eventually became the Pac-12.
OREGON STATE
The Trojans beat the Beavers, 19-0, in their first conference game of the season. The game was played on October 6, 1928.
SAINT MARY'S (OF CALIFORNIA)
USC 19, Saint Mary’s 6, on October 13, 1928.
CALIFORNIA
USC and Cal played to a scoreless tie in Berkeley on October 20, 1928. This was the only game USC did not win in the 1928 season.
OCCIDENTAL
USC won 19-0 on October 27, 1928. Occidental was classified as a “non-major” college football opponent at the time.
STANFORD
USC won 10-0 over Stanford on November 3, 1928. You can see that USC gave up very few points in the 1928 season.
ARIZONA
USC scored a whopping 78 points in a 78-7 rout of Arizona on November 10, 1928. This was not a conference game.
WASHINGTON STATE
USC 27, Washington State 13, on November 17, 1928. Washington State had very good football teams in this era of college football history under then-coach O.E. Hollingbery.
IDAHO
USC 28, Idaho 7, on November 24, 1928.
NOTRE DAME
USC beat the Fighting Irish, 27-14, on December 1, 1928. The Trojans finished their season 9-0-1. They allowed a grand total of 59 points in the 10 games they played in 1928. This is one of the greatest defenses in USC history.
