1989 USC Trojans football team

1989 USC Trojans football
Pac-10 champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 17–10 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 8
Record	9–2–1 (6–0–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Larry Smith (3rd season)
Captains	Dan Owens Leroy Holt Brad Leggett Tim Ryan
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ←  1988 1990  →

1989 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 USC $	6	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 23 Washington	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Oregon	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 25 Arizona	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Arizona State	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Oregon State	3	–	4	–	1			4	–	7	–	1
Washington State	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Stanford	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UCLA	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
California	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1989 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was intended to start in historic fashion, with USC set to play Illinois in Moscow in what was dubbed the Glasnost Bowl. However, the plan to play the game at Dynamo Stadium fell through, and the game was rescheduled at Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans lost the game as the Illini scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

USC won their third consecutive Pac-10 conference championship and gained their 600th program win in a victory against Oregon State. They played third-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl and won, giving Larry Smith his only bowl victory in his six seasons as head coach.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	5:00 p.m.	No. 22 Illinois *	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 13–14	54,622	[1]
September 16	7:00 p.m.	Utah State *	No. 13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 66–10	50,249	[2]
September 23	12:30 p.m.	No. 20 Ohio State *	No. 12	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 42–3	69,876	[3]
September 30	12:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Washington State	No. 11	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ABC	W 18–17	38,434	[4]
October 7	12:30 p.m.	Washington	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 24–16	58,410	[5]
October 14	3:30 p.m.	at California	No. 10	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	Prime	W 31–15	52,000	[6]
October 21	12:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Notre Dame *	No. 9	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh)	CBS	L 24–28	59,075	[7]
October 28	3:30 p.m.	Stanford	No. 10	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	Prime	W 19–0	67,411	[8]
November 4	3:30 p.m.	Oregon State	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	Prime	W 48–6	72,139	[9]
November 11	12:30 p.m.	at No. 25 Arizona	No. 9	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	ABC	W 24–3	52,606	[10]
November 18	12:30 p.m.	UCLA	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	T 10–10	86,672	[11]
January 1, 1990	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Michigan *	No. 12	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ABC	W 17–10	103,450	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Main article: 1989 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Game summaries

Illinois

See also: 1989 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Ohio State

#25 Ohio State Buckeyes (1–0) at #12 USC Trojans (1–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	3	0	0	0	3
USC	0	21	14	7	42

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

• Date: September 23
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. PST
• Game weather: Sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)
• Game attendance: 69,876
• Referee: Pat Flood
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter OSU – Pat O'Morrow 45-yard field goal, 4:18. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 49 yards, 5:20. Second quarter USC – Scott Galbraith 3-yard pass from Shane Foley (Quin Rodriguez kick), 11:20. USC 7–3. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 5:12. USC – John Jackson 87-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 8:21. USC 14–3. Drive: 3 plays, 95 yards, 1:36. USC – Scott Galbraith 11-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 7:31. USC 21–3. Drive: 1 play, 11 yards, 0:08. Third quarter USC – Gary Wellman 19-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 3:16. USC 28–3. Drive: 8 plays, 88 yards, 3:46. USC – Gary Wellman 17-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 0:04. USC 35–3. Drive: 6 plays, 35 yards, 2:41. Fourth quarter USC – Mazio Royster 1-yard run (Quin Rodriguez kick), 1:38. USC 42–3. Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 3:57. Top passers OSU – Greg Frey – 13/28, 135 yards, INT USC – Todd Marinovich – 14/22, 246 yards, 4 TD, INT Top rushers OSU – Carlos Snow – 11 rushes, 83 yards USC – Ricky Ervins – 21 rushes, 117 yards Top receivers OSU – Jeff Graham – 3 receptions, 43 yards USC – John Jackson – 2 receptions, 108 yards, TD

At Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total •USC 0 10 0 8 18 Washington St 7 3 7 0 17 Date: September 30 Location: Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA Game weather: Overcast Source:

Scoring summary 1 WSU Stallworth 77-yard pass from Garcia (Hanson kick) WSU 7-0 2 USC Rodriguez 33-yard field goal WSU 7-3 2 WSU Hanson 23-yard field goal WSU 10-3 2 USC Jackson 8-yard pass from Ervins (Rodriguez kick) Tied 10-10 3 WSU Broussard 49-yard pass from Garcia (Hanson kick) WSU 17-10 4 0:04 USC Ervins 2-yard pass from Marinovich (Marinovich to Wellman pass) USC 18-17

At Notre Dame

See also: Notre Dame–USC football rivalry and Jeweled Shillelagh

#9 USC Trojans (5–1) at #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	14	3	0	7	24
Notre Dame	7	0	7	14	28

at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

• Date: October 21, 1989
• Game attendance: 59,075
• TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz
• Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter USC – Larry Wallace 12-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 12:47. USC 7–0. ND – Tony Rice 7-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:10. Tie 7–7. USC – John Jackson 15-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 7:47. USC 14–7. Second quarter USC – Quin Rodriguez 25-yard field goal, 10:22. USC 17–7. Third quarter ND – Ricky Watters 2-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 9:17. USC 17–14. Drive: 8 plays. Fourth quarter ND – Anthony Johnson 35-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 13:51. Notre Dame 21–17. Drive: 80 yards. USC – Gary Wellman 16-yard pass from Todd Marinovich (Quin Rodriguez kick), 9:01. USC 24–21. Drive: 4 plays. ND – Tony Rice 15-yard run (Craig Hentrich kick), 5:18. Notre Dame 28–24. Drive: 80 yards. Top passers USC – Todd Marinovich – 33/55, 333 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT ND – Tony Rice – 5/16, 91 yards Top rushers USC – Ricky Ervins – 12 rushes, 64 yards ND – Tony Rice – 18 rushes, 99 yards, 2 TD Top receivers USC – John Jackson – 14 receptions, 200 yards, TD ND – Raghib Ismail – 2 receptions, 62 yards

• Pregame fight in tunnel

External videos
1989 USC at Notre Dame – Television broadcast
1989 USC at Notre Dame – Highlights

Stanford

Stanford at USC

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinal 0 0 0 0 0 •No. 10 Trojans 0 10 3 6 19 Date: October 28 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Game attendance: 67,411 Television network: Prime

Scoring summary Q2 USC Rodriguez 28 yard field goal USC 3–0 Q2 USC Ervins 9 yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 10–0 Q3 USC Rodriguez 25 yard field goal USC 13–0 Q4 USC Holt 5 yard run (pass failed) USC 19–0

See also: 1989 Stanford Cardinal football team and Stanford–USC football rivalry

^[13]

UCLA

See also: 1989 UCLA Bruins football team and Victory Bell (UCLA–USC)

Vs. Michigan (Rose Bowl)

USC vs. Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 12 Trojans 0 10 0 7 17 No. 3 Wolverines 0 3 7 0 10 Date: January 1 Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA Game attendance: 103,450 Referee: Jim Kemerling TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bob Griese

Scoring summary Q2 USC Marinovich 1-yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 7–0 Q2 6:28 MICH Carlson 19-yard field goal USC 7–3 Q2 USC Rodriguez 34-yard field goal USC 10–3 Q3 MICH Jeffereson 2-yard run (Carlson kick) Tied 10–10 Q4 USC Ervins 9 yard run (Rodriguez kick) USC 17–10

Main article: 1990 Rose Bowl

See also: 1989 Michigan Wolverines football team

The Trojans avenged last season's loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl, beating the Wolverines in Bo Schembechler's last game as head coach. ^[14]

Personnel

1989 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Aaron Emanuel Sr RB 34 Ricky Ervins Jr QB Shane Foley TE 86 Scott Galbraith Sr TE Frank Griffin OL Pat Harlow Jr RB Calvin Holmes RB 39 Leroy Holt Sr WR John Jackson C 63 Brad Leggett Sr RB 40 Scott Lockwood QB 13 Todd Marinovich RFr QB 4 Pat O'Hara Jr OL Brent Parkinson RB Mazio Royster OL Bill Schultz WR Joel Scott G 75 Mark Tucker Jr WR Larry Wallace WR 83 Gary Wellman Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 98 Kurt Barber So S 7 Mark Carrier Jr LB Delmar Chesley DB Cleveland Colter DL Gene Fruge DB Dwayne Garner DT 90 Dan Owens Sr LB 35 Scott Ross Jr DT 99 Tim Ryan Sr LB 55 Junior Seau Jr DB Ernest Spears LB Michael Williams	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Ron Dale P Marc Preston K 11 Quin Rodriguez Jr K Grant Runnerstrum	Head coach Larry Smith Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were selected in the 1990 NFL draft:

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Junior Seau	Linebacker	1	5	San Diego Chargers
Mark Carrier	Safety	1	6	Chicago Bears
Dan Owens	Defensive end	2	35	Detroit Lions
Tim Ryan	Defensive end	3	61	Chicago Bears
William Schultz	Guard	4	94	Indianapolis Colts
Leroy Holt	Running back	5	137	Miami Dolphins
Scott Galbraith	Tight end	7	178	Cleveland Browns
Aaron Emanuel	Running back	7	191	New York Giants
Brad Leggett	Center	8	219	Denver Broncos
Ernest Spears	Defensive back	10	216	New Orleans Saints

^[15]

References

1. "Illinois rally jolts Southern California". The Courier-News. September 5, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Ervins runs wild in USC victory". Ventura County Star. September 17, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Trojans trounce Buckeyes 42–3". The Palm Beach Post. September 24, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Cougar victory slips away". The Olympian. October 1, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "After slow start, USC finishes off Huskies". Daily Times-Advocate. October 8, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Cal's loss to Trojans solves fans' Series problem". Oakland Tribune. October 15, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Irish overcome mistakes, overtake Trojans, 28–24". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 22, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Trojans clumsy, but Stanford worse". The Houston Post. October 29, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Who they kidding: Trojans 48–6". The San Bernardino County Sun. November 5, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "USC bowls over Arizona, 24–3". Honolulu Star-Bulletin & Advertiser. November 12, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Trojans, UCLA feel tie is loss". The Fresno Bee. November 19, 1989. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Southern Cal spoils Bo's last Rose 17–10". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. January 2, 1990. Retrieved June 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. Gainesville Sun. 1989 Oct 29.
14. "Farewell to Bo Played Strictly by Book, 17-10". Los Angeles Times . January 2, 1990. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
15. "1990 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 20, 2007.