2009 USC Trojans football team
Encyclopedia
The 2009 University of Southern California Trojans football team (variously "Trojans" or "USC") represented the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

 during the college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 season of 2009–2010. The team played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...

 and was coached by Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-Early life:Carroll attended Redwood High...

, who was in his ninth and final season at USC. They finished the season 9–4, 5–4 in Pac-10 play and won the Emerald Bowl
2009 Emerald Bowl
The 2009 Emerald Bowl was the eighth edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. The game started at 5:00 PM PST on Saturday, December 26, 2009. The game was telecast on ESPN. USC defeated Boston College 24–13.The presenting sponsor of the...

 over Boston College
2009 Boston College Eagles football team
The 2009 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College in the 2009 season as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Frank Spaziani. He replaced Jeff Jagodzinski who was fired after the 2008 season...

 24–13.

Recruiting class

The Trojans signed a top-5 recruiting class.

Schedule

Roster

Name Yr. Ht./Wt.

Quarterback
  • 7 Matt Barkley
    Matt Barkley
    Matt Barkley is an American football quarterback and student athlete at the University of Southern California, playing for the Trojans football team. As a high school player, Barkley was named 2007 football Gatorade National Player of the Year, and then the 2007 Gatorade national male athlete of...

     Fr. 6-2/230
  • 15 Aaron Corp
    Aaron Corp
    Aaron Corp is an American football quarterback for the University of Richmond Spiders.-High school:Corp had an outstanding high school career at Orange Lutheran High School. A dual-threat quarterback, Corp completed 212-of-311 of his passes for 2,750 yards, 21 TDs and 7 interceptions, plus ran...

     Jr. 6-3/200
  • 14 Garrett Green Sr. 6-2/210
  • 6 John Manoogian Fr. 6-1/200
  • 16 Mitch Mustain
    Mitch Mustain
    Mitchell Mustain is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League. He played college football at USC. Mustain played his freshman year of college at the University of Arkansas in 2006 before transferring to USC in 2007...

     Jr. 6-3/210


Running Back
  • 21 Allen Bradford Jr. 5-11/235
  • 2 C.J. Gable
    C.J. Gable
    C. J. Gable is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2011...

     Jr. 6-0/200
  • 45 Adam Goodman Sr. 6-1/240
  • 31 Stanley Havili
    Stanley Havili
    Stanley Havili is an American football fullback who is currently a practice squad member for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California.-Personal:Havili's...

     Jr. 6-0/225
  • 13 Stafon Johnson
    Stafon Johnson
    Stafon Johnson is a professional American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played football at USC.-Early years:...

     Sr. 5-11/215
  • 4 Joe McKnight
    Joe McKnight
    Joe McKnight is an American football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League . He was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Jets...

     Jr. 6-0/200
  • 6 Curtis McNeal Fr. 5-8/180
  • 34 Ahmed Mokhtar So. 6-0/210
  • 10 D.J. Shoemate So. 6-0/220
  • 26 Marc Tyler
    Marc Tyler
    Marc Tyler is an American football running back for the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-High school career:...

     So. 6-0/220
  • 36 Simione Vehikite Fr. 6-0/245


Wide Receiver
  • 9 David Ausberry
    David Ausberry
    David Ausberry is an American football wide receiver/tight end for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He played his college football for the University of Southern California.- High School :...

     Jr. 6-4/235
  • 83 Steve Blackhart Fr. 6-2/180
  • 49 Robbie Boyer Fr. 6-0/185
  • 19 Brice Butler Fr. 6-3/200
  • 46 Sean Calcagnie Jr. 6-0/190
  • 23 Jordan Cameron
    Jordan cameron
    -Cleveland Browns:Cameron was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 102nd pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is expected to sit and learn behind current starting tight end, Benjamin Watson.-External links:* * * *...

     Jr. 6-5/220
  • 80 Brandon Carswell So. 6-1/185
  • 41 Preston Cavignac Jr. 6-0/185
  • 1 De'Von Flournoy Fr. 6-0/180
  • 41 J.B. Green Fr. 6-1/195
  • 8 Ronald Johnson Jr. 6-1/185
  • 28 Drew Ness So. 6-0/190
  • 17 Travon Patterson Jr. 5-10/175
  • 47 Scott Stephens Jr. 6-1/180
  • 81 Spencer Vigoren Sr. 6-4/220
  • 18 Damian Williams
    Damian Williams (American football)
    Damian Williams is a wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans. He played college football at the University of Southern California, where he was an All Pac-10 selection.-High school career:...

     Jr. 6-1/190


Tight End
  • 88 Blake Ayles So. 6-5/255
  • 40 Rhett Ellison Jr. 6-5/250
  • 82 Bryson Lloyd Fr. 6-3/225
  • 86 Anthony McCoy
    Anthony McCoy
    Anthony McCoy is an American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks. McCoy was considered one of the top tight end prospects for the 2010 NFL Draft.-Early years:McCoy attended Bullard High School in Fresno, California...

     Sr. 6-5/255
  • 67 Michael Reardon So. 6-5/275
  • 87 Ian Wandler Jr. 6-4/270


Offensive Line
  • 71 Charles Brown
    Charles Brown (offensive lineman)
    -New Orleans Saints:Brown was drafted by the Saints with the last pick of the second round. He signed a four-year contract on July 26, 2010.-External links:**...

     Sr. 6-6/295
  • 53 Jeff Byers
    Jeff Byers
    After going undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, Byers signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks.-External links:*...

     Sr. 6-4/285
  • 72 Martin Coleman So. 6-5/315
  • 77 Kevin Graf Fr. 6-6/315
  • 74 Zack Heberer Jr. 6-5/300
  • 78 Khaled Holmes Fr. 6-4/305
  • 76 Nick Howell Sr. 6-5/280
  • 75 Matt Kalil
    Matt Kalil
    Matt Kalil is an American football offensive tackle for the University of Southern California. He is regarded as one of the top prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft by analysts.-High school career:...

     Fr. 6-6/290
  • 68 Butch Lewis Jr. 6-5/300
  • 50 Abe Markowitz Fr. 6-2/280
  • 59 John Martinez Fr. 6-3/275
  • 64 Garrett Nolan Sr. 6-4/280
  • 61 Kristofer O'Dowd
    Kristofer O'Dowd
    Kristofer O'Dowd is an American football center who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2011...

     Jr. 6-5/300
  • 56 Alex Parsons
    Alex Parsons
    Alex Parsons is an offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He played college Football at Southern California.-College career:Parsons played at the University of Southern California....

     Sr. 6-4/300
  • 62 Chris Pousson So. 6-4/240
  • 70 Tyron Smith So. 6-6/270
  • 85 Cooper Stephenson Jr. 6-3/215


Defensive Line
  • 94 Armond Armstead So. 6-5/290
  • 16 James Boyd Fr. 6-5/230
  • 91 Jurrell Casey
    Jurrell Casey
    Jurrell Casey is an American football defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans. He was selected with the 77th overall pick in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft.-College career:...

     So. 6-1/295
  • 92 Hebron Fangupo Jr. 6-2/330
  • 93 Everson Griffen
    Everson Griffen
    -Minnesota Vikings:Griffen was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 100th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.On January 28, 2011, Griffen was arrested in Los Angeles for public intoxication. Three days later, he was arrested again after he was found driving with an invalid drivers license...

     Jr. 6-3/265
  • 98 DaJohn Harris So. 6-4/285
  • 96 Wes Horton Fr. 6-5/245
  • 97 Malik Jackson So. 6-5/230
  • 42 Devon Kennard Fr. 6-3/255
  • 8 Nick Perry
    Nick Perry (American football)
    Nick Perry is an American football defensive end for the USC Trojans.-Early years:Perry attended Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan...

     Fr. 6-3/240
  • 90 Derek Simmons Jr. 6-4/285
  • 99 Averell Spicer Sr. 6-2/295
  • 44 Christian Tupou Jr. 6-2/280


Linebacker
  • 43 Will Andrew Fr. 6-2/225
  • 52 Luthur Brown Sr. 6-2/235
  • 37 Jordan Campbell So. 5-11/230
  • 46 Ross Cumming So. 6-1/220
  • 59 Dan Deckas Jr. 5-10/210
  • 54 Chris Galippo
    Chris Galippo
    Chris Galippo is an American football linebacker for the University of Southern California. Galippo became the first defensive player to ever win the Pete Dawkins Trophy for being selected as the U.S. Army All-American Bowl's most valuable player.Galippo has been compared to NFL linebackers Brian...

     So. 6-2/255
  • 57 Nick Garratt Sr. 6-1/235
  • 81 Kevin Greene Fr. 6-3/235
  • 10 Jarvis Jones Fr. 6-3/225
  • 35 Uona Kaveinga So. 6-1/235
  • 17 Michael Morgan
    Michael Morgan (American football)
    Michael Morgan is an American football linebacker for Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football for the USC Trojans.-Early years:...

     Jr. 6-4/220
  • 53 Marquis Simmons Fr. 6-0/215
  • 6 Malcolm Smith
    Malcolm Smith (American football)
    Malcolm Smith is an American football linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. Smith played college football for the USC Trojans, and was drafted by the Seahawks in the 7th round of the 2011 NFL Draft.-Early years:...

     Jr. 6-1/225


Defensive Back
  • 30 Brian Baucham Fr. 5-11/190
  • 1 T.J. Bryant So. 6-0/180
  • 45 Omari Crittenden Jr. 6-0/185
  • 38 Robert Erickson Jr. 5-11/190
  • 25 Patrick Hall Fr. 6-1/185
  • 22 Daniel Harper So. 5-11/185
  • 4 Torin Harris Fr. 6-1/175
  • 26 Will Harris Sr. 6-1/200
  • 28 Justin Hart Sr. 6-0/175
  • 47 Michael Helfrich Fr. 6-0/190
  • 23 Shane Horton So. 6-1/210
  • 27 Marshall Jones Jr. 6-0/185
  • 2 Taylor Mays
    Taylor Mays
    Taylor Mays is an American football safety for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League.He played college football at USC...

     Sr. 6-3/230
  • 19 Drew McAllister So. 6-1/200
  • 7 T. J. McDonald
    T. J. McDonald
    T. J. McDonald is an American football safety for the USC Trojans.-Early years:McDonald attended Edison High School in Fresno, California. He was considered the second best safety recruit in the nation by Rivals.com and Scout.com....

     Fr. 6-2/205
  • 49 Ryan McMahon So. 6-0/200
  • 9 Byron Moore Fr. 6-1/205
  • 36 Josh Pinkard
    Josh Pinkard
    Josh Pinkard is an American football cornerback, currently unsigned, who was most recently with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League...

     Sr. 6-2/210
  • 34 Spencer Spiegel So. 5-11/175
  • 29 Jawanza Starling Fr. 6-1/190
  • 15 Kevin Thomas
    Kevin Thomas (cornerback b. 1986)
    Kevin Thomas is an American football cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts, after being selected in the third round of the NFL Draft...

     Sr. 6-1/185
  • 24 Shareece Wright
    Shareece Wright
    Shareece Wright is an American football cornerback for the San Diego Chargers. He played college football at the University of Southern California . He is considered one of the best cornerback prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft...

     Jr. 6-0/180


Kickers/Punters
  • 38 Jordan Congdon Sr. 5-9/180
  • 48 Jacob Harfman Jr. 5-10/190
  • 30 Joe Houston Jr. 5-8/170
  • 39 Billy O'Malley Jr. 6-1/195
  • 27 Boomer Roepke So. 5-9/180

San Jose State

The #4 Trojans opened their season against the lightly regarded San Jose Spartans. Though the Spartans outscored USC 3-0 in the 1st quarter of play, the Trojans quickly recovered, scoring 56 consecutive points for a 53-point victory.

Ohio State

A crowd of 106,033, the largest in Ohio Stadium history, were in attendance as the #3 USC Trojans came to Columbus, Ohio to face the #8 Ohio State Buckeyes. Both teams showed great defense with the game close at the half tied 10–10. After a safety and a field goal, Ohio State led 15–10 with less than five minutes to go. However, Matt Barkley and the Trojans drove down the field to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to end the game. The final score was USC 18, Ohio State 15, with the Buckeyes losing to the Trojans for the second straight year.

Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley is an American football quarterback and student athlete at the University of Southern California, playing for the Trojans football team. As a high school player, Barkley was named 2007 football Gatorade National Player of the Year, and then the 2007 Gatorade national male athlete of...

 injured his right shoulder.

1st Quarter
  • 11:37 USC Johnson 2 yard run for Touchdown (Congdon kick) 7–0 USC
  • 8:06 OSU Herron 2 yard run for Touchdown (Pettrey kick) 7–7


2nd Quarter
  • 14:56 OSU Pettrey 18 yard field goal 10–7 OSU
  • 0:00 USC Congdon 21 yard field goal 10–10


3rd Quarter
  • 9:03 USC High snap out of the end zone for Safety 12–10 OSU
  • 4:43 OSU Pettrey 22 yard field goal 15–10 OSU


4th Quarter
  • 1:05 USC Johnson 2 yard run for Touchdown (Barkley pass to McKnight) 18–15 USC

Washington

Quarterback Aaron Corp
Aaron Corp
Aaron Corp is an American football quarterback for the University of Richmond Spiders.-High school:Corp had an outstanding high school career at Orange Lutheran High School. A dual-threat quarterback, Corp completed 212-of-311 of his passes for 2,750 yards, 21 TDs and 7 interceptions, plus ran...

 took over for Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley is an American football quarterback and student athlete at the University of Southern California, playing for the Trojans football team. As a high school player, Barkley was named 2007 football Gatorade National Player of the Year, and then the 2007 Gatorade national male athlete of...

.

The Huskies became the latest Pac-10 team to upset the Trojans, only two Pacific 10 Conference teams have failed to beat USC during the Pete Carroll era: Arizona and Arizona State. Other Pac-10 teams have defeated USC at least once during this period; Oregon State did it twice, 2006 and again in 2008, as did Stanford in 2001 and 2007
2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game
The 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game was a college football game held on October 6, 2007, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23. Southern California was favored by 41 points over Stanford,...

 (and would do so again in 2009).

1st Quarter
  • 12:28 USC McKnight 7 yard run for Touchdown (Congdon kick) 7–0 USC
  • 4:36 USC Congdon 42 yd field goal 10–0 USC
  • 0:11 UW Jake Locker
    Jake Locker
    Jacob Cooper "Jake" Locker is an American football quarterback selected by the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League in the 2011 Draft...

     4yd run for Touchdown (Erik Folk
    Erik Folk
    Erik Folk is an American college football player who is the current placekicker of the University of Washington and mostly remembered for kicking a 22 yard field goal to beat 3rd ranked USC on September 19, 2009 with just three seconds remaining and again in 2010, leaving the University of...

     kick) 10–7 USC


2nd Quarter
  • 4:09 UW Folk 28 yd field goal 10–10 Tied


3rd Quarter
  • None


4th Quarter
  • 9:53 UW Folk 46 yd field goal 10–13 UW
  • 4:07 USC Congdon 25 yd field goal 13–13 Tied
  • 0:03 UW Folk 22 yd field goal 16–13

Washington State

California

The Trojans dominated the Bears, scoring the most points since their season opener against San Jose State.

Notre Dame

The Trojans marched into South Bend ranked #6 in the nation after a 30-3 beating of #24 Cal. The Fighting Irish lived up to their name, staying with highly ranked USC through two quarters, only trailing by 6 points, 13-7. In the third quarter, the Trojans started to run away with the game, outscoring Notre Dame 14-7. Going into the fourth quarter, USC had a commanding lead, 27-14. USC scored another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to go ahead, 34-14. It looked like Notre Dame would get beat badly by their rivals once again. But, it wasn't to be for the Fighting Irish. Instead of losing by double digits to the Trojans again, they rallied and found themselves down 34-27 with 1 second left at the USC 1-yard-line. Jimmy Clauson fired an incomplete pass and USC extended their winning streak over Notre Dame to 8. The freshman Matt Barkley attempted 29 passes, completing 19, on his way to 380 yards and 2 touchdowns. Clauson went 24-43 with a mere 260 yards and 2 touchdowns. Anthony McCoy led the Trojans (5-1) in receiving yards with 5 catches for 153 yards. Notre Dame's (4-2) leading receiver was Golden Tate with 8 catches for 117 yards.

Oregon State

Last year the #1 Trojans went to Corvallis and were upset 27–21. It was the second straight trip to Corvallis for USC that resulted in defeat. Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 187 yards on 37 carries and two touchdowns in the win last year. Oregon State was the second Pac-10 Conference school to have beaten USC twice during the Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-Early life:Carroll attended Redwood High...

 era in 2006 and 2008 (Stanford was first with victories in 2001 and 2007
2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game
The 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game was a college football game held on October 6, 2007, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23. Southern California was favored by 41 points over Stanford,...

 (and would do so again in 2009).

The last time Oregon State won against USC in the Coliseum was when Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

 was the President of the United States.

USC scored first when quarterback Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley is an American football quarterback and student athlete at the University of Southern California, playing for the Trojans football team. As a high school player, Barkley was named 2007 football Gatorade National Player of the Year, and then the 2007 Gatorade national male athlete of...

 passed to Anthony McCoy
Anthony McCoy
Anthony McCoy is an American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks. McCoy was considered one of the top tight end prospects for the 2010 NFL Draft.-Early years:McCoy attended Bullard High School in Fresno, California...

 for a 8-yard touchdown. The Beavers got on the scoreboard with two field goal kicks from Justin Kahut (both 48 yards). In the second quarter, Matt Barkley completed a pass to Ronald Johnson for a 22 yards touchdown. On second and goal, Barkley rushed for a 1-yard touchdown for the Trojans. Kahut kicked a 33-yard field goal for Oregon State just before the half.

In the third quarter, Sean Canfield passed to Jacquizz Rodgers
Jacquizz Rodgers
Jacquizz "Quizz" Rodgers is an American football running back for the Atlanta Falcons. Rodgers played for the Oregon State Beavers. During his freshman year, Rodgers was named the 2008 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year...

 for a 6-yard touchdown for the Beavers on a 3:06-drive that took 8 plays for 61 yards. The Trojans countered with a 7-play drive for 70 yards with Allen Bradford rushing for 2 yards for a touchdown. Canfield narrowed Oregon State's gap by completing a 15-yard scoring pass to Damola Adeniji. USC answered with Allen Bradford scoring a 43-yard touchdown.

Oregon State became the first team to score more than 10 points on the Trojans in their last ten home games.

Oregon

Prior to the game, USC had lost three in a row in the state of Oregon, but had won four of the last five against the Ducks. The Trojans lost the game 47–20, which was the worst defeat suffered by USC since 1997.

1st Quarter
  • 8:32 USC Jordan Congdon 28 field goal 3–0 USC
  • 7:30 Oregon Morgan Flint 32 yard field goal 3–3 tied
  • 1:37 Oregon Jeremiah Masoli 3 yard run for Touchdown (Morgan Flint kick) 10–3 Oregon


2nd Quarter
  • 10:55 USC Matt Barkley 3 yard pass to Ronald Johnson for Touchdown (Jordan Congdon kick) 10–10 Tied
  • 8:39 Oregon Andre Crenshaw 1 yard run for Touchdown (Morgan Flint kick) 17–10 Oregon
  • 3:17 USC Matt Barkeley 4 yard pass to Damian Williams for Touchdown (Jordan Congdon kick) 17–17 Tied
  • 1:49 Oregon Jeremiah Masoli 17 yard pass to Jamere Holland for Touchdown ( Morgan Flint kick) 24–17 Oregon


3rd Quarter
  • 11:58 Oregon Morgan Flint 35 yard field goal 27–17 Oregon
  • 8:26 USC Jordan Congdon 39 field goal 27–20 Oregon
  • 5:50 Oregon LaMichael James 5 yard run for Touchdown (Morgan Flint kick) 34–20 Oregon
  • 0:00 Oregon Kenjon Barner 3 yard run for Touchdown (Morgan Flint kick) 41–20 Oregon


4th Quarter
  • 8:00 Oregon Morgan Flint 22 yard field goal 44–20 Oregon
  • 2:05 Oregon Morgan Flint 23 yard field goal 47–20 Oregon

Arizona State

Stanford

Stanford's 55–21 victory was the highest number of points any team had scored against a USC Trojans football team in the 121-year history of Trojan football. The 34-point loss was the worst defeat USC had suffered since 1966. This was Stanford's third victory against USC in their last five games against each other at the Coliseum (Stanford winning 2001, 2007, and 2009, with USC winning in 2003 and 2005), with USC having defeated every non-Stanford opponent in the Coliseum since 2001, going 47–2 since Stanford's September 29, 2001 victory in the Coliseum. It was the first defeat in a November game for the Trojans under Coach Pete Carroll's nine-season tenure. For the first time in since Carroll's first season, USC lost more than two games in one season. For the second time in three weekends, Carroll suffered the worst loss of his USC tenure (the other being the Oregon game). This was the largest margin of victory for Stanford in a Stanford-USC game since the two teams' rivalry began in 1918. Harbaugh became the only coach in college football with a winning record against Carroll, going 2–1 in the three times the two coaches have faced each other. Stanford would eclipse the all-time point spread record it set from the 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game
2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game
The 2007 Stanford vs. Southern California football game was a college football game held on October 6, 2007, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23. Southern California was favored by 41 points over Stanford,...

, as USC was an 11-point favorite.

UCLA

UCLA–USC rivalry game for the Victory Bell, which the Trojans retained by defeated the Bruins 28–7. Both teams wore home jerseys, in a tradition that was restarted the previous year, with the Bruins wearing their 1966 throwback powder blue jerseys. The final two minutes of the game proved to be interesting. With the Trojans leading 21–7 after a touchdown with 1:30 in the fourth quarter, and having possession of the ball after UCLA turned it over on downs, Carroll instructed his quarterback to take a knee. Rick Neuheisel then called a timeout to stop the clock. On second down, the Trojans immediately connected on a 48-yard pass play for their fourth touchdown of the game. USC beat UCLA for the 10th time in 11 years, but the late touchdown pass stirred passions in the crosstown rivalry and lead to a benches-clearing incident.

Arizona

Arizona's defeat of the Trojans gave the Wildcats their first win over USC during the Pete Carroll era. Arizona is also the first non-Stanford team in the Pac-10 to defeat the Trojans in the Coliseum under Carroll (Stanford defeated Carroll's teams in the Coliseum in 2001, 2007). Arizona State is the only Pac-10 team to never beat the Trojans during Carroll's tenure.

Boston College

This marked the first time USC played in the Emerald Bowl. On December 26, 2009 at AT&T Park in San Francisco California, attended by 40,121; the Trojans squared off against the Boston College Eagles from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

This also marked the first time that the Trojans had played in a non-BCS bowl game in seven years. Boston College was making its 11th straight bowl appearance. The Eagles became the first team to play in the Emerald Bowl twice, beating Colorado State 35–21 in the 2003 San Francisco Bowl (the former name of the Emerald Bowl). This was the third meeting between the two schools and the first in a bowl game. USC had won both games in the series, a 23–17 victory in Los Angeles in 1987 and a 34–7 win in Chestnut Hill in 1988.

USC freshman quarterback Matt Barkley threw touchdown passes to Stanley Havili on the Trojans first two possessions and added a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Barkley finished the game with a total of 350 yards passing. Of his 350 yards, Damian Williams accounted for 189 of them on 12 catches. Williams was named the game's MVP for his efforts. Boston College was led by tailback Montel Harris, who rushed for 102 yards and also added a touchdown run.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Final
AP 4 3 3 12 7 7 6 4 4 12 11 22 24 20 NR
Coaches 4 3 3 10 7 7 5 4 4 13 10 21 22 19 NR
Harris Not released 7 7 6 4 4 12 10 20 22 19 NR
BCS Not released 7 5 12 9 18 20 18 24

After the season

On January 10, 2010, coach Carroll told his players that he will resign his position with the Trojans and become the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

. Lane Kiffin, formerly with the Trojans, Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, and Tennessee Volunteers, was hired as the new head coach.

External links

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