2007 USC Trojans football team

2007 USC Trojans football
Pac-10 co-champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 49–17 vs. Illinois
ConferencePac-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 3
Record11–2 (7–2 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSteve Sarkisian (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorNick Holt (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainSam Baker
John David Booty
Lawrence Jackson
Keith Rivers
Home stadiumLos Angeles Coliseum (c. 92,000, grass)
Seasons
← 2006
2008 →
2007 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 3 USC +   7 – 2     11 – 2  
No. 16 Arizona State +   7 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 25 Oregon State   6 – 3     9 – 4  
No. 23 Oregon   5 – 4     9 – 4  
UCLA   5 – 4     6 – 7  
Arizona   4 – 5     5 – 7  
California   3 – 6     7 – 6  
Washington State   3 – 6     5 – 7  
Stanford   3 – 6     4 – 8  
Washington   2 – 7     4 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 USC Trojans football team (variously "Trojans" or "USC") represented the University of Southern California during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, winning a share of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship and winning the 2008 Rose Bowl.[1] The team was coached by Pete Carroll and played its home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The team entered the season with high expectations. It was ranked No. 1 in all national pre-season polls, picked unanimously to win the Pac-10 Conference and expected to contend for a national championship.[2][3][4][5][6] Those hopes were dealt a major blow when the Trojans lost to 41-point underdog Stanford in a mid-season game that was named one of the greatest upsets in a season that became defined by them.[7][8][9] After their second loss, there were questions as to whether the team would be able to even win their own conference, let alone compete nationally.[10][11] However, USC defied mid-season expectations and rallied, finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 3 in the Associated Press (AP) Poll.[12][13] By the end of the season various sports journalists said the Trojans were playing the best football of anyone in the country.[14][15][16][17][18]

The Trojans were named national champion by Dunkel,[19] became the first team to win (or share) six straight Pacific-10 titles, and were the first team in major college football to achieve six straight 11-win seasons.[1][20] After the season, ten USC players were selected in the 2008 NFL draft, with a school-record seven players selected in the first two rounds.[21] Over the next four years, 25 more players from the 2007 USC Trojans football team were drafted into the NFL.

  1. ^ a b Eddie Pells, USC gets all the bounces and the points in 49–17 win over Illinois Archived 2008-01-03 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, January 1, 2008, Accessed May 30, 2008.
  2. ^ Stewart Mandel, Early look at '07, CNNSI.com, January 16, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
  3. ^ Mark Schlabach, Trojans, Wolverines top revised look at 2007, ESPN.com, January 22, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
  4. ^ USC consensus favorite to win BCS championship, ESPN.com, August 14, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
  5. ^ Stewart Mandel, Luke Winn, Cory McCartney and Austin Murphy, The Crystal Ball, SI.com, August 29, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
  6. ^ Eric Sondheimer, Gary Klein, Chris Foster, Pac-10 coaches come not to bury the Trojans but praise them, Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008.
  7. ^ Biggest Upsets of 2007: #2 Stanford 24, No. 2 USC 23, SI.com, December 13, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008.
  8. ^ Ted Miller, Looks good on paper, but Pac-10 midseason arrives with thud, ESPN.com, October 10, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
  9. ^ In the Year of the Upset, memorable moments were plentiful, ESPN.com, December 4, 2007, Accessed August 19, 2008.
  10. ^ Matt Hayes, The Trojan dynasty is dead and buried Archived December 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, MSNBC/Sporting News, October 27, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008.
  11. ^ Chris Dufresne, Loss exposes Trojans as team in transition, Los Angeles Times, October 28, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008.
  12. ^ AP Top 25 – Final (Dec. 16), ESPN.com, Accessed July 7, 2008.
  13. ^ USA Today Coaches Poll – Final (Dec. 16), ESPN.com, Accessed July 7, 2008.
  14. ^ Gerry Ahern, USC back in title hunt?, Yahoo! Sports, January 1, 2008, Accessed June 10, 2018. "USC back in title hunt? - NCAA Football - Yahoo! Sports". Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ Mark Schlabach, Trojans look like nation's best with no one left to play, ESPN.com, January 2, 2008, Accessed July 7, 2008.
  16. ^ Art Spander, USC makes its claim as best team in land Archived January 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, CBSSports.com, January 1, 2008, Accessed July 7, 2008.
  17. ^ Larry Dorman, U.S.C. Cuts the Profile of a Title Contender, The New York Times, January 2, 2008, Accessed July 7, 2008.
  18. ^ Stewart Mandel, Readers' irritating poll obsession, Florida's question mark and more, SI.com, October 15, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008.
  19. ^ Dunkel, Bob. "Final 2007: Trojans Finish Ranked No. 1". NCAA Football Division I-A Rankings. The Dunkel Index. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  20. ^ Bill Dwyre, Carroll gives no signals for a fade pattern, Los Angeles Times, December 2, 2007, Accessed July 6, 2008.
  21. ^ Sam Farmer, USC is big as the day is Long, Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2008, Accessed April 28, 2008.