1939 USC Trojans football team

1939 USC Trojans football
National champion (Dickinson System)
PCC champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 14–0 vs. Tennessee
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Ranking
APNo. 3
Record8–0–2 (5–0–2 PCC)
Head coach
CaptainJoe Shell
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1938
1940 →
1939 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 USC $ 5 – 0 – 2 8 – 0 – 2
No. 7 UCLA 5 – 0 – 3 6 – 0 – 4
Oregon State 6 – 1 – 1 9 – 1 – 1
Washington 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Oregon 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1
Washington State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Montana 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
California 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Stanford 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
Idaho 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1939 USC Trojans football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1939 college football season. In their 15th year under head coach Howard Jones, the Trojans compiled an 8–0–2 record (5–0–2 against PCC opponents), shut out six of ten opponents, won the PCC championship, and outscored all opponents by a total of 181 to 33. They won the PCC championship.[1]

In the final AP poll released on December 9, 1939, USC was ranked No. 3 with 891 points, 200 points behind No 1 Texas A&M.[2] However, in the Dickinson System rankings released three days later on December 12, USC was ranked No. 1 with a 25.73 point rating, edging out Texas A&M by three tenths of a point.[3] The Trojans were awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy for the national championship as awarded by the Dickinson system.

After the final rankings were released, the Trojans defeated No. 2 Tennessee, 14–0, in the 1940 Rose Bowl. Tennessee had not given up any points prior to the Rose Bowl and had won 23 consecutive games.[4] The AP did not conduct a poll after the bowl games.

USC guard Harry Smith was a consensus first-team pick on the 1939 All-America college football team.[5] Smith was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[6] Quarterback Grenny Lansdell was chosen as a first-team All-American by the Central Press Association and as a third-team All-American by the Associated Press.[7][8] Smith, Lansdell, and tackle Phil Gaspar were also selected as first-team players on the 1939 All-Pacific Coast football team.[9][10]

USC recognized the 1939 team as National Champions in 2004 based on their #1 ranking in the contemporary Dickinson System. USC saluted the surviving members of the squad on the field at their October 16 home game versus Arizona State.[11]

  1. ^ "1939 USC Trojans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Writers Pick Texas Aggies As No. 1 Football Team". The Bristol News Bulletin. December 12, 1939. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Pacific Coast Football Best". The Bristol News Bulletin. December 12, 1939. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "U.S.C. wins 14–0 over Tennessee". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1940. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 7. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  6. ^ "Harry Smith". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Walter Johns (December 10, 1939). "South Dominates Captains' All-American". Wisconsin State Journal.
  8. ^ "The 1939 A.P. All America". San Antonio Express. December 9, 1939.
  9. ^ "All-Coast Eleven Rates As 'Dream Team'". The San Bernardino Daily Sun. December 8, 1939. p. 21.
  10. ^ James A. Sullivan (December 5, 1939). "1939 United Press All-Pacific Coast Team – Kenny Washington Considered Outstanding Back". United Press – San Francisco. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  11. ^ "USC Now Will Recognize Its 1939 Football Team As A National Champion" (Press release). University of Southern California Athletics. July 26, 2004. Archived from the original on March 24, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2022. USC now will recognize its 1939 football team as a national champion, giving the Trojan program 10 national titles in the sport, Trojan athletic director Mike Garrett announced. USC will salute the surviving members of that 1939 squad at its Oct. 16 home game against Arizona State.