The1986 USC Trojans football team represented theUniversity of Southern California (USC) in the1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth and final year under head coachTed Tollner, the Trojans compiled a 7–5 record (5–3 against conference opponents), finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in thePacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 264 to 239.^[1]

QuarterbackRodney Peete led the team in passing, completing 160 of 305 passes for 2,138 yards with 10 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Ryan Knight led the team in rushing with 148 carries for 536 yards and seven touchdowns. Ken Henry led the team in receiving yards with 43 catches for 807 yards and seven touchdowns.^[2]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	4:00 p.m.	Illinois*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	WTBS	W 31–16	51,496	[3]
September 20	12:30 p.m.	at No. 9Baylor*		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	ABC	W 17–14	35,000	[4]
September 27	4:00 p.m.	No. 6Washington	No. 12	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	WTBS	W 20–10	58,023	[5]
October 4	6:30 p.m.	Oregon	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 35–21	51,340	[6]
October 11	1:00 p.m.	atWashington State	No. 9	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA		L 14–34	26,000	[7]
October 18	1:30 p.m.	No. 10Arizona State	No. 15	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		L 20–29	65,874	[8]
October 25	12:30 p.m.	at No. 19Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	CBS	W 10–0	73,500	[9]
November 1	5:30 p.m.	at No. 14Arizona	No. 18	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	PSN	W 20–13	55,046	[10]
November 15	4:00 p.m.	California	No. 13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	WTBS	W 28–3	48,019	[11]
November 22	3:00 p.m.	at No. 18UCLA	No. 10	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Victory Bell)	PSN	L 25–45	98,370	[12]
November 29	12:30 p.m.	Notre Dame*	No. 17	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	CBS	L 37–38	70,614	[13]
January 1, 1987	9:00 a.m.	vs. No. 10Auburn*		Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl)	ABC	L 7–16	51,113	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inPacific time

Visiting USC stunned the No. 9 Bears on Don Shafer's 32-yard field goal on the final play. Baylor dominated the game statistically, outgaining USC 408-197, holding a 26–11 advantage is first downs (including not allowing USC a first down through three quarters), and maintaining a 15-minute advantage in time of possession (37:47 to 22:13). Mirroring the result of last year's matchup, the unranked road team knocked off the host with an AP top ten ranking.^[15]

^[16]

1986 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 79 Jeff Bregel (C) Sr RB Aaron Emanuel Fr OL John Guerrero  So   Ken Henry RB Ryan Knight QB 16 Rodney Peete So	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 6 Tim McDonald (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 10 Don Shafer Sr	Head coach Ted Tollner Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

• 1986 Pacific-10 Conference football season
• USC Trojans football seasons
• 1986 in sports in California

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