Today's Tidbit... When USC Used Their Heads And Lost

You can't believe everything you read, but some stories are appealing enough that you want to accept them, even if you can't confirm them. Here's one of them.

I came across this one when reading the Sylvania TV Home Viewers' Official 1954 Football Guide, which had an article covering "hard to believe" events in football's past. I confirmed most of the story with period newspaper articles; if this tale is not entirely true, it is close to being so.

Sylvania’s 21-inch black-and-white television would cost $2,300 in 2023 dollars.(1954 Sylvania TV Home Viewers' Official Football Guide)

The story concerns the 1926 USC Trojans, who finished 8-2 under Howard Jones, outscoring their opponents 317-52. The Trojans breezed through their first five games, easily defeating Whittier, Santa Clara, Washington State, Occidental, and Cal, before facing a 6-0 Stanford team in the Coliseum.