1959 USC Trojans football team
The 1959 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. In their third year under head coach Don Clark, the Trojans compiled an 8–2 record (3–1 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for the Athletic Association of Western Universities championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 195 to 90. Total attendance for all 10 games was 453,865.
| 1959 USC Trojans football | |
|---|---|
AAWU co-champion | |
| Conference | Athletic Association of Western Universities |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 13 |
| AP | No. 14 |
| Record | 8–2 (3–1 AAWU) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Washington ^ + | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 USC + | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA + | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ben Charles led the team in passing with 20 of 46 passes completed for 843 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Jerry Traynham led the team in rushing with 123 carries for 583 yards and two touchdowns. Luther Hayes was the leading receiver with nine catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
This was the first season for the five-team AAWU, following the dissolution of the Pacific Coast Conference in the spring. It comprised the four teams from state of California and Washington in Seattle. The other four teams from the north (Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, and Idaho) were independent for several seasons.