1954 USC Trojans football team

1954 USC Trojans football
Rose Bowl, L 7–20 vs. Ohio State
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 17
Record8–4 (6–1 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1954 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 UCLA $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0
No. 17 USC ^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Oregon 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
California 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Washington State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Stanford 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Idaho 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Washington 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Oregon State 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative
    UCLA won rivalry game over USC, but no-repeat rule was in effect
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1954 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jess Hill, the Trojans compiled an 8–4 record (6–1 in PCC, second), lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, and outscored their opponents 258 to 159.

Jim Contratto led USC in passing with 32 of 79 passes completed for 702 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions. Jon Arnett led the team in rushing with 96 carries for 601 yards and seven touchdowns. Lindon Crow was the leading receiver with seven catches for 274 yards and three touchdowns.[1]

Three Trojans received first-team honors from the Associated Press on the All-Coast team: back Lindon Crow; tackle Ed Fouch; guard Jim Salsbury.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 17Washington StateNo. 17
W 39–037,645[2]
September 24Pittsburgh*No. 15
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 27–750,253[3][4][5]
October 2at Northwestern*No. 9
W 12–730,725[6]
October 8TCU*No. 9
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
L 7–2052,705[7]
October 16at Oregon
W 24–1422,766[8]
October 23CaliforniaNo. 17
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 29–2766,342[9]
October 30Oregon StateNo. 13
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 30–030,065[10]
November 6at StanfordNo. 10
W 21–738,000[11]
November 13WashingtonNo. 8
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 41–036,108[12]
November 20No. 2 UCLANo. 7
L 0–34102,548[13]
November 27at No. 4 Notre Dame*No. 17
L 17–2356,438[14]
January 1, 1955vs. No. 1 Ohio State*No. 17
L 7–2089,191[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • Source: [16]

Game summaries

UCLA

1 2 3 4 Total
UCLA 7 0 0 27 34
USC 0 0 0 0 0

Players

  • Jon Arnett, sophomore tailback (#26), earned second-team All-Coast honors from the UP
  • Al Barry, senior right guard
  • George Belotti, tackle
  • Bing Bordier, right end
  • Ron Brown
  • Ron Calabria, wingback
  • Leon Clarke, left end, second-team All-Coast honors from coaches
  • Frank Clayton, left halfback
  • Jim Contratto, quarterback
  • Lindon Crow, second-team All-Coast (co-captain)
  • Aramis Dandoy, tailback, won All-Coast honors from INS
  • Mario DaRe, tackle
  • Jim Decker, fullback
  • Gordon Duvall, fullback
  • Dirk Eldredge, center
  • Dick Enright, right guard
  • Orlando Ferrante, guard, first-team All-Coast honors from coaches, second-string All-Coast honors from INS
  • Ed Fouch, right tackle, first-team All-Coast (co-captain)
  • George Galli, guard
  • Marv Goux, linebacker, led the team in defensive statistics
  • Chuck Greenwood, right end
  • Chuck Griffith, right end
  • Frank Hall, back
  • Roger Hooks quarterback
  • Bob Isaacson, guard
  • Chuck Leimbach, end
  • Don McFarland, end
  • Ernie Merk, back
  • John Miller, guard
  • Frank Pavich, guard and tackle
  • Vern Sampson, center
  • Irwin Spector, guard, Brooklyn, New York
  • Joe Tisdale, fullback
  • Sam Tsagalakis, placekicker

Coaching staff and other personnel

References

  1. ^ "1954 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  2. ^ "USC Trojans blast WSC Cougars 39–0". The Press Democrat. September 19, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ George Kiseda (September 25, 1954). "Arnett Scores Three As USC Wins in Rout". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. p. 10. Retrieved February 8, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Braven Dyer (September 25, 1954). "Troy Rally in Fourth Ruins Foes". The Los Angeles Times. p. 1, part 3. Retrieved February 8, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1954 Pitt Football Attendance". Pitt 1955 Football Preview for Press and Radio. University of Pittsburgh Athletic Department: 27. September 25, 1955.
  6. ^ "Bulky Fouch goes 68 to help Trojans win". The Fresno Bee. October 3, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Texas Christian deals 20–7 blow to Southern Cal". The Sacramento Bee. October 9, 1954. Retrieved March 20, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "SC rolls to 24–14 win". The Register. October 17, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Trojans clear path to Rose Bowl with 29–27 win". Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. October 24, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "USC moves closer to Rose Bowl with win over Beavers". The Bellingham Herald. October 31, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Trojans smell Roses at last". The Spokesman-Review. November 7, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Trojan horse wins eased up 41–0". Pasadena Star-News. November 14, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Rose Bowl bound Trojans fall before 102,548". San Francisco Chronicle. November 21, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Notre Dame defeats Southern California, 23–17". The Pittsburgh Press. November 28, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Buckeyes bury Troy in rain, mud, 20–7". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1955. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Schedule/Results (1954 USC)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  17. ^ 1955 "El Rodeo" (USC yearbook), page 185.
  18. ^ 1955 "El Rodeo", page 184.
  19. ^ 1955 "El Rodeo", page 183.
  20. ^ 1955 "El Rodeo", page 186.
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