1956 USC Trojans football team

The 1956 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1956 NCAA University Division football season. In their sixth and final year under head coach Jess Hill, the Trojans compiled an 8–2 record (5–2 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for second place in the Pacific Coast Conference, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 218 to 126.[1] The team was ranked #15 in the final United Press Coaches Poll and #18 in the final AP Poll. Total attendance for all 10 games was 469,762.[2]

1956 USC Trojans football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 18
1956 record8–2 (5–2 PCC)
Head coachJess Hill (6th season)
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1956 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 10 Oregon State $ 6 –1 –1  7 –3 –1
No. 18 USC 5 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
UCLA 5 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Washington 4 –4 –0  5 –5 –0
Oregon 3 –3 –2  4 –4 –2
Stanford 3 –4 –0  4 –6 –0
Washington State 2 –5 –1  3 –6 –1
California 2 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
Idaho 0 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Frank Hall led the team in passing with 10 of 23 passes completed for 196 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. C. R. Roberts led the team in rushing with 120 carries for 775 yards and five touchdowns. Tony Ortega was the leading receiver with seven catches for 223 yards and one touchdown. Ernie Zampese rushed for 500 yards and passed for 166 yards.[3]

Two Trojans received first-team honors from the Associated Press or the United Press (UP) on the 1956 All-Pacific Coast Conference football team: backs C. R. Roberts (AP-1; UP-1 [fullback]) and Jon Arnett, USC (UP-1 [halfback]).[4][5]

Players

The following players were members of the 1956 USC football team.[6]

  • Fabian Abram, tackle, 6'3", 215 pounds, Redondo Beach, California
  • Jon Arnett, senior HB (#26)
  • George Belotti, tackle, 6'3", 253 pounds, Oxnard, California
  • Ron Fletcher, tackle, 6'3", 215 pounds, Los Angeles
  • Walt Gurasich, guard, 6'1", 219 pounds, Sherman Oaks, California
  • Frank Hall, quarterback, 6'0", 175 pounds, San Francisco, California
  • Mike Henry, tackle, 6'2", 212 pounds, Los Angeles
  • Don Hickman, halfback, 5'10", 170 pounds, Monterey Park, California
  • Hillard Hill, end, 6'1", 188 pounds, Pasadena, California
  • Ells Kissinger, quarterback, 5'10, 183 pounds, York, Pennsylvania
  • Ben Lardizabal, guard, 5'11", 210 pounds, Los Angeles
  • Chuck Leimbach, end, 6'4", 193 pounds, Los Angeles
  • C. R. Roberts, fullback, 6'1", 206 pounds, Oceanside, California
  • Bob Rosendahl, end, 6'1", 178 pounds, Lynwood, California
  • Karl Rubke, center, 6'4", 225 pounds, Lynwood, California
  • Laird Willott, guard, 6'0", 205 pounds, Glendale, California
  • Ernie Zampese, halfback, 5'9", 166 pounds, Santa Barbara, California

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 22at Texas*No. 15
W 44–2047,000
September 28Oregon StateNo. 6
W 21–1353,714
October 6at Wisconsin*No. 10
W 13–652,944
October 20WashingtonNo. 9
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 35–744,749
October 27at StanfordNo. 6
L 19–2770,000
November 3at Washington StateNo. 20
W 28–1213,000
November 10CaliforniaNo. 16
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 20–741,628
November 17vs. OregonNo. 14
L 0–714,480
November 24at UCLA
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell)
W 10–763,709
December 1Notre Dame*No. 17
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (Jeweled Shillelagh)
W 28–2064,538
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Coaching staff
  • Head coach: Jess Hill
  • Assistant coaches: Nick Pappas (back coach), Mel Hein (line coach), George Ceithaml (back coach), Bill Fisk (end coach), Joe Margucci (JV coach), Don Clark (line coach), Bob Titchenal (freshman)[7]
  • Senior football manager: Mike O'Dell[8]
gollark: `char` bad, `u8` good.
gollark: Do you *need* that?
gollark: Well, "char" is wrong in C?
gollark: Maybe I should rename ilmenite to apiary.
gollark: Seems fine to me.

References
  1. "Southern California Yearly Results (1955-1959)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. 1957 "El Rodeo" (USC yearbook), page 252.
  3. "1956 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  4. "All-Pacific Coast Team Choices Reflect a Season of Upsets". Independent Journal, San Rafael, California. December 4, 1956. p. 12.
  5. "United Press Announces All-PCC Team". Independent Journal, San Rafael, California. December 4, 1956. p. 12.
  6. 1957 "El Rodeo", pages 253-265.
  7. 1957 "El Rodeo" (USC yearbook), pages 251 and 266.
  8. 1957 "El Rodeo", page 251.
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