Pac-12 goodbye tour: Remembering USC football’s 1969 unbeaten season
The 1969 college football season was special. It contained some of the more memorable and dramatic moments in the sport’s history.
This was the first year of Bo Schembechler’s coaching tenure at Michigan. This began the so-called “Ten-Year War” with Woody Hayes at Ohio State, one of the most celebrated eras of Big Ten football. Schembechler’s Michigan team upset Ohio State to knock the Buckeyes out of the running for back-to-back national championships. It was the stuff of legend in Ann Arbor.
The 1969 season also provided a 1-versus-2 showdown, but more than that, it gave us the 1-versus-2 centerpiece matchup in early December, not in September or early October. When Texas faced Arkansas, that game was for the national championship. President Richard Nixon was on hand in Fayetteville to proclaim Texas national champion after the Longhorns — down 14-0 — rallied to win 15-14 in what is considered Texas’s greatest single-game victory and Arkansas’ most crushing single-game defeat. No other game matches the significance of this one for those two schools — not even the 2006 Rose Bowl for Texas. The 1969 win over Arkansas was bigger, albeit only slightly.
In 1969, USC did not lose a game. The Trojans did, however, endure one tie, and that’s what kept them from sharing the national championship with Texas. We look back on USC’s unbeaten seasons as we say goodbye to the Pac-12.
Here’s how USC’s 1969 season unfolded:
NEBRASKA
USC 31, Nebraska 21. The Trojans beat the Huskers in Lincoln on September 20, 1969. It was a meeting of two coaching giants, USC’s John McKay and Nebraska’s Bob Devaney. From 1970 through 1974, USC and Nebraska combined to win four national championships, with 1973 (Notre Dame) being the only exception.
For Nebraska news, analysis and opinions, visit Cornhuskers Wire.
NORTHWESTERN
USC crushed Northwestern, 48-6, on September 27, 1969.
OREGON STATE
USC easily handled Oregon State, 31-7, on October 4, 1969.
STANFORD
USC beat No. 16 Stanford, 26-24, on October 11, 1969. Stanford was clearly improving as a program. The Indians (as they were known back then before they became the Cardinal) won the Pac-8 title in 1970 and 1971. Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy in 1970. The school won the Rose Bowl in 1971 and 1972. USC, though, was able to fend off Stanford in 1969 to remain unbeaten.
NOTRE DAME
USC and Notre Dame both spoiled the other’s season in the 11 seasons when John McKay and Ara Parseghian coached against each other in this storied rivalry. In 1969, it was Notre Dame’s turn to mess up USC’s bid for a perfect season. The Trojans never lost, but this was their one tie, a 14-14 result on October 18 which prevented them from joining Texas — unbeaten and untied — as national champion.
For Notre Dame news, analysis, and opinion, visit Fighting Irish Wire.
For Texas news, analysis and opinions, visit Longhorns Wire.
GEORGIA TECH
USC beat Georgia Tech, 29-18, on October 25, 1969.
CALIFORNIA
USC went into Berkeley and won a close, tough game over Cal, 14-9, to stay unbeaten. The Trojans won this game on November 1, 1969.
WASHINGTON STATE
USC beat Wazzu by a score of 28-7 on November 8, 1969.
WASHINGTON
USC went up to Seattle on November 15, 1969, and beat Washington 16-7.
UCLA
The Trojans beat No. 6 UCLA, 14-12, on November 22, 1969, one of many thrilling wins over the Bruins in an era when USC-UCLA games were nationally important and fiercely contested.
MICHIGAN -- 1970 ROSE BOWL
On the play described above in the photo caption, USC beat Bo Schembechler and Michigan by a 10-3 score in the 1970 Rose Bowl. This was the first of eight Rose Bowls Schembechler lost at Michigan. USC gave Schembechler four of those eight losses. Four other Pac-10 schools beat Michigan once in the Granddaddy, but USC was Bo’s ultimate nemesis.
USC finished the 1969 season 10-0-1, third in the final Associated Press Poll behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Penn State.
For Penn State news, analysis and opinions, visit Nittany Lions Wire.
