2010 USC Trojans football team

The 2010 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Trojans were led by head coach Lane Kiffin, who was in his 1st season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as members of the Pacific-10 Conference.

2010 USC Trojans football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
2010 record8–5 (5–4 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKennedy Pola (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorEd Orgeron (1st season)
CaptainMatt Barkley
Stanley Havili
Michael Morgan
Malcolm Smith
Shareece Wright
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Capacity: 93,607)
2010 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 3 Oregon $  9 –0     12 –1  
No. 4 Stanford %  8 –1     12 –1  
USC †  5 –4     8 –5  
Washington  5 –4     7 –6  
Arizona  4 –5     7 –6  
Arizona State  4 –5     6 –6  
Oregon State  4 –5     5 –7  
California  3 –6     5 –7  
UCLA  2 –7     4 –8  
Washington State  1 –8     2 –10  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • † – USC ineligible for championship and post-season due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll

Pre-season
  • July 1, 2010 – Running backs coach Todd McNair's contract expired June 30, 2010.[1] He played a key part in the NCAA's investigation of the school's athletic department dealing with former Trojans running back Reggie Bush.
  • July 6, 2010 – Seantrel Henderson, the nation's No. 1-ranked offensive tackle recruit was given a release from his commitment to play with USC. Following the release from his commitment, Henderson signed to play with the University of Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes football team. Defensive end Malik Jackson is transferring to Tennessee.[2]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 28:00 p.m.at Hawai'i*No. 14
ESPNW 49–3644,204[3]
September 117:30 p.m.Virginia*No. 16
FSNW 17–1481,375[4]
September 1812:30 p.m.at Minnesota*No. 18
ESPNW 32–2150,442[5]
September 2512:00 p.m.at Washington StateNo. 20
FSNW 50–1624,310[6]
October 25:00 p.m.WashingtonNo. 18
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
ESPN2L 31–3282,796[7]
October 95:00 p.m.at No. 16 Stanford
ABCL 35–3751,607[8]
October 1612:30 p.m.California
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNW 48–1472,386[9]
October 305:00 p.m.No. 1 OregonNo. 24
ABC/ESPN3L 32–5388,726[10]
November 67:30 p.m.Arizona State
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNW 34–3368,744[11]
November 135:00 p.m.at No. 18 Arizona
ABCW 24–2154,722[12]
November 205:00 p.m.at Oregon StateNo. 20
ABCL 7–3644,969[13]
November 275:00 p.m.Notre Dame*
ABCL 16–2085,417[14]
December 47:30 p.m.at UCLA
FSNW 28–1471,105[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries

Hawaii Warriors
1 2 3 4 Total
#14 Trojans 14 13 15 7 49
Warriors 3 13 7 13 36
See also: 2010 Hawaii Warriors football team

The Trojans began the season by taking advantage of the NCCA's Hawaii scheduling exemption which permits an extra non-conference game when traveling to Hawaii, which allowed them a 13-game schedule without a bowl game.[16] The game turned out to be an offensive showcase, with Matt Barkley throwing a USC record-tying five touchdowns.[17]

Virginia Cavaliers
1 2 3 4 Total
Cavaliers 0 7 0 7 14
#16 Trojans 0 14 0 3 17
See also: 2010 Virginia Cavaliers football team

In their home debut the Trojans hosted the Virginia Cavaliers, who played their first game ever in the state of California.[18] Compared with the previous match's high-scoring, the game remained close with the Cavaliers failing by only three points.

Minnesota Golden Gophers
1 2 3 4 Total
#18 Trojans 7 6 6 13 32
Golden Gophers 7 0 7 7 21
See also: 2010 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

USC extended its victory streak against Big Ten schools to 11 games in a road win against the embattled Golden Gophers, who lost their previous game to FCS foe South Dakota. Minnesota went on to fire its head coach Tim Brewster later in the season. The game was also the 19th straight nonconference win by the Trojans, a streak that would be broken later in the season by Notre Dame.[19]

Washington State Cougars
1 2 3 4 Total
#20 Trojans 21 7 15 7 50
Cougars 7 6 0 3 16
See also: 2010 Washington State Cougars football team

Southern California began their conference schedule after dropping six spots in the AP rankings since the preseason poll despite going undefeated. Washington State scored on their opening drive, but the Trojans went on to score 50 points in a blowout, earning Lane Kiffin a 4-0 record, the best start of a USC coach's tenure since Jess Hill in 1951.[20]

Washington Huskies
1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 3 17 3 9 32
#18 Trojans 7 14 7 3 31
See also: 2010 Washington Huskies football team

For consecutive years, head coach Steve Sarkisian's Washington Huskies upset the Trojans by kicking a last-second field goal. Sarkisian was an assistant coach at USC prior to taking over the program at Washington.

Erik Folk, who hit the game-winning field goal for Washington, was named Pac-10 special teams player of the week.[21] He went 4-for-4 on field goals and completed two PAT attempts. The previous year, Folk kicked a 22-yarder to defeat the Trojans 16-13.[22]

Stanford Cardinal
1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 7 7 7 14 35
#16 Cardinal 7 7 7 16 37
See also: 2010 Stanford Cardinal football team

For the second week in a row USC lost in the final seconds of the game by a field goal, as Stanford kicker Nate Whitaker made a 30-yarder as time expired. It marked the first time since 2000 that Stanford defeated the Trojans at Stanford Stadium, and the first time since 2001 that USC has lost two games in a row.[23]

California Golden Bears
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 0 0 7 7 14
Trojans 14 28 3 3 48
See also: 2010 California Golden Bears football team

Matt Barkley once again tied the USC mark for touchdown passes in a game by throwing five to put the Trojans up 42-0 at halftime. USC rested its starters in the second half, allowing 14 points, but still prevailed by 34 points.[24]

Oregon Ducks
1 2 3 4 Total
#1 Ducks 8 21 14 10 53
#24 Trojans 10 7 15 0 32
See also: 2010 Oregon Ducks football team

The Ducks came into the game ranked 1st in the AP poll. The previous three weeks a team ranked number one had lost, but the Trojans were unable to continue this streak. USC had a three-point lead in the third quarter, but Oregon scored all the game's remaining points and won by margin of three touchdowns.[25]

Arizona State Sun Devils
1 2 3 4 Total
Sun Devils 7 0 14 12 33
Trojans 0 14 15 5 34
See also: 2010 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The Trojans eked out a single-point victory against Arizona State thanks to a rare defensive two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. After the Sun Devils scored a touchdown to put them in the lead by four points Torin Harris blocked the extra point and ran it back to the opposite end-zone, cutting ASU's newly found lead to two. Kicker Joe Houston later kicked a 29-yard field to put the Trojans in the lead, which they maintained during the game's final minutes.[26]

Arizona Wildcats
1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 14 7 3 0 24
#18 Wildcats 0 14 0 7 21
See also: 2010 Arizona Wildcats football team

USC beat Arizona to extend its win streak in Tucson to nine with a 160-yard performance by Marc Tyler and avenged their season-ending loss from the previous year.[27]

Oregon State Beavers
1 2 3 4 Total
#20 Trojans 0 0 7 0 7
Beavers 3 17 3 13 36
See also: 2010 Oregon State Beavers football team

The Trojans lost their third straight game in Corvallis and lost Matt Barkley to injury late in the second quarter. Oregon State's 36–7 victory marked the worst defeat for USC against the Beavers in 96 years.[28][29]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Irish 0 13 0 7 20
Trojans 3 0 10 3 16
See also: 2010 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Jeweled Shillelagh

Playing with its backup quarterback Mitch Mustain, USC lost to Notre Dame and ended its victory streak against its arch rival dating back to 2001. The Fighting Irish scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:23 remaining in the game, and the Trojans failed to convert a two-minute drill after a pass to Ronald Johnson that would have resulted in a touchdown and the probable win was dropped. Mustain later threw an interception that ended the game and gave Notre Dame the victory.[30]

UCLA Bruins
1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 7 7 0 14 28
Bruins 7 0 0 7 14
See also: 2010 UCLA Bruins football team

After losing to rival Notre Dame the week before, USC bounced back to close their season with a win over cross-town rival UCLA to retain the Victory Bell. Quarterback Matt Barkley returned after missing the previous week and threw one of the team's two touchdown passes. Allen Bradford led the Trojans by gaining 212 yards rushing and catching a 47-yard touchdown throw to extend the victory streak against the Bruins to four.[31]

Rankings
See also: 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Final
AP 14 16 18 20 18 NR NR NR 24 NR NR 20 NR NR NR NR
Coaches Ineligible for ranking
Harris Not released Ineligible for ranking
BCS Not released Ineligible for ranking

References
  1. Klein, Gary (July 1, 2010) USC parts ways with running backs coach Todd McNair, Los Angeles Times, Retrieved July 1, 2010
  2. Wolf, Scott (July 6, 2010) Top recruit Henderson breaks commitment; DE Jackson to transfer to Tennessee Archived 2010-07-09 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Daily News, Retrieved July 6, 2010
  3. "USC Trojans vs. Hawaii Warriors Box Score". ESPN. September 2, 2010. Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  4. "Virginia Cavaliers vs. USC Trojans Box Score". ESPN. September 11, 2010. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  5. "USC Trojans vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score". ESPN. September 18, 2010. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  6. "USC Trojans vs. Washington State Cougars Box Score". ESPN. September 25, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  7. "Washington Huskies vs. USC Trojans Box Score". ESPN. October 2, 2010. Archived from the original on October 4, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  8. "USC Trojans vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". ESPN. October 9, 2010. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  9. "California Golden Bears vs. USC Trojans Box Score". ESPN. October 16, 2010. Archived from the original on October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  10. "Oregon Ducks vs. USC Trojans Box Score". ESPN. October 30, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  11. "Arizona State Sun Devils vs. USC Trojans - Box Score". ESPN. November 6, 2010. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  12. "USC Trojans vs. Arizona Wildcats - Box Score". ESPN. November 13, 2010. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  13. "USC Trojans vs. Oregon State Beavers - Box Score". ESPN. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  14. "Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. USC Trojans Box Score". ESPN. November 27, 2010. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  15. "USC Trojans vs. UCLA Bruins - Box Score". ESPN. December 4, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  16. "Come Fly Away: Why a Trip to Hawaii Earns College Football Teams an Extra Game". Bleacher Report. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  17. "Matt Barkley, Ronald Johnson connect for 3 TDs in win over Hawaii". ESPN. September 2, 2010. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  18. "No. 16 USC holds off Virginia in Lane Kiffin's Coliseum return". ESPN. September 11, 2010. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  19. "Robert Woods' return for TD helps USC pull away from Minnesota". ESPN. September 18, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  20. "Lane Kiffin first USC coach to start 4-0 with Trojans since 1951". ESPN. September 25, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  21. "Folk named special teams Pac-10 player of the week". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. October 4, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  22. "Washington boots winning field goal as time expires, stuns USC". ESPN. October 2, 2010. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  23. Klein, Gary (October 9, 2010) USC falls to Stanford on last-second field goal, Los Angeles Times, Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  24. "Matt Barkley's 5 TD passes ties USC record in rout of Cal". ESPN. October 16, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  25. "LaMichael James breaks through as No. 2 Oregon puts away USC". ESPN. October 30, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  26. "USC holds off Arizona State en route to wild win". ESPN. November 6, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  27. "No. 18 Arizona drops second straight as Marc Tyler keys USC". ESPN. November 13, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  28. Lopresti, Mike (November 21, 2010). "Thanksgiving feast of football could bring clarity to BCS". USA Today. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  29. "Jacquizz Rodgers sparks Oregon State's romp over USC". ESPN. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on February 27, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  30. "Robert Hughes' TD run sends ND past USC for first time since '01". ESPN. November 27, 2010. Archived from the original on February 27, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  31. "Allen Bradford's 212 rush yards, 47-yard TD catch carry USC past UCLA". ESPN. December 4, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
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