USC-Ohio State regular season football history: 1963
In 1960, his first season as the head coach at USC, John McKay was taking over a program which made just two Rose Bowls in the previous 12 college football seasons. That’s right: From 1948 through 1959, USC made the Granddaddy only twice, one of the more noticeable lulls in program history.
McKay’s task was clear: Restore USC’s greatness. It wasn’t going to happen all at once, and when Woody Hayes and Ohio State smothered USC in 1960, it was clear how much work the Trojans needed to do to match the Ohio State standard and rise to the top tier of college football.
McKay needed two years to achieve his central goal. The 1962 Trojans won the national championship.
The next order of business for McKay: Beat Woody Hayes, which he wasn’t yet equipped to do in 1960.
USC got its big chance in 1963 as the defending national champion. It’s true that the Trojans weren’t at their best in 1963. Their offense died in three different losses — to Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Washington.
However, against Ohio State, USC played its very best game of the season. The Trojans beat UCLA 26-6, but they did even better against Woody Hayes. They thumped the Buckeyes at home in a blowout, 32-3. They would finish 7-3 and second in their conference. Ohio State ended the year with a 5-3-1 record.
USC didn’t get everything it wanted from the 1963 season, but John McKay did beat Woody Hayes for the first time.
Here is an envelope to a letter sent by #USC athletic director Jess Hill in 1963. Look at the football schedule: Oklahoma, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame pic.twitter.com/fFjsUzLXeN
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) March 28, 2019
