Go USC!

I’ve always been a USC football fan, going back to my schooldays in Arizona and California. When I came back to Indiana for college, I took obnoxious pride in the (then) annual Rose Bowl victories by the Pac 8 (now Pac 10) team. One year I worked the main desk in the union building on New Year’s Day and was able to proudly announce that–yes, once again–the Big Ten had been defeated in the Rose Bowl.

My college years were 1975-1979. Each year, the Pac 10 won–USC in 1975, then UCLA, the USC, then Washington, and then USC again in 1979 and 1980. In fact, the Big 10 won just one Rose Bowl during the 1970s–in 1974 (OSU over USC). And their rep was always either Ohio State or Michigan. Meanwhile, the Pac 10 mixed it up with a variety of schools, any of which were up to the challenge of drumming Bo or Woody–Stanford (2 wins), USC (5 wins), UCLA (1), and Washington (1).

During the 1970s, of course, USC had that great string of running backs–Sam Cunningham (4 touchdowns in the Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State), Anthony Davis (I remember watching his 6 touchdowns against Notre Dame), Ricky Bell, and Charles White. And bookending them were OJ Simpson (1968) and Marcus Allen (1981).

A Google search tells me that USC has had more first-round draft choices than any other school–67, with Ohio State close behind at 63. I look forward to seeing those two teams meet in the championship game this year. Though I admit: Michigan has a very good claim to USC’s spot.