2012 USC Trojans football team

2012 USC Trojans football
Sun Bowl, L 7–21 vs. Georgia Tech
ConferencePac-12 Conference
DivisionSouth Division
Record7–6 (5–4 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKennedy Polamalu (3rd season)
Offensive schemeWest Coast
Defensive coordinatorEd Orgeron (3rd season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 2011
2013 →
2012 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 7 Stanford xy$   8 1     12 2  
No. 2 Oregon x%   8 1     12 1  
No. 20 Oregon State   6 3     9 4  
Washington   5 4     7 6  
California   2 7     3 9  
Washington State   1 8     3 9  
South Division
UCLA x   6 3     9 5  
Arizona State   5 4     8 5  
USC   5 4     7 6  
Arizona   4 5     8 5  
Utah   3 6     5 7  
Colorado   1 8     1 11  
Championship: Stanford 27, UCLA 24
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Trojans were led by third-year head coach Lane Kiffin, played their home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. USC returned 18 starters and 13 All-Conference performers from a team that finished the 2011 season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll with a 10–2 record overall, and finished first in the South Division with a 7–2 record in Pac-12 play. However, as part of a two-year-post-season ban mandated by the NCAA, the Trojans could not claim the 2011 Pac-12 South Division title, participate in the conference championship game or play in a bowl game. The 2012 season was the first year under Kiffin that the Trojans were eligible for post-season play. They started the season ranked #1 in the AP Poll, but finished unranked—the first team to do so since the 1964 Ole Miss Rebels[1] and the first to do so in the BCS-era. The Trojans finished the season 7–6, 5–4 in Pac-12 play, tied for second in the Pac-12 South Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they were defeated 21–7 by Georgia Tech.

  1. ^ "Sorry, USC coach Lane Kiffin doesn't deserve fast track out of L.A." The Sporting News. November 19, 2012.