Davis was a consensus
All-American in
1974, and led the
USC Trojans in rushing, scoring and kick return yardage for three consecutive seasons. He is especially remembered for scoring 11
touchdowns in three games against
Notre Dame. In a 45–23 USC win on December 2,
1972, he scored six touchdowns which set a school single game record. Two of those scores came on
kickoff returns. He returned the opening
kickoff 97 yards for a
touchdown after Notre Dame won the
coin toss and chose to kick. After Notre Dame scored on a short pass and narrowed the Trojans' lead, he returned the following
kickoff 96 yards for a
touchdown. In this game, Davis had three kickoff returns for a total of 218 yards, an average of 72.7 yards per return. This set an
NCAA record for the highest average gain per return in a single game. In his career as a Trojan he returned 37 kickoffs for 1,299 yards, an
NCAA record 35.1 yard average. His six career kickoff returns for touchdowns set an NCAA record which stood until 2009, when it was broken by
C. J. Spiller of
Clemson. Davis' kickoff return average of 42.5 yards in 1974, is the highest kickoff return average for any single season leader ever. He was also the first
Pacific-8 Conference player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons – 1,191 in 1972; 1,112 in 1973 and 1,469 in 1974. For his career at USC, he carried the ball 784 times for 3,772 yards and 44 touchdowns. Davis was also a repeat (
1973,
1974) first-team
All-Pac-8 Conference selection. He was also the third multiple recipient of the
W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy, awarded each year to the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. Davis won the Voit trophy in 1972 and 1974. On November 30,
1974, he started an amazing rally which brought the Trojans back from a 24–0 second quarter deficit against #4 ranked
Notre Dame to a 55–24 win. Just before halftime, he scored on a seven-yard
lateral pass from quarterback
Pat Haden. Davis found paydirt a second time on a 102-yard
kickoff return to open the second half. With only 3:25 elapsed in the third quarter, Davis scored a third touchdown on a six-yard run. Then with still 8:37 left in the same quarter, Davis added his fourth and final
touchdown of the game on a four-yard dash, dropped to his knees, went into his "
endzone dance", then added a
two-point conversion and the Trojans had the lead 27–24. Incredibly, Davis had scored 26 of the Trojans' first 27 points. In
1974,
Heisman Trophy ballots were due prior to the end of the season and before that year's USC-Notre Dame game. He finished second in the
voting to
Archie Griffin of
Ohio State. Afterward, Heisman voting took place after all the regular season games had been played. From 1972 to 1974, with Davis as the
tailback the Trojans compiled a record, three conference titles, two
Rose Bowl victories in three appearances and two
national championships. He accumulated 24 school, conference, and NCAA records, including over 5,400
all-purpose yards and 52 touchdowns. Davis' talents were not just limited to football, he was also successful in
baseball as an
outfielder and switch-hitter on USC's
1972,
1973, and
1974 College World Series champion baseball teams. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame in late 2005 in New York City, and enshrined on August 12, 2006, in
South Bend, Indiana. ==Professional career==