Greastest Pac-10 College Football Teams
1932 USC, 10-0: After winning the 1931 national title, the 1932 team was supposed to take a little bit of a fall after losing seven starters and three All-Americans. It didn't happen and in fact, the team turned out to be even better. The 1932 squad outscored teams 201 to 13, but it wasn't against a soft schedule beating eight teams that finished with winning records. USC gave Utah, Washington State and Pittsburgh their only losses on the season beating the Panthers 35-0 in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans beat a good Notre Dame team 13-0 and handled Oregon 33-0. In the long and storied history of Trojan offensive lines, this one might have been the best with Tay Brown, Aaron Rosenberg and Ernie Smith all earning All-America honors. This team and season put head coach Howard Jones among the elite in college football.
1978 USC, 12-1: Even though the Trojans lost to Arizona State 20-7 midway through the season, this still might be one of the greatest and most talented teams of all time. 26 players were taken from this team over the following three drafts including Charles White, Anthony Munoz, Ronnie Lott and Keith Van Horn. That doesn't even count freshman running back Marcus Allen. John Robinson's squad gave Alabama its only loss of the season and finished the season beating Michigan 17-10 in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans beat ten teams that finished the season with a winning record.
1972 USC, 10-0: As the line went at the time, the 1972 USC Trojans weren't the best team in the country. The Miami Dolphins were better. The Trojans outscored opponents 467 to 135 finishing the season with a 42-17 win over Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. No one came closer than nine points of a team that was never behind in the second half. Some of the stars from this team were Pat Haden, Sam Cunningham and Lynn Swann and featured five All-Americans.
1991 Washington, 12-0: Coming off a Rose Bowl winning 1990 season, all the pieces were in place for one of the great seasons and one of the great teams in college football history coming into the 1991 season. The Huskies only had one close call beating California, which finished the season 10-2, 24-17 in the middle of the year. Eleven Huskies were taken in the 1992 draft including Steve Emtman. Six more top players went in the 1993 draft including quarterbacks Mark Brunell and Billy Joe Hobert. If you want proof that a team with two quarterbacks can win the national title, this team provided it.
1974 USC, 10-1-1: Highlighted by one of the most stunning performances in college football history, the Trojans gave John McKay his fourth national title. Against a 9-1 Notre Dame team, Anthony Davis scored four touchdowns as the Trojans blew the doors off the Irish for a 55-24 comeback win. The team got over a season opening loss to Arkansas and a tie against Cal to go on to win the Rose Bowl over Ohio State and won the national title.
1920 California, 9-0: Nicknamed "The Wonder Team", the 1920 Cal Bears opened the season playing four club teams beating St. Mary's 104-0, Mare Island Marines 88-0 and Nevada 79-7. After the soft opening, Cal blew out a bad Utah team 63-0. Cal played three strong teams to finish the season giving Washington State its only loss in a 49-0 win and beat a 7-0 Ohio State team 28-0 in the Rose Bowl. On the year, Cal allowed a total of 14 points and was later named the national champion.
1954 UCLA, 9-0: After a solid 8-2 season in 1953, just about everyone returned to form the greatest team in UCLA history. The season started off with a cupcake victory beating San Diego Navy 67-0. The Bruins followed it up with a 32-7 win over a miserable Kansas team and a 12-7 win over a good Maryland squad before facing their toughest game of the season. Against a Washington team that would finish the season 2-8, UCLA went up 21-0 and was coasting. Washington made a furious comeback, but missed an extra point to lose 21-20. After that close call, UCLA outscored the final five teams on the schedule 235 to 6 including a 41-0 win over Oregon and a 34-0 win over USC. The Bruins won the national title, but didn't get to play in the Rose Bowl because of a "no repeat" rule.
1921 California, 9-0-1: "The Wonder Team" wasn't quite as strong as the 1920 squad, but it was still plenty good. It gave Oregon its only loss of the year in a 39-0 win, beat USC 38-7 and beat Washington 72-3 on five Duke Morrison touchdowns. The season culminated in a 0-0 tie against a 10-0 Washington & Jefferson team in the the Rose Bowl.
1923 California, 9-0-1: The 1923 Cal team came into the season having not tasted defeat in three years. The Bears continued the run with only a 0-0 tie to No. 1 Nevada sullying a sensational season. Cal beat USC 13-7 in Los Angeles. Those seven points were the only ones given up on the year as Cal outscored its opponents 182 to 7. The season ended with a 9-0 win over Stanford in the first game ever played in the Cal Memorial Stadium.
1967 USC, 10-1: Led by a pretty decent running back named O.J., the Trojans won the national championship beating Indiana in the Rose Bowl and beat the No. 1 UCLA Bruins 21-20 helped by one of the greatest runs in college football history by Simpson. Simpson set the NCAA record rushing for 1,543 yards (1,709 counting the Rose Bowl), but he wasn't the only star. Six Trojans were All-Americans and five went in the first round of the 1968 Draft.
2002 USC, 11-2: It's possible that the Trojans played the toughest schedule in the history of college football and yet came out of it with a Heisman Trophy winner and an Orange Bowl victory. Of the 13 teams the 2002 Trojans played, eleven played in bowl games. The two that didn't were Stanford, which finished 2-9, and Cal, which finished 7-5. The losses came on the road to Kansas State and Washington State early, and then the run came culminating in a three game stretch that saw a 52-21 win over UCLA, and 44-13 win over Notre Dame and a 38-17 win over Iowa. As the season progressed, quarterback Carson Palmer got better and better finishing the season as the nation's best player.
1969 USC, 10-0-1: The team didn't blow many teams out, but it was good enough to beat five teams that finished with winning records and ended the season unbeaten and Rose Bowl champions. Dubbed the Cardiac Kids because of their ability to stink for three quarters only to blow up in the end, the Trojans beat Stanford on a field goal with no time left, gave UCLA its only loss of the season, and handed Nebraska one of its only two losses on the year.
1996 Arizona State, 11-1: Led by Jake "The Snake" Plummer, the Sun Devils came from out of almost nowhere to come within seconds of winning the national title. They pulled off a shocker beating two-time defending national champion Nebraska 19-0 to kick off a sensational run marked by heart-stopping wins and clutch play. After Plummer ran for a touchdown late in the Rose Bowl against Ohio State, it seemed that a perfect season was in hand, but the Buckeyes rallied to pull off the 20-17 win.
1984 Washington, 11-1: The Huskies achieved the No. 1 ranking midway though the 1984 season, but a 17-14 to a No. 12 USC that eventually won the Rose Bowl cost the Huskies the national title. With many crying foul over BYU winning a national title after playing a soft schedule, Washington was one of the popular choices by some as the nation's best team beating No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
1962 USC, 11-0: The Trojans won their first national title in thirty years and kicked off one of the most dominating eras in college football history with this team. Over a twenty year span, USC won five national titles and played in 11 Rose Bowls. The 1962 Trojans outscored teams 261 to 92 giving Washington its only loss of the year and beat Wisconsin in a classic Rose Bowl.
1976 USC, 11-1: New head coach John Robinson had some pretty big shoes to fill in his first season taking over for John McKay. The season didn't start out well as the Trojans were blasted 46-25 by Missouri. The team recovered by beating Oregon 53-0, Purdue 31-13 and Iowa 55-0. The team found its stride by the end of the year beating UCLA, Notre Dame and Michigan to finish the year 11-1. The star was running back Ricky Bell running for 1,957 yards.
1960 Washington, 10-1: The Huskies beat four teams that finished with winning records including UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State. The only loss came in a 15-14 classic to a Navy team that finished the season 9-2. The season culminated with a 17-7 win over No. 1 Minnesota in the Rose Bowl led by an MVP performance from quarterback Bob Schloredt.
1979 USC, 11-0-1: The 1979 Trojans tied Stanford 17-17 and blasted everyone else up until the Rose Bowl. Anthony Munoz and Brad Budde opened holes for Charles White in his landslide Heisman season. The secondary featured Ronnie Lott and Dennis Smith at safety. The season ended with a bang beating 11-0 Ohio State 17-16 in the Rose Bowl.
1926 Stanford, 10-0-1: The 1926 Stanford team won the national title highlighted by a 13-12 win over USC and a 29-10 win over Washington. At 10-0, it had a showdown in the Rose Bowl against undefeated Alabama in the Rose Bowl and tied the Tide 7-7. On the year, Stanford outscored opponents 268 to 73.
2001 Oregon, 11-1: The Ducks came off a great 2000 season finishing 10-2 and with a win over Texas and came back loaded in 2001. Oregon lost 49-42 in a sensational shootout to Stanford, but didn't slip after beating Washington State 24-17, UCLA 7-4 and finished the season with a 38-16 dismantling of Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl.