Reign #167 of 335 · USC’s 7th reign
USC, 1978–1980
735Days held
24Defenses
#10Longest of 335
#9Most defended of 335
How it started
November 11, 1978
Took the belt from Washington 28–10 at home on November 11, 1978.
USC was No. 5 in the AP poll going into that game, Washington was unranked. While holding the belt: ranked in 29 of 29 poll weeks, best No. 1, 6 weeks at No. 1. The belt vs. the polls →
Head coach: John Robinson · 3 reigns started, 1,078 days with the belt.
Defenses
The belt on the line, 24 times
November 18, 1978 · at UCLA 17–10DefendedNovember 25, 1978 · vs. Notre Dame 27–25DefendedDecember 2, 1978 · at Hawai'i 21–5DefendedJanuary 1, 1979 · vs. Michigan 17–10DefendedSeptember 8, 1979 · at Texas Tech 21–7DefendedSeptember 15, 1979 · at Oregon State 42–5DefendedSeptember 22, 1979 · vs. Minnesota 48–14DefendedSeptember 29, 1979 · at LSU 17–12DefendedOctober 6, 1979 · vs. Washington State 50–21DefendedOctober 13, 1979 · at Stanford 21–21Tie, belt keptOctober 20, 1979 · at Notre Dame 42–23DefendedOctober 27, 1979 · at California 24–14DefendedNovember 3, 1979 · vs. Arizona 34–7DefendedNovember 10, 1979 · at Washington 24–17DefendedNovember 24, 1979 · vs. UCLA 49–14DefendedJanuary 1, 1980 · vs. Ohio State 17–16DefendedSeptember 13, 1980 · at Tennessee 20–17DefendedSeptember 20, 1980 · vs. South Carolina 23–13DefendedSeptember 27, 1980 · at Minnesota 24–7DefendedOctober 4, 1980 · vs. Arizona State 23–21DefendedOctober 11, 1980 · at Arizona 27–10DefendedOctober 18, 1980 · vs. Oregon 7–7Tie, belt keptNovember 1, 1980 · vs. California 60–7DefendedNovember 8, 1980 · at Stanford 34–9Defended
How it ended
November 15, 1980
Lost the belt to Washington 10–20 at home on November 15, 1980, after 735 days.