The 1947 USC Trojans showed considerable resilience. How do we know this? The 1946 USC team was the first team in a four-season span to not make the Rose Bowl. Coach Jeff Cravath, recommended by USC icon Sam Barry to become the next head coach of the program in the early 1940s after the death of Howard Jones, maintained the Rose Bowl standard at USC. He reached the Granddaddy in the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons. The 1946 season slipped through the cracks, as we noted recently.
We wrote this about Jeff Cravath:
“Cravath coached USC during America’s involvement in World War II and then for the first five postwar seasons, through 1950. In his nine seasons, he led USC to four Rose Bowls and two wins in the Granddaddy. USC went a combined 16-2-2 in the 1943 and 1944 seasons, then 7-1-1 in the 1947 regular season. USC had only one losing season out of nine under Cravath, the 1950 campaign which led to a change and the installment of Jess Hill for the 1951 season.”
In 1947 against Ohio State, USC won on the road against Ohio State, 32-0. It was part of the redemptive arc of a year which restored order and brought the Trojans another run for the Roses.
The Trojans finished the season with a 7-2-1 record and lost in the Rose Bowl, while Ohio State ended with a 2-6-1 record in Wes Fesler’s first season in Columbus.
USC showed in 1947 that it knew how to take a punch and fight on.
1947 pic.twitter.com/Fc69aW59Ed
— Something different (@RealHowardBeale) June 10, 2023
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