The USC Trojans football program, established in 1888, is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A and the Pacific Ten Conference (Pac-10) under head coach Pete Carroll. The Trojans have been a football powerhouse throughout NCAA history, making claim to 11 national championships in total. In recent years, USC has consistently ranked in the top 5 of the final BCS and AP Polls. The football team is regarded as the centerpiece of an athletic program that has won more NCAA men's individual and men's team titles than any other university and is third in co-ed team titles, behind fellow Pac-10 schools UCLA and Stanford.

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.

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-10 conference opponent and the beginning of its oldest rivalry. During this period USC also played its first games against other future Pac-10 rivals, including Oregon State (1914), California (1915), Oregon (1915) and Arizona (1916).

During the 1911-1913 seasons, USC followed the example of California and Stanford and dropped football in favor of rugby union. The results were disastrous, as USC was roundly 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 we 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."

After several decades of competition, USC first achieved national prominence under head coach "Gloomy" Gus Henderson in the early 1920s. 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.

1960s-1970s
The program entered a new golden age upon the arrival of head coach John McKay (1960-1975). During this period the Trojans produced 2 Heisman Trophies and won 4 national championships. 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 an additional national championship in 1978 (shared with Alabama; ironically, USC defeated Alabama, 24-14, that same season) and two players garnered 2 Heisman Trophy honors.

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 domineering 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. The game hastened 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 1993 17-17 tie) to intersectional rival Notre Dame and 8 years (1991-1998) to cross-town 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.

In 2001, athletic director Mike Garrett (the 1965 Heisman winner) 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.

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 West Coast 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 Pacific-10 Conference 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.

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 Louisiana State 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.

In 2004, USC was picked #1 in the preseason 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 last 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 season undefeated and headed for the 2004 BCS Championship 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 by the score of 55-19. USC won the BCS and AP national championships, despite both Auburn and Utah finishing their seasons and post-seasons undefeated.

The 2005 regular season witnessed a resuscitation of the Notre Dame/USC rivalry on a last second play where 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 USC defeating cross-town rival UCLA 66-19 and running back Reggie Bush finishing his stellar year by winning the Heisman Trophy. Matt 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, and 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 go professional. However, USC's hopes for another national championship were dashed by the Texas Longhorns, in a dramatic 41-38 loss at the 2006 Rose Bowl.

For the 2006 football season, USC was forced to attempt to rebuild 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 WR Patrick Turner. Mark Sanchez, the highly-touted recruit from the class of 2005 (Mission Viejo High School, CA) 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 RB recruits Stafon Johnson (Dorsey High School in Los Angeles), C.J. Gable, Allen Bradford and Emmanuel Moody (Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas).

USC had many experienced players as well, including linebacker Dallas Sartz and wide receiver Chris McFoy, who have already graduated with their bachelor’s degrees and are pursuing Masters degrees to be eligible for one last year of college football. 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 cross-town rival UCLA 13-9. This eliminated the Trojans from championship contention and opened the door for Florida to become Ohio State's opponent.

During Pete Carroll's six years as head coach, USC has lost only one game by more than seven points, that being a 27-16 loss at Notre Dame in his first 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).

On January 6, 2007, 6 days after the 2007 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.

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 Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day 2008.

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."

As of 2007, USC is one of only five of the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) teams to have never played a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) team since the division was made in 1978.

"Tailback U" is a nickname that emerged when Hall of Fame college football coach John McKay ('60-'75) and successor John Robinson ('76-'82) began producing a number of top-rated players at the tailback position such as Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Anthony Davis, Ricky Bell, Charles White, and Marcus Allen. Coach Pete Carroll has continued the trend in recent years with Heisman Trophy winning tailback Reggie Bush and current NFL players LenDale White and Justin Fargas.

Coach McKay's play calling emphasized and refined the run, taking full advantage of his quality backs-a trend followed by his former offensive coordinator and immediate successor, John Robinson. Carroll has had success and Heisman winners, both at Quarterback and Running Back.

 #55
A recent tradition has a selected linebacker wearing the number 55. The number cannot be taken but is assigned by the head coach. Pete Carroll has, at times, refrained from assigning the number if he does not think any player is worthy. The player wearing #55 is typically regarded as the anchor of the defense.  Notable players who have worn #55 for USC include Junior Seau, Willie McGinest, Markus Steele, and Chris Claiborne; Seau, McGinest and Claiborne were all top-10 picks in the NFL Draft. Senior Keith Rivers is the most recent #55 to be selected in the top ten. The Cincinnati Bengals made him the ninth overall selection in the 2008 draft.

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 as USC grew into a national caliber team.

A "Perfect Day" (a phrase created by the school's football announcer Peter Arbogast) is a USC win coupled with losses by Notre Dame and UCLA. The last regular season "Perfect Day" occurred on November 10, 2007, when USC beat California, UCLA lost to Arizona State, and Notre Dame lost to Air Force.

Notre Dame
USC plays the University of Notre Dame each year for the Jeweled Shillelagh. A majority of Trojan alumni and fans consider the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to be USC’s greatest gridiron rival. The intersectional game has featured more national championship teams, Heisman trophy winners, All-Americans, and future NFL hall-of-famers than any other collegiate match-up. The two schools have kept the annual game on their schedules since 1926 (except 1942-44 because of World War II travel restrictions) despite the fact that it enjoys neither the possibility of acquiring regional “bragging rights” nor the import of intra-league play that drive most rivalries. Notre Dame leads the series 42 wins to 32 wins. The game is often referred to as the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football.

UCLA
USC's rivalry with UCLA is unique in that they are the only two Division I-A programs in major a BCS conferences that share a major city. Both are within L.A. city limits, approximately 10 miles apart. Until 1983 the two schools also shared the same stadium: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The cross-town rivals play each year for city bragging rights and the Victory Bell; and often for the right to go to the Rose Bowl. The UCLA rivalry tends to draw the focus of student supporters since many USC students have friends or family members attending "that other school" (of course, many UCLA students refer to their USC friends in the same way) and many Southern California families are evenly divided between Trojan Cardinal and Bruin Blue.

The USC/UCLA rivalry runs so deep that when the Trojan Marching Band plays one of their most famous tunes "Tusk" at any of their games...the crowd will be heard singing along "u-c-l-a- sucks."

Stanford
Stanford is USC's oldest rival, in a series that dates to 1905. In the early years of football on the West Coast, the power sat in the Bay Area with the Stanford-Cal rivalry and USC rose to challenge the two established programs. During the early and mid-20th century Stanford football occasionally enjoyed periods of great regional success on the gridiron. USC and Stanford, being two major private universities on the west coast naturally drew the ire of one another. In recent history, however, Stanford has not maintained their earlier success and the rivalry have faded too many USC fans; although many Stanford fans retain a hatred for SC.

California
Like Stanford, the University of California, Berkeley also had an early rivalry with USC, with Cal fans maintaining a one-sided hatred for USC for many years after USC fans started to focus more on the nearby campus of UCLA. However, after USC’s triple overtime loss to California in 2003, some began to suggest that a new budding rivalry between the Trojans and the Golden Bears was taking shape within the Pac-10. A close 2004 game between the two teams furthered feelings of a rivalry. Talk diminished with USC's lopsided victory in Berkeley in 2005; however, the importance of the 2006 USC-Cal game, which decided the Pac-10's BCS berth, rekindled rivalry talk. Cal's marketing of the USC-Cal game suggests the game has reached rivalry status. In 2007, incoming students were given free tickets to Cal home games with the exception of Tennessee and USC.

Fight On; A phrase commonly used by Trojan fans to greet one another, show support for the team, and is borrowed from the fight song of the same name. i.e. "Fight On For Old S.C./Our men Fight On to Victory..." The two finger "V" salute for Victory is often given in accompaniment.

Results vs. AP Top 10 opponents

USC's record against AP Top 10 opponents under Pete Carroll (2001-present)
Season  Opponent   Result   Game
2007   #7 Arizona State  W 44-24  regular season  
2007   #5 Oregon   L 17-24  regular season  
2006   #3 Michigan   W 32-18  Rose Bowl  
2006   #6 Notre Dame  W 44-24  regular season  
2005   #2 Texas   L 38-41  Rose Bowl*  
2005   #9 Notre Dame  W 34-31  regular season  
2004   #2 Oklahoma   W 55-19  Orange Bowl*  
2004   #7 California   W 23-17  regular season  
2003   #4 Michigan   W 28-14  Rose Bowl  
2003   #6 Washington State  W 43-16  regular season  
2003   #6 Auburn   W 23-0  regular season  
2002   #3 Iowa   W 38-17  Orange Bowl  
2002   #7 Notre Dame  W 44-13  regular season  
2001   #7 Oregon   L 22-24  regular season
* National Championship game

Current Streaks
Wins  Type of Record 
Wins vs. Notre Dame: 6  
School Record Pac-10 Conference Championships: 6  
Pac-10 Record (Note: the 2002, 2006, and 2007 titles were shared.)
Games won in November (since 2001): 23
BCS Appearances  6  FBS (I-A) record
≥11 win seasons  6  FBS (I-A) record

2008 University of Southern California Trojans football team (variously "Trojans" or "USC") will represent the University of Southern California during the college football season of 2008–2009. The team will be coached by Pete Carroll and play their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The Trojans finished the 2007 season with a decisive Rose Bowl victory, #2 ranking in the Coaches Poll and #3 ranking (with one first-place vote) in the AP Poll. In January 2008, immediately after the bowl season, USC was ranked at #4 by Sports Illustrated online and #5 by ESPN.com; the general opinion was that while the Trojans were facing key player departures, the losses were mitigated by the overall talent level of the program. Georgia was ranked as the early pre-season #1 team. Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com soon revised their rankings to #3 and #4, respectively, after nearly all draft-eligible juniors decided to remain with the program instead of entering the NFL Draft. Going into the spring, USC ranked as the premiere team in the Pac-10 Conference, taking advantage of a deep talent pool, including a number of talented running backs holding over from the previous season.

The Trojans' biggest question entering spring practices was who would take over the starting quarterback position from John David Booty. Junior Mark Sanchez entered spring practice as the acknowledged leader, having started three games the previous season due to an injury to Booty, winning two; however, Arkansas-transfer and former Razorback starter Mitch Mustain had the most college game experience, having started and won eight games for the 2006 Razorbacks team his freshman year while putting on an impressive performance on the scout team in the 2007 season during the NCAA-mandated waiting period. Both Sanchez (2005) and Mustain (2006) were considered the top quarterback in the nation coming out of their respective high school classes. The Trojans entered spring with a number of qualified running backs, but not quite as many as in 2007. Battling for the starting position were top returners Junior Stafon Johnson (673 yards) and sophomore Joe McKnight (540 yards); but challenging them would be redshirt sophomore C.J. Gable, who started five games as a freshman in 2006 and the first two of 2007 before a season-ending injury, junior Allen Bradford, as well as previously injured redshirt freshman Broderick Green and Marc Tyler. All six running backs earned Parade or USA Today All-American honors in high school, four earned both. Questions remained around the wide receivers, who had struggled with consistency the previous season; all starters returned, with special attention focused on Arkansas transfer Damian Williams, who caught 19 passes for the Razorbacks in 2006 but sat out 2007 along with fellow Arkansas teammate Mustain. The offensive line was hit hard by graduation, returning only one starter. The defense lost several important players to graduation, but the linebacker core returned key players such as Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga.

By the end of spring practice, the USC coaching staff announced that Sanchez would be the designated starting quarterback going into fall camp. A crowd of 22,000 watched the Trojan Huddle, USC's spring game that ends spring practices, where Sanchez, Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp all performed well against Trojan defenses; the White team defeated Cardinal, 39–36, in double overtime. With a number of talented linebackers, the Carroll and defensive coordinator Nick Holt began experimenting with using a 3-4 defense variation implementing the "Elephant Position", which features a hybrid end/linebacker position. The Trojans had used Cushing in the Elephant position during the 2006 season before returning to their traditional 4-3 during the 2007 season. In the 2008 variation, the position was filled by senior Clay Matthews, a former walk-on. After spring practices finished across the nation, Sports Illustrated revised its rankings and placed USC as the #3 team, behind Georgia and Ohio State; while ESPN ranked the Trojans #4, behind Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma. The running back tandem of Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight was compared to the "Thunder and Lightening" combination of LenDale White and Reggie Bush, with McKnight mentioned as a top ten Heisman Trophy contender going into the fall.

At the Pacific-10 Conference media day, the Trojans were the near-unanimous pre-season pick to win the conference. USC took 38 of 39 first-place votes; California, which was picked to finish fourth in the overall standings, received the other vote. This was USC's sixth year in a row as the favorite to win the conference title, the longest streak since the Trojans 18-year run from 1965–1982.

On the release of the preseason Coaches' Poll, USC was ranked #2 in the nation, behind the 2008 Georgia team: Georgia received 1438 points with 22 first-place votes while USC received 1430 points with 14 first-place votes. Meanwhile, the 2008 Ohio State team was ranked third with 1392 points but an equal number of first-place votes with 14. The preseason Associated Press (AP) Poll ranked USC #3 in the nation, behind Georgia and Ohio State. USC received 12 first-place votes and 1490 points, compared to Georgia's 22 first-place votes and 1528 points and Ohio State's 21 first-place votes and 1506 points. Both polls added to the interest in the OSU-USC game on September 13.

A major concern arose in the first week of fall camp, when Sanchez suffered a dislocated left kneecap while warming up for practice. Trainers were able to immediately put the kneecap back into place, but the injury sidelined Sanchez and threw his availability for the season opener at Virginia (and beyond) into question. As a result, Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp began alternating repetitions with the first team offense and competing for the possible starting spot. After missing nearly three weeks, Sanchez was cleared to play in the opener on the final day of fall camp; Corp was selected as his back-up.

The biggest issue facing the team entering the season was how the rebuilt offensive line would perform, though it had improved over the course of fall camp.  Sanchez, Cushing, offensive lineman Jeff Byers, and senior safety Kevin Ellison were elected team captains by their teammates.

In the week preceding the regular season, all twelve experts polled by ESPN picked USC to win the Pac-10 conference, and three expected them to make it to the BCS National Championship Game with two expecting them to prevail. All seven experts polled by Sports Illustrated picked USC to win their conference, with three forecasting them in the Championship Game with one selecting them to prevail. Rivals.com's panel of four experts unanimously picked USC to play in the title game.

Recruiting class
USC brought in a top-10 recruiting class in 2008.

Transfers
Shane Horton, the brother of 2008 recruit Wes Horton, transferred from UNLV and would be required to sit out one season by NCAA rules. Jordan Cameron, the uncle of Matt Leinart's son with USC basketball player Brynn Cameron, is transferred in from Ventura College. A former freshman basketball player from Brigham Young University, Cameron attempted to transfer before the 2007 season to also play football as a wide receiver. However, when some of Cameron's units from Brigham Young did not transfer to USC, he was needed to withdraw and attend Ventura College, missing the season but with the option to try and rejoin the team in 2008 (regardless, he would have been ineligible to play in 2007 due to NCAA transfer rules).

Departures
In addition to graduating starting senior 2007 All-Americans Sam Baker (offensive tackle), John Mackey Award-winner Fred Davis (tight end), Sedrick Ellis (nose tackle), and Keith Rivers (linebacker), as well as first team all-conference defensive end Lawrence Jackson, 2006 first team all-conference quarterback John David Booty and second team all-conference defensive back Terrell Thomas, the Trojans also lost junior All-Conference offensive guard Chilo Rachal to the 2008 NFL Draft. Pac-10 conference honorable mention offensive linemen Drew Radovich and Matt Spanos, tailback Chauncey Washington, and linebacker Thomas Williams also departed.

Offseason news
On the Monday after the 2007 UCLA-USC rivalry game, a 24–7 Trojans victory, embattled Bruins head coach Karl Dorrell was fired. His replacement was former UCLA quarterback Rick Neuheisel, who held previous head coach positions at both Colorado and Washington where he led teams to overall successful records but his departures coincided with NCAA investigations at both universities. Within a month on the job, Neuheisel attracted attention by hiring former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow as his offensive coordinator. While with Trojans from 2001–2004, Chow led the offense to the 2003 and 2004 national championships and saw quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart win the Heisman Trophy. The hire of Chow injected a new level of drama to the rivalry that had somewhat stagnated under Dorrell.

Schedule
The Sporting News ranked the schedule as the toughest in the Pac-10; ESPN.com ranked it as the fourth toughest in the conference. ESPN.com ranked the nonconference schedule as the fifth most difficult in the nation, noting that if Virginia had a good year it would be the toughest.
Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result
 

08/30/08 at Virginia 
Charlottesville, VA W, 52-7
09/13/08 vs. Ohio State 
L.A. Coliseum 5:00 p.m. PT
09/25/08 at Oregon State * 
Corvallis, OR 6:00 p.m. PT
10/04/08 vs. Oregon * 
L.A. Coliseum 5:00 p.m. PT
10/11/08 vs. Arizona State * L.A. Coliseum TBA
10/18/08 at Washington State * 
Pullman, WA 12:30 p.m. PT
10/25/08 at Arizona 
Tucson, AZ 7:15 p.m. PT
11/01/08 vs. Washington * L.A. Coliseum TBA
11/08/08 vs. California * 
L.A. Coliseum 5:00 p.m. PT
11/15/08 at Stanford * 
Stanford, CA 4:00 p.m. PT
11/29/08 vs. Notre Dame 
L.A. Coliseum 5:00 p.m. PT
12/06/08 at UCLA * 
Rose Bowl 1:30 p.m. PT