1942 USC Trojans football team

1942 USC Trojans football
1942 USC Trojans football
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Record	5–5–1 (4–2–1 PCC)
Head coach	Jeff Cravath (1st season);
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1942 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 13 UCLA $	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Washington State	5	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	2
No. 12 Stanford	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
USC	4	–	2	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Oregon State	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Washington	3	–	3	–	2	4	–	3	–	3
California	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Idaho	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Montana	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1942 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1942 college football season. In their first year under head coach Jeff Cravath, the Trojans compiled a 5–5–1 record (4–2–1 against conference opponents), finished in fourth place in the Pacific Coast Conference, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 184 to 128.

USC was ranked at No. 34 (out of 590 college and military teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1942.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	Tulane*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 13–27	45,000	^[2]
October 3	at Washington		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	T 0–0	26,000	^[3]
October 10	at No. 1 Ohio State*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 12–28	56,436	^[4]
October 17	No. 10 Washington State		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 26–12	40,000	^[5]
October 24	vs. Stanford		Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA (rivalry)	L 6–14	20,000	^[6]
November 7	California		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 21–7	50,000	^[7]
November 14	Oregon		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 40–0	40,000	^[8]
November 28	No. 8 Notre Dame*	No. 14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	L 0–13	95,000	^[9]
December 5	Montana		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 38–0	25,000	^[10]
December 12	No. 13 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	L 7–14	87,500	^[11]
December 19	Saint Mary's Pre-Flight*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 21–13	9,000	^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game Source: ^[13]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	16	14	—

References

^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 16, 1942). "Litkenhous Rates Georgia No. 1, Ohio State No. 2". Twin City Sentinel. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "S.C. loses 1942 debut". The Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1942. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "U.S.C. pushes back Washington threats, battles to scoreless tie". The Billings Gazette. October 4, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Ohio State rambles over Trojans, 28 to 12". The Lima News. October 11, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans surprise unbeaten Washington State". Nevada State Journal. October 18, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans upset; Stanford surprises Troy, 14–6". The Pasadena Post. October 25, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "McCardle leads 21–7 Trojan upset of California". The Houston Post. November 8, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Oregon Webfeet shellacked by U.S.C., 40 to 0". The Chico Record. November 15, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Fights flare as Irish beat U.S.C., 13–0". The Des Moines Register. November 29, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans trim Montana 38–0". The Sunday Oregonian. December 6, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UCLA routs Trojans' jinx, 14–7". The Arizona Republic. December 13, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Trojans topple Navy Preflight team, 21–13". The Fresno Bee. December 20, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1942 USC Trojans Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2026.

[1] Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 16, 1942). "Litkenhous Rates Georgia No. 1, Ohio State No. 2". Twin City Sentinel. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "S.C. loses 1942 debut". The Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1942. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "U.S.C. pushes back Washington threats, battles to scoreless tie". The Billings Gazette. October 4, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Ohio State rambles over Trojans, 28 to 12". The Lima News. October 11, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Trojans surprise unbeaten Washington State". Nevada State Journal. October 18, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Trojans upset; Stanford surprises Troy, 14–6". The Pasadena Post. October 25, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "McCardle leads 21–7 Trojan upset of California". The Houston Post. November 8, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Oregon Webfeet shellacked by U.S.C., 40 to 0". The Chico Record. November 15, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Fights flare as Irish beat U.S.C., 13–0". The Des Moines Register. November 29, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "Trojans trim Montana 38–0". The Sunday Oregonian. December 6, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "UCLA routs Trojans' jinx, 14–7". The Arizona Republic. December 13, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "Trojans topple Navy Preflight team, 21–13". The Fresno Bee. December 20, 1942. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] "1942 USC Trojans Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2026.

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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 California Notre Dame Oregon 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" Carroll–Harbaugh rivalry 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 2026
National championship seasons in bold