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Michigan vs. USC

Michigan and USC have 12 meetings on file, the first in 1947; USC leads the series 7–⁠5 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s USC 7–⁠3.

Scheduled 2028 at Michigan. As the programs’ Wikipedia articles list them (CC BY-SA).

Michigan wins
5
USC wins
7
Ties
0
Earliest on file
1947
Longest streak
3 Michigan
Current streak
1 USC
Last 10 meetings
USC 7–⁠3
Most recent
2025

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1940s1–⁠0
1950s2–⁠0
1960s0–⁠1
1970s0–⁠2
1980s1–⁠1
2000s0–⁠2
2020s1–⁠1
Both ranked
9 meetings: Michigan 3, USC 6; 6 both in the top 10
Average margin
12.2 points; 7 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Michigan
2–⁠0 Michigan’s record at home
At USC
1–⁠1 USC’s record at home
Neutral sites
2–⁠6 Michigan first
Shutouts
1

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Michigan’s biggest win1947: Michigan 49, USC 0by 49 points
  2. USC’s biggest win2025: USC 31, Michigan 13by 18 points
  3. Ranked showdown2006: USC 32, Michigan 18No. 2 USC at No. 3 Michigan
  4. Ranked showdown1976: USC 14, Michigan 6No. 2 Michigan at No. 3 USC
  5. Ranked showdown1947: Michigan 49, USC 0No. 2 Michigan at No. 3 USC
  6. Ranked showdown2003: USC 28, Michigan 14No. 4 Michigan at No. 2 USC

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Michigan and USC, 1947 on130015001700190019501960197019801990200020102020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Biggest days

John David Booty USC27 of 45, 391 yards, 4 TD2006 Passing
Dwayne Jarrett USC11 catches, 205 yards, 2 TD2006 Receiving

Named most valuable

Dwayne Jarrett USC2006
Brian Cushing USC2006
Matt Leinart USC2003
Ricky Ervins USC1989
Leroy Hoard Michigan1988
Charles White USC1978
Rick Leach Michigan1978
Vince Evans USC1976

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on). Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).

From the newspapers

  • The Evening star's story of the 1947 game: New Poll 10 Be Taken On Irish, Wolverines

    1947 · Evening star, Jan 3, 1948

  • The Evening star's story of the 1957 game: Michigan Turns Back .Fired-Up Trojons, 16-6

    1957 · Evening star, Washington, D.C., Sep 29, 1957

  • The The Catholic times. (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current's story of the 1958 game: .E,[pozhFZ@Mlk|4 'Buckeye FeUer'' Grips Grid Fans

    1958 · The Catholic times. (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, Ohio, Oct 3, 1958

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

On television

ESPN’s College GameDay has broadcast from this game twice: 2006, 2003.

2025NBC4.3 million viewers

College GameDay’s sites from Wikipedia’s list of its locations (CC BY-SA). Viewers: Nielsen, as compiled by nschultz7’s ratings tracker.

Photos

From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited).

Every game

Oct 11, 2025USC 31, 15Michigan 13at USC
Sep 21, 202418Michigan 27, 11USC 24at Michigan
Jan 1, 20072USC 32, 3Michigan 18Rose BowlRose Bowl
Jan 1, 20042USC 28, 4Michigan 14Rose BowlRose Bowl
Jan 1, 199012USC 17, 3Michigan 10Neutral siteRose Bowl
Jan 2, 198911Michigan 22, 5USC 14Neutral siteRose Bowl
Jan 1, 19793USC 17, 5Michigan 10Neutral siteRose Bowl
Jan 1, 19773USC 14, 2Michigan 6Neutral siteRose Bowl
Jan 1, 19705USC 10, 7Michigan 3Neutral siteRose Bowl
Sep 27, 1958Michigan 20, USC 19at Michigan
Sep 28, 195710Michigan 16, USC 6at USC
Jan 1, 19482Michigan 49, 3USC 0Neutral siteRose Bowl

Every game is listed as played on the field.