2002 USC Trojans football team

Last updated

2002 USC Trojans football
USC Trojans logo.svg
National champion (Dunkel, Matthews, Sagarin)
Pac-10 co-champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 38–17 vs. Iowa
Conference Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record11–2 (7–1 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Norm Chow (2nd season)
Captains
Home stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,000, grass)
Seasons
  2001
2003  
2002 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
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 University of Southern California in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. USC ended the regular season ranked #5 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. Trojans quarterback Carson Palmer won the 2002 Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in America. During 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.

Contents

The team was named national champion by the Dunkel System, Matthews Grid Ratings, and Sagarin Ratings, 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. 20 ABC W 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 Kansas State *No. 11 TBS L 20–2749,276 [2]
September 283:30 p.m.No. 23 Oregon State No. 18
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSN W 22–056,417 [2]
October 54:00 p.m.at No. 17 Washington State No. 18TBSL 27–30 OT36,861 [2]
October 123:30 p.m. California No. 20
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNW 30–2863,113 [2]
October 1912:30 p.m.No. 22 Washington No. 19
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
ABCW 41–2152,961 [2]
October 2612:30 p.m.at No. 14 Oregon No. 15ABCW 44–3356,754 [2]
November 95:00 p.m.at Stanford No. 10ABCW 49–1744,950 [2]
November 164:00 p.m. Arizona State Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 8
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
TBSW 34–1373,923 [2]
November 2312:30 p.m.at No. 25 UCLA No. 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 Iowa *No. 5ABCW 38–1775,971 [2]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Roster

2002 USC Trojans football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 31 Will Buchanon Fr
TE 88Doyal ButlerJr
RB 39Sunny ByrdSo
WR 19Greig CarlsonFr
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.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
K 16 Ryan Killeen Fr
P 14 Tom Malone Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2004-05-13

Game summaries

Auburn

Auburn at No. 20 USC
1234Total
Tigers770317
No. 20 Trojans773724

at No. 18 Colorado

No. 17 USC at No. 18 Colorado
1234Total
No. 17 Trojans14602040
No. 18 Buffaloes00303

at No. 25 Kansas State

No. 11 USC at No. 25 Kansas State
1234Total
No. 11 Trojans0601420
No. 25 Wildcats0127827

[3]

StatisticsUSCKSU
First downs1619
Total yards276347
Rushing yards90188
Passing yards186159
Turnovers15
Time of possession29:3730:23

No. 23 Oregon State

No. 23 Oregon State at No. 18 USC
1234Total
No. 23 Beavers00000
No. 18 Trojans0136322

at No. 17 Washington State

No. 18 USC at No. 17 Washington State
1234OTTotal
No. 18 Trojans70713027
No. 17 Cougars100710330

California

California at No. 20 USC
1234Total
Golden Bears1470728
No. 20 Trojans3147630

No. 22 Washington

#22/17 Washington at #19/20 USC
1234Total
No. 22 Huskies7001421
No. 19 Trojans71017741

at No. 14 Oregon

No. 15 USC at No. 14 Oregon
1234Total
No. 15 Trojans140201044
No. 14 Ducks13601433

at Stanford

No. 10 USC at Stanford
1234Total
No. 10 Trojans147141449
Cardinal730717

Arizona State

Arizona State at No. 8 USC
1234Total
Sun Devils373013
No. 8 Trojans101001434

[4]

at No. 25 UCLA

No. 7 USC at No. 25 UCLA
1234Total
No. 7 Trojans217141052
No. 25 Bruins0701421
  • Date: November 23
  • Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena
  • Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:26
  • Game attendance: 91,084
  • Television network: ABC
       

[5]

No. 7 Notre Dame

1234Total
No. 7 Fighting Irish670013
No. 6 Trojans017131444
  • Date: November 30
  • Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m. 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
1234Total
No. 3 Hawkeyes1000717
No. 5 Trojans73141438

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]

StatisticsIOWAUSC
First downs1830
Total yards323550
Rushing yards119247
Passing yards204303
Turnovers20
Time of possession21:5438:06

2002 team players in the NFL

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References

  1. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "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. "Trojans Focus Is Unrivaled". The Los Angeles Times . November 17, 2002. Retrieved December 10, 2002.
  5. . 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".