The 1931 USC Trojans were a dandy, winning their third national championship in four seasons under legendary head coach Howard Jones.
Led by four All-Americans including Johnny Baker and Erny Pinckert, they won their seven Pacific Coast Conference games by a combined score of 259 to 13. USC then became the darlings of college football by snapping Notre Dame’s 26-game winning streak with a 16-14 win in South Bend.
But it was their pre-Rose Bowl tune up on December 12th against Georgia that was truly historic.
The barnstorming Bulldogs, who had already won games at Yale and NYU, made the cross-country trip to Los Angeles with an 8-1 record.