2002 USC Trojans football team

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2002
Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record11–2 (7–1 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorNorm Chow (2nd season)
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,000, grass)
Seasons
← 2001
2003 →
2002 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Washington State $+   7 1     10 3  
No. 4 USC  %+   7 1     11 2  
Arizona State   5 3     8 6  
UCLA   4 4     8 5  
Oregon State   4 4     8 5  
California   4 4     7 5  
Washington   4 4     7 6  
Oregon   3 5     7 6  
Arizona   1 7     4 8  
Stanford   1 7     2 9  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2002 USC Trojans football team represented the

bowl games, USC had a convincing 38–17 win over #3 Iowa in the Orange Bowl. USC became #4 in the final AP Poll and Coaches' Poll. Other notable players for the USC Trojans in 2002 include WR#2 Kareem Kelly, RB#21 Malaefou Mackenzie, QB#10 Matt Cassel, RB#4 Sultan McCullough, RB#34 Hershel Dennis (FR) RB#25 Justin Fargas, RB#39 Sunny Byrd, RB#34 Chad Pierson, S#43 Troy Polamalu, WR#44 Gregg Guenther, TE#86 Dominique Byrd, WR#83 Keary Colbert, WR#1 Mike Williams, WR#7 Sandy Fletcher, WR#82 Donald Hale, TE#88 Doyal Butler, and WR#87 Grant Mattos
.

The team was named national champion by both

Matthews, and co-champion by Sagarin, all NCAA-designated major selectors,[1]
: 115  although none are claimed by the university.

Recruiting

USC was ranked highly (#12 by Scout, #13 by Rivals) for getting Darnell Bing, Manuel Wright, Winston Justice, Fred Matua, Tom Malone, Jason Mitchell, Hershel Dennis, Kyle Williams, Dominique Byrd, Dallas Sartz, Justin Wyatt, Chris McFoy, Mike Williams, LaJuan Ramsey, Oscar Lua and Brandon Hancock among others.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 25:00 p.m.Auburn*No. 20ABCW 24–1763,269[2]
September 1412:30 p.m.at No. 18 Colorado*No. 17ABCW 40–353,119[2]
September 214:00 p.m.at No. 25
TBS
L 20–2749,276[2]
September 283:30 p.m.No. 23 Oregon StateNo. 18
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNW 22–056,417[2]
October 54:00 p.m.at No. 17 Washington StateNo. 18TBSL 27–30 OT36,861[2]
October 123:30 p.m.CaliforniaNo. 20
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNW 30–2863,113[2]
October 1912:30 p.m.No. 22 WashingtonNo. 19
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
ABCW 41–2152,961[2]
October 2612:30 p.m.at No. 14 OregonNo. 15ABCW 44–3356,754[2]
November 95:00 p.m.at StanfordNo. 10ABCW 49–1744,950[2]
November 164:00 p.m.Arizona StatedaggerNo. 8
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
TBSW 34–1373,923[2]
November 2312:30 p.m.at No. 25 UCLANo. 7ABCW 52–2191,084[2]
November 305:00 p.m.No. 7 Notre Dame*No. 6
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)
ABCW 44–1391,432[2]
January 2, 20035:00 p.m.vs. No. 3
Pro Player Stadium
  • Miami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl)
  • ABCW 38–1775,971[2]
    • *Non-conference game
    • daggerHomecoming
    • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
    • All times are in Pacific time

    Roster

    2002 USC Trojans football team roster
    Players Coaches
    Offense
    Pos. # Name Class
    WR 31 Will Buchanon Fr
    TE 88 Doyal Butler Jr
    RB 39 Sunny Byrd So
    WR 19 Greig Carlson Fr
    TE 86 Dominique Byrd Fr
    QB 10 Matt Cassel So
    WR 83 Keary Colbert Jr
    RB 25 Justin Fargas Sr
    TE 44 Gregg Guenther Fr
    TE 81 Alex Holmes Jr
    C 62 Norm Katnik Jr
    WR 2 Kareem Kelly Sr
    RB 37 David Kirtman Fr
    QB 11 Matt Leinart Fr
    FB 21 Malaefou MacKenzie Sr
    RB 4 Sultan McCullough Sr
    QB 3 Carson Palmer Sr
    OT 77 Jacob Rogers Jr
    G 78 Lenny Vandermade So
    RB 35
    Lee Webb
    So
    WR 1 Mike Williams Fr
    Defense
    Pos. # Name Class
    CB 8 Marcell Allmond Jr
    LB 59 Collin Ashton Fr
    DT 84 Shaun Cody Fr
    LB 6 Matt Grootegoed So
    DB 27 Jason Leach So
    DT 99 Mike Patterson So
    S 43 Troy Polamalu Sr
    DT 93 Bernard Riley Sr
    LB 42 Dallas Sartz Fr
    DE 94 Kenechi Udeze So
    CB 24 Justin Wyatt Fr
    Special teams
    Pos. # Name Class
    K 16 Ryan Killeen Fr
    P
    14 Tom Malone Fr
    Head coach
    Coordinators/assistant coaches

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    Roster
    Last update: 2004-05-13

    Game summaries

    Auburn

    Auburn at No. 20 USC
    1 234Total
    Tigers 7 703 17
    No. 20 Trojans 7 737 24

    at No. 18 Colorado

    No. 17 USC at No. 18 Colorado
    1 234Total
    No. 17 Trojans 14 6020 40
    No. 18 Buffaloes 0 030 3
    • Date: September 14
    • Location:
      PST
    • Game attendance: 53,119
    • Television network: ABC

    at No. 25 Kansas State

    No. 11 USC at No. 25 Kansas State
    1 234Total
    No. 11 Trojans 0 6014 20
    No. 25 Wildcats 0 1278 27

    [3]

    Statistics USC KSU
    First downs 16 19
    Total yards 276 347
    Rushing yards 90 188
    Passing yards 186 159
    Turnovers 1 5
    Time of possession 29:37 30:23

    No. 23 Oregon State

    No. 23 Oregon State at No. 18 USC
    1 234Total
    No. 23 Beavers 0 000 0
    No. 18 Trojans 0 1363 22

    at No. 17 Washington State

    No. 18 USC at No. 17 Washington State
    1 234OTTotal
    No. 18 Trojans 7 07130 27
    No. 17 Cougars 10 07103 30

    California

    California at No. 20 USC
    1 234Total
    Golden Bears 14 707 28
    No. 20 Trojans 3 1476 30

    No. 22 Washington

    #22/17 Washington at #19/20 USC
    1 234Total
    No. 22 Huskies 7 0014 21
    No. 19 Trojans 7 10177 41

    at No. 14 Oregon

    No. 15 USC at No. 14 Oregon
    1 234Total
    No. 15 Trojans 14 02010 44
    No. 14 Ducks 13 6014 33

    at Stanford

    No. 10 USC at Stanford
    1 234Total
    No. 10 Trojans 14 71414 49
    Cardinal 7 307 17

    Arizona State

    Arizona State at No. 8 USC
    1 234Total
    Sun Devils 3 730 13
    No. 8 Trojans 10 10014 34

    [4]

    at No. 25 UCLA

    No. 7 USC at No. 25 UCLA
    1 234Total
    No. 7 Trojans 21 71410 52
    No. 25 Bruins 0 7014 21
    • Date: November 23
    • Location:
      EST
    • Elapsed time: 3:26
    • Game attendance: 91,084
    • Television network: ABC
           

    [5]

    No. 7 Notre Dame

    1 234Total
    No. 7 Fighting Irish 6 700 13
    No. 6 Trojans 0 171314 44
    • Date: November 30
    • Location:
      EST
    • Elapsed time: 3:26
    • Game attendance: 91,432
    • Game weather: Cloudy; 60 °F (16 °C); wind variable
    • Referee: Chuck McFerrin
    • Television network: ABC
           

    [6] [7]

    vs. No. 3 Iowa (Orange Bowl)

    #3/5 Iowa Hawkeyes at #5/4 USC Trojans
    1 234Total
    No. 3 Hawkeyes 10 007 17
    No. 5 Trojans 7 31414 38

    USC played third ranked Iowa in the Orange Bowl. The matchup featured the top two finalists for that season's Heisman Trophy; Trophy winner Carson Palmer and runner up Brad Banks.[9] Banks was the quarterback for the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes had only lost one game all year and it was to their rival Iowa State. Iowa opened the play up with a bang and set an Orange Bowl record when C.J. Jones returned the opening kickoff of the game 100 yards for a touchdown. USC responded with a touchdown run on from running back Justin Fargas. Iowa regained the lead with a field goal from Nate Kaeding. USC would kick a field goal in the second quarter to even the score 10-10 at the half. USC came out in the second half and separated themselves from Iowa scoring twice in the third quarter to take a 24-10 lead. The first score was a pass from Palmer to Mike Williams and the second was another run from Fargas. USC ended the third quarter with the ball and scored quickly in the fourth quarter giving them a 31-10 lead. The lead grew when Iowa continued to be unable to do anything with the ball and USC took advantage on a rushing touchdown from fan favorite Sunny Byrd to make the score 38-10. Iowa would score off a touchdown pass from Banks however it was too late. USC would end up winning 38-17.

    The Trojans dominated time of possession in the game, having control of the ball for 38:06 seconds. This allowed for the Trojans defense to rest while keeping the Iowa defense out on the field and making them tired. USC's defense did not give up a touchdown to Iowa until the fourth quarter of the game and forced Banks to throw his first interception since October 19.[10]

    Statistics IOWA USC
    First downs 18 30
    Total yards 323 550
    Rushing yards 119 247
    Passing yards 204 303
    Turnovers 2 0
    Time of possession 21:54 38:06

    2002 team players in the NFL

    References

    1. ^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
    2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of Southern California Department of Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
    3. ^ Plaschke, Bill (September 22, 2002). "Palmer's Legacy Hangs in Balance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
    4. The Los Angeles Times
      . November 17, 2002. Retrieved December 10, 2002.
    5. ^ [1]. Retrieved 2017-Feb-14.
    6. ^ "Palmer's Offense Boosts U.S.C. over Notre Dame". The New York Times. December 1, 2002. Retrieved December 10, 2002.
    7. ^ "Southern Cal's Palmer Captures the Heisman". The New York Times. December 15, 2002. Retrieved December 10, 2002.
    8. ^ "BCS GAME RESULTS - OrangeBowl.org The Official Site of The FedEx Orange Bowl Championship". www.orangebowl.org. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
    9. ^ "2002 Heisman Trophy Voting".
    10. ^ "Iowa vs. USC - Game Recap - January 2, 2003 - ESPN".