Since I spotlighted David Bell’s game-winning kick vs. UCLA, here’s another huge kick in USC history.
In 1969, No. 16-ranked Stanford took a 24-23 lead over No. 4-ranked USC with 1:03 left at the Coliseum. The Trojans then drove 68 yards. And as time expired, Ron Ayala kicked a 34-yard field goal to give USC a 26-24 victory over Jim Plunkett and Stanford.
On the game-winning drive, USC tailback Clarence Davis had a key fourth-down conversion and QB Jimmy Jones completed three straight passes to tight end Gerry Mullins and wide receiver Sam Dickerson.
USC had no timeouts as Mullins caught a pass for a first down at the Stanford 17. The clock stopped to move the chains and Ayala and the kicking team ran on to the field. The ball was reportedly snapped with less than a second left in the game.
At the time, an NCAA night-game record of 83,812 attended the contest at the Coliseum.
InsideUSC with Scott Wolf 
I was the 1969 Team CoCaptain with Jimmy Gunn.. Just a Fantastic game.. It guaranteed our ticket to go to the 1970 Rose Bowl.
Our 1969 has the 5th highest winning percentage (.955) in the 132 year history of USC Football 10-0-1..
“The Wild Bunch” and “The Cardiac Kids”
My overall record at USC .. including an Undefeated Freshman Season, was
32-2-2! One National Championship 1967.
A loss for another National Championship (Ohio State) 1969 Rose Bowl.. OJ’s Last Game!
And a 10-3 win over Michigan in the 1970 Rose Bowl.. I played in 4 Straight Rose Bowls!!
Coach John McKay and Staff were just the Best!
No Bullshit.. Constant full speed hitting in practice made our Real games seem easy!
Unlike USC today !
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I was a senior in 1969. Wasn’t Bruce Rollinson on that team? As a Mater Dei HC, he has been important to us over the years.
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Full speed practices, eh? No disrespect, but Linemen were 230 to 250 lbs and were slow as molasses., LBs were slow munchkins compared to today’s players. Point is, players were slower and smaller and therefore the risk was as well. NCAA guidelines limit full contact practices – and for good reason.
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You’re an idiot!
Offensive lineman were 265 to 300 lbs.
I ran a 4.5 40 yard.
Get Real and know you facts!
You obviously never played college football…
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Isearched for USC KFI radio announcer Mike Walden’s coverage of the kick but it has been lost to the ages… but we have this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUbL-nVNfY0
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Thanks for that.
Now, you and Pudly keep suggesting that I visit some blog. But I don’t know which one. Help me out here! 🙂
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Trojan centennial helmets were in a class by themselves.
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It seems that USC has had quite a few games where the kicker had to run on the field and make a kick as time expired.
– 1977 Frank Jordan’s kick v. UCLA
– 1978 Frank Jordan’s kick again to beat ND
– 1980 kick by someone I can’t remember to beat Tennessee on the road
Maybe coaches are better today at managing that last FG at the end of the game. Or maybe SC’s special teams coach back then were as bad as John Baxter.
If anyone can rattle off other games where the SC kicker ran on the field to make a last second FG without a timeout, I’d be interested to know.
#AnyoneRememberTheUCLAKickerWhoHadHisLastSecondFGToBeatSCBlockedByGeorgeAchica?
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Norm Johnson?
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USC’s fall into obscurity on the college football landscape is getting beyond pathetic.
Clowns in this forum will say, “Oh, but, but, but…recruiting is picking up and the assistant coaching seems to be better”
As if that’s going to make a damn bit of difference when the soft ass pillow fight, no pad practices are put back into effect by that incompetent dumb ass fraud of a head coach. That idiot helton will have the final say and I don’t give a good Gawt Damn if Mike Ditka was on the staff, helton will get his way and just waste more player talent and everbody’s fucking time.
A couple of more years of the bullshit going on with USC and its football program and they will no longer deserve to be considered a Blue Blood program. When former players fail to speak out and try to do something about the state of incompetence within the program it shows the rest of the country just how much Blue Blood status is taken for granted at USC.
The university and alumni making zero effort to bring prominence back, none whatsoever…#WhatAFuckingJokeUSCHasBecome
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Please do not post pictures of that ugly, hooked nose bitch on a USC blog. Thank you.
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Linkster is an anti-Semite and should be banned for giving USC fans a bad rep, as well as for being an assclown.
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What a complete Asshole you are. Sorry you are a phony Trojan
in this day and age of religious bias. Since you are a golfer by
name have a cup of Covid-19 on the 19th hole dirtbag.
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Tebowbama,
former players have spoken out. It fell at Bohn’s ears. Bohn’s hands are tied. The munchkin Folt is still high from 50 years ago so there is no talking sense to her. She likes Helton. He is the perfect coach for her, nice and easy. Urban would tell her to get in her high chair so she doesn’t get hurt.
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USC should replace Tribute To Troy with this song for as long as helton remains head coach of the Trojans
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Westwood still sucks troll..
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Pudley — what blog do you keep talking about?
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Not sure I talk about a blog?? But then I have memory issues.
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1969 USC vs. Stanford.
One of the classics. Stanford, came to play that day, and Plunkett was on target to Vataha, and Bob Moore all game. Ron Ayala broke their hearts.
I remember the Stanford players were stunned with many sitting with their heads planted in the sod of the Coliseum in shock for quite a long time after the game.
John Mckay proved physical football with speed wins football games in the 4th quarter. These numbnuts we’ve hired from Hackett to Tollner to Kiffin to Sarkisian, to now Gomer Pyle do not know football is still today won in the trenches not only in games but also in daily practice time. USC is now a finesse program much like Stanford, UCLA, Washington State, and BYU were back in the 60’s and 70’s. How many passing offenses have won national championships in the last 50 years, and that includes the spread, run and shoot, west coast offense, and now air raid?
If Mckay were coaching today I am sure he would have made adjustments to today’s defenses, but we would still be a physical football team running to wear down the defenses in the 4th quarter, and passing the ball to keep defenses honest.
If you don’t agree please take a look at Ohio State, Clemson, and Alabama, but then again we seem to be happy finishing 2nd or just winning the Pac 12 South so I guess we will all agree the expectations of the program have now really dropped to a level that was not acceptable in the Mckay area. Talent and recruiting is still there at SC, but sadly the coaching is not. None of the head coaches we’ve hired in the past other than Pete Carroll weren’t even good enough to be hired as assistants on Mckay’s coaching staffs. Tollner, Hackett, Kiffin, Sarkisian, and Helton were all good assistants, but were not qualified head coaches so the results have always been the same, and will continue that way until we find a leader, teacher, and motivator of young men who understands how to win football games not how to look good doing it with a thick playbook and a headphone on all the time.
Please let’s hire a proven head coach with a solid winning percentage who preaches physical football , and who expects to win national championships There is a formula to winning college football games it appears we need to watch and remember how Coach Mckay rebuilt the USC program step by step. History my friends speaks the truth but if you ignore how others did it in the past you will never become a champion. It’s a simple formula there is no need to be innovative the game has changed but not as much as we think it has.
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