History
The first USC football squad (1888). Before they were nicknamed the "Trojans", they were known as the USC Methodists.
1888–1910s
USC first fielded a football team in 1888. Playing its first game on November 14 of that year against the Alliance Athletic Club, gaining a 16–0 victory. Frank Suffel and Henry H. Goddard were playing coaches for the first team which was put together by quarterback Arthur Carroll; who in turn volunteered to make the pants for the team and later became a tailor. USC faced its first collegiate opponent the following year in fall 1889, playing St. Vincent’s College to a 40–0 victory.
In 1893, joined the Intercollegiate Football Association of Southern California (the forerunner of the SCIAC), which was composed of USC, Occidental College, Throop Polytechnic Institute, and Chaffey College. Pomona College was invited to enter, but declined to do so. An invitation was also extended to Los Angeles High School.
Before they were named Trojans in 1912, USC athletic teams were called the Methodists, as well as the Wesleyans. During the early years, limitations in travel and the scarcity of major football-playing colleges on the West Coast limited its rivalries to local Southern Californian colleges and universities. During this period USC played regular series against Occidental, Caltech, Whittier, Pomona and Loyola. The first USC team to play outside of Southern California went to Stanford University on November 4, 1905, where they were trampled 16–0 by the traditional West Coast powerhouse. While the teams would not meet again until 1918 (Stanford dropped football for rugby union during the intervening years), this was also USC's first game against a future Pac-12 conference opponent and the beginning of its oldest rivalry. During this period USC also played its first games against other future Pac-12 rivals, including Oregon State (1914), California (1915), Oregon (1915) and Arizona (1916).
Between 1911–1913, USC followed the example of California and Stanford and dropped football in favor of rugby union. The results were disastrous, as USC was soundly defeated by more experienced programs while the school itself experienced financial reverses; however, it was during this period that Owen R. Bird, a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, coined the nickname "Trojans", which he wrote was "owing to the terrific handicaps under which the athletes, coaches and managers of the university were laboring and against the overwhelming odds of larger and better equipped rivals, the name 'Trojan' suitably fitted the players."
1920s–1930s
After several decades of competition, USC first achieved national prominence under head coach "Gloomy" Gus Henderson in the early 1920s. Another milestone came under Henderson in 1922, when USC joined the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the forerunner of the modern Pac-10. Success continued under coach Howard Jones from 1925 to 1940, when the Trojans were just one of a few nationally dominant teams. It was during this era that the team achieved renown as the "Thundering Herd", earning its first four national titles.
1940s–1950s
USC achieved intermittent success in the years following Jones' tenure. Jeff Cravath, who coached from 1942–1950, won the Rose Bowl in 1943 and 1945. Jess Hill, who coached from 1951 to 1956, won the Rose Bowl in 1953.
The late 1950s saw a "pay-for-play" scandal involving several PCC schools, including USC, tear the conference apart. The PCC eventually dissolved in 1959, and USC joined the PCC's other three California schools and Washington in immediately forming a new conference, the Athletic Association of Western Universities, under a new charter. After absorbing all of the PCC's final members except for Idaho, the AAWU would change its name to the Pacific-8 Conference in 1968, the Pacific-10 after the 1978 entry of Arizona and Arizona State, and the Pacific-12 after the 2011 entry of Colorado and Utah. (The Pac-12 officially claims the PCC's history as its own, despite the change in charter.)
1960s–1970s
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| Mike Garrett's retired jersey |
The program entered a new golden age upon the arrival of head coach John McKay (1960–1975). During this period the Trojans produced two Heisman Trophy winners (Mike Garrett and O.J. Simpson) and won four national championships (1962, 1967, 1972 and 1974). McKay's influence continued even after he departed for the NFL when an assistant coach, John Robinson (1976–1982), took over as head coach. Under Robinson, USC won another national championship in 1978 (shared with Alabama; ironically, USC defeated Alabama, 24–14, that same season) and two more players won the Heisman Trophy (Charles White and Marcus Allen).
On September 12, 1970, USC opened the season visiting the University of Alabama under legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and became the first fully integrated team to play in the state of Alabama. The game, scheduled by Bryant, resulted in a dominating 42-21 win by the Trojans. More importantly, all six touchdowns scored by USC team were by African American players, two by USC running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham, against an all-white Crimson Tide team. After the game, Bryant was able to persuade the university to allow African American players to play, hastening the racial integration of football at Alabama and in the South.
1980s–1990s
In the 1980s, USC football did not realize a national championship, though it continued to experience relative success, with top-20 AP rankings and Pac-10 Conference championships. Under head coaches Ted Tollner (1983–1986) and Larry Smith (1987–1992), each winning the Rose Bowl once, USC was recognized among the nation's top-ten teams three times. However, some alumni had grown accustomed to the programs' stature as a perennial national championship contender. In 1993, Robinson was named head coach a second time, leading the Trojans to a victory in the 1996 Rose Bowl over Northwestern.
However, the winless streaks of 13 years (1983–1995, including the 1994 17–17 tie) to rival Notre Dame and 8 years (1991–1998) to crosstown rival UCLA were unacceptable to many USC supporters. In 1998, head coach Paul Hackett took over the team, but posted an even more disappointing 19–18 record in three seasons. By 2000, some observers surmised that USC football's days of national dominance were fading; the football team's record of 37–35 from 1996 to 2001 was their second-worst over any five-year span in history (only the mark of 29–29–2 from 1956–1961 was worse), and the period marked the first and only time USC had been out of the final top 20 teams for four straight years.
2001 USC Trojans football team
In 2009, USC was named “Team of the Decade” by both CBSSports.com and Football.com, as well as the “Program of the Decade” by SI.com, plus was No. 1 in CollegeFootballNews.com’s “5-Year Program Rankings” and was ranked No. 2 in ESPN.com’s “Prestige Rankings” among all schools since 1936 (behind Oklahoma).
In 2001, athletic director Mike Garrett released Hackett and hired Pete Carroll, a former NFL head coach. Carroll went 6–6 in his first year, losing to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, 10–6. Since then, his teams became highly successful, ranking among the top ten teams in the country, with the exception of 2009 in which the team lost four regular season games.
2002 USC Trojans football team
USC opened 3–2 in 2002, suffering losses to Kansas State and Washington State. However, the Trojans went on to win the rest of their games, completing the regular season 11–2 on the strength of senior quarterback Carson Palmer's breakout performance. After struggling for most of his collegiate career, Palmer excelled in the Pro Style offense installed by new offensive coordinator Norm Chow. In fact, Palmer's performance, particularly in the season-ending rivalry games against Notre Dame and UCLA, impressed so many pundits that he went on to win the Heisman Trophy, carrying every region of voting and becoming the first USC quarterback to be so honored. Despite tying for the Pac-10 title (with Washington State), having the highest BCS "strength of schedule" rating, and fielding the nation's top defense led by safety Troy Polamalu, USC finished the season ranked No. 5 in the BCS rankings. Facing off against BCS No. 3 Iowa in the Orange Bowl, USC defeated the Hawkeyes 38–17.
2003
2003 USC Trojans football team
In 2003, highly touted but unproven redshirt sophomore Matt Leinart took over for Palmer at quarterback. Although his first pass went for a touchdown in a win over Auburn, the Trojans suffered an early season triple-overtime loss to conference rival California in Berkeley. Nevertheless, Carroll guided the team to wins in their remaining games and they completed the regular season 11–1. Before the postseason, both the coaches' poll and the AP Poll ranked USC number #1, but the BCS - which also gave consideration to computer rankings - ranked Oklahoma first, another one-loss team but one that had lost its own Big 12 Conference title game 35–7, with USC ranked third.
In the 2003 BCS National Championship Game, the Sugar Bowl, BCS #2 LSU defeated BCS #1 Oklahoma 21–14. Meanwhile, BCS #3 USC defeated BCS #4 Michigan 28–14 in the Rose Bowl. USC finished the season ranked #1 in the AP poll and was awarded the AP National Championship; LSU, however, won the BCS National Championship title for that year, prompting a split national title between LSU and USC. In the wake of the controversy, corporate sponsors emerged who were willing to organize an LSU-USC game to settle the matter; nevertheless, the NCAA refused to permit the matchup.
2004 USC Trojans football team
In 2004, USC was picked preseason #1 by the Associated Press, thanks to the return of Leinart as well as sophomore running backs LenDale White and Reggie Bush. The defense—led by All-American defensive tackles Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson, as well as All-American linebackers Lofa Tatupu and Matt Grootegoed—was considered to be among the finest in the nation. Key questions included the offensive line, with few returning starters, and the receiving corps, which had lost previous year's senior Keary Colbert and the breakout star of 2003, Mike Williams. Williams had tried to enter the NFL draft a year early during the Maurice Clarett trial, only to be rebuffed by the NFL and subsequently denied eligibility by the NCAA.
Despite close calls against Stanford and California, the Trojans finished the regular season undefeated and headed for the 2004 BCS Championship Game at the Orange Bowl. USC was the second team in NCAA football history to have gone wire-to-wire (ranked first place from preseason to postseason since the AP began releasing preseason rankings); the first was Florida State in 1999 (three other schools went wire-to-wire before the existence of preseason polls - Notre Dame in 1943, Army in 1945 and USC in 1972). Quarterback Leinart won the Heisman Trophy, with running back Bush placing fifth in the vote tally. The Trojans' opponent in the Orange Bowl, Oklahoma, were themselves undefeated and captained by sixth-year quarterback Jason White, who had won the Heisman in 2003; the game marked the first time in NCAA history that two players who had already won the Heisman played against each other. Most analysts expected the game to be close—as USC matched its speed and defense against the Oklahoma running game and skilled offensive line—but the reality proved to be far different. USC scored 38 points by halftime, and won the BCS National Championship Game by the score of 55–19, making them the BCS Champions and earning the team the AP National Championship as well.
Wikinews has related news: NCAA Football: USC banned from bowl games for two seasons, wins vacated
In June 2010, after a four-year investigation, the NCAA imposed sanctions against the Trojan football program for a "lack of institutional control," including a public reprimand and censure, a two-year postseason ban, a loss of 30 scholarships over three years, and vacation of all wins in which Reggie Bush participated as an ineligible player, including the 2005 Orange Bowl, in which the Trojans won the BCS National Championship.
Following the NCAA sanctions, BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock stated that a committee would decide whether to vacate USC's 2004 BCS Championship, but the final decision would be delayed until after the NCAA had heard USC's appeals against some of the sanctions. On July 20, 2010, incoming USC president Max Nikias stated that the school would remove jerseys and murals displayed in Bush's honor from its facilities, and would return the school's copy of Bush's Heisman Trophy. On September 14, Bush announced that he would forfeit the Heisman and return his copy of the trophy.
On May 26, 2011, NCAA upheld all findings and penalties against USC in their infractions case on former players Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo. The USC football team will not participate in the Pacific-12 Football Championship Game or a bowl game for the 2011–12 season.The BCS announced June 6, 2011, that it had stripped USC of the 2004 title, yet USC still retains the 2004 AP National Championship.
2005 USC Trojans football team
The 2005 regular season witnessed a resuscitation of the rivalry with Notre Dame, after a last second play in which senior quarterback Matt Leinart scored the winning touchdown with help from a controversial push from behind by running back Reggie Bush, nicknamed the "Bush Push". The year climaxed with a 66–19 USC defeat of cross-town rival UCLA. Running back Reggie Bush finished his stellar year by winning the Heisman Trophy (later returned by USC and reclaimed by the Heisman Trophy Trust considering Bush accepted improper benefits while at USC and was ineligible during the 2005 season), while Leinart finished third in the Heisman voting. Several other players also earned accolades, being named All-Americans (AP, Football Coaches, Football Writers, Walter Camp, ESPN.com, SI.com, CBS Sportsline.com, Rivals.com, Collegefootballnews.com). These include QB Matt Leinart, RB Reggie Bush, RB LenDale White, S Darnell Bing, OT Taitusi Lutui, OT Sam Baker, WR Dwayne Jarrett, C Ryan Kalil, OG Fred Matua, and DE Lawrence Jackson. Additionally, OL Winston Justice did well enough to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft. The regular season ended with two clear cut contenders facing off in the Rose Bowl to decide the national championship. Although USC and Texas were 12–0 entering the game, with USC the slight favorite, USC lost to Texas 41–38.
As with the 2004 season, later NCAA investigations into alleged improper benefits given to Reggie Bush altered the official record of the 2005 Trojan season. All twelve wins from the 2005 season were officially vacated.
2006 USC Trojans football team
For the 2006 football season, USC tried to rebuild its strength following the loss of offensive stalwarts Leinart, Bush, and White, defensive leader Bing, and offensive linemen Matua, Justice, and Lutui. The Trojans developed their offense using unproven QB John David Booty and returning star receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith along with second-year wide-out Patrick Turner. Mark Sanchez, the highly touted QB of the recruiting class of 2005 (Mission Viejo High School) was widely viewed as a dark horse to win the starting job from Booty, although Booty was named the starter at the end of fall training camp. The starting tailback position was initially a battle between returning players Chauncey Washington and Desmond Reed (both recovering from injuries) and heralded recruits Stafon Johnson (Dorsey High School in Los Angeles), C.J. Gable, Allen Bradford and Emmanuel Moody.
The Coliseum during a 2006 USC game
USC had many experienced players as well, including linebacker Dallas Sartz and wide receiver Chris McFoy, who had already graduated with their bachelor's degrees and were pursuing master's degrees. Fullback Brandon Hancock would have been part of that group as well until an injury ended his collegiate career. Additionally, fifth year (redshirt) senior linebacker Oscar Lua, running back Ryan Powdrell and offensive lineman Kyle Williams were expected to either start or play frequently in 2006.
The 2006 Trojans came out strong, easily defending their top-10 status throughout the year. However, USC began to display marked inconsistencies, as their margins of victory began to slip. The first setback proved to be a 31–33 loss to unranked Oregon State, in which the Beavers were able to repeatedly capitalize on several Trojan turnovers. Surprisingly, though USC dropped initially in the polls, they worked their way back up to the No. 3 spot by the final week of the season. After defeating both Notre Dame and Cal, the Trojans were considered to be a virtual lock for the National Championship Game against Ohio State. However, USC was shocked in the final game of the season, losing to crosstown rival UCLA 13–9. This eliminated the Trojans from championship contention and opened the door for Florida to become Ohio State's opponent.
On January 6, 2007, 6 days after the Rose Bowl Game, USC kicker Mario Danelo was found dead at the bottom of the White Point Cliff near Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro, California.
2007 USC Trojans football team
In July 2007, ESPN.com named USC its #1 team of the decade for the period between 1996 and 2006, citing the Trojans' renaissance and dominance under Coach Carroll.
The 2007 Trojans were the presumptive #1 pick before the season. However they lost two games, including a major upset to 41-point underdog Stanford, and they did not get into the National Championship game. However, the Trojans did win their sixth conference championship and defeated Illinois in the 2008 Rose Bowl Game.
Under Carroll, USC has been known to attract numerous celebrities to its practices, including USC alumni Will Ferrell, George Lucas, LeVar Burton and Sophia Bush as well as Snoop Dogg, Henry Winkler, Kirsten Dunst, Nick Lachey, Dr. Dre, Spike Lee, Alyssa Milano, Flea, Wilmer Valderrama, Jake Gyllenhaal and Andre 3000. The Trojans have also benefited from LA's lack of NFL teams (with the LA Rams and Raiders having left in the early 1990s), combined with the Trojans 21st century success, leading them to sometimes be called LA's "de facto NFL team."
During Pete Carroll's first eight years as head coach, USC has lost only one game by more than seven points, a 27–16 loss at Notre Dame in his first season, until the second half of the 2009 season. The 21st century has also seen the rise of USC football's popularity in the Los Angeles market: without any stadium expansions, USC has broken its average home attendance record four times in a row: reaching 77,804 in 2003, 85,229 in 2004, 90,812 in 2005 and over 91,416 with one game to go in 2006 (the capacity of the Coliseum is 92,000). As of 2009, USC is one of only four of the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams to have never played a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) team since the split of Division I football in 1978.
2008 USC Trojans football team
After beating Penn State in the Rose Bowl, USC finished the season 12–1, and ranked #2 in the Coaches' Poll and #3 in the AP Poll. The 2008 season culminated in USC's seventh straight Pac-10 Championship, seventh straight BCS bowl appearance and seventh straight finish in the top 4 of the AP Poll. This also marked seven consecutive seasons where USC has not lost a game by more than 7 points. Their only loss was on the road against Oregon State, which was mentioned in the preseason as a possible upset.
2009 USC Trojans football team
After beating Boston College in the Emerald Bowl, USC finished the season 9–4, and ranked #20 in the Coaches' Poll and #22 in the AP Poll. USC ended its seven-year streak of Pac-10 Championship, BCS bowl appearance and top 4 finish of the AP Poll. The Trojans started the season strong beating #8 Ohio State at The Horseshoe. But they would lose to four Pac-10 teams (Washington, Oregon, Stanford, and Arizona). Blowout losses to Oregon 47-20 and Stanford 55-21 marked a turning point in USC's season and sparked debate in the media about the future dominance of USC football. After the season concluded, head coach Pete Carroll resigned to accept a head coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks.
In 2009, USC was named “Team of the Decade” by both CBSSports.com and Football.com, as well as the “Program of the Decade” by SI.com, plus was No. 1 in CollegeFootballNews.com’s “5-Year Program Rankings” and was ranked No. 2 in ESPN.com’s “Prestige Rankings” among all schools since 1936 (behind Oklahoma).
Rivalries
In the first 30 years of USC football, the school maintained rivalries with local Southern California schools like Occidental and Pomona, but these ended by the 1920s when USC joined the PCC and grew into a national caliber team.
A "Perfect Day"
A "Perfect Day" (a phrase created by the school's football announcer Peter Arbogast) to any USC fan is a USC win coupled with losses by Notre Dame and UCLA. The last "Perfect Day" occurred on September 3, 2011, when USC beat Virginia, Notre Dame lost to Michigan, and UCLA lost to Stanford. There have been 33 "Perfect Days" since 1960.
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