| 1961 USC Trojans football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Athletic Association of Western Universities |
| Record | 4–5–1 (2–1–1 AAWU) |
| Head coach |
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| Captain | Britt Williams |
| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 UCLA $ | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1961 USC Trojans football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern California (USC) as a member of the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), commonly known at the time as the Big 5 Conference, during the 1961 college football season. In their second year under head coach John McKay, the Trojans compiled a 4–5–1 record (2–1–1 in conference games), finished in a tie for second place in the AAWU, and were outscored by a total of 167 to 151. In non-conference games, they defeated SMU and Illinois, but lost to Georgia Tech, Iowa, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh.[1]
End Hal Bedsole was the leading receiver in the conference with 27 catches for 525 yards and six touchdowns. Bedsole also led the team with 38 points scored. Quarterbacks Bill Nelsen and Pete Beathard combined for 1,165 passing yards, and fullback Ben Wilson led the team with 619 rushing yards.
The team included a large group of sophomores and juniors (including Bedsole, Beathard, Nelsen, Wilson, Willie Brown, Frank Buncom, and Marv Marinovich) who returned to lead the undefeated 1962 USC Trojans football team to a national championship.
The Trojans played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.