Northwestern vs. USC
Northwestern and USC have 6 meetings on file, the first in 1952; USC leads the series 6–0 in the games on file. Over the last 6 meetings it’s USC 6–0, and USC has won the last 6. Share
2028 at Northwestern. As the programs’ Wikipedia articles list them (CC BY-SA).
- Northwestern wins
- 0
- USC wins
- 6
- Ties
- 0
- Earliest on file
- 1952
- Longest streak
- 6 USC
- Current streak
- 6 USC
- Last 10 meetings
- USC 6–0
- Most recent
- 2025
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0–2 | ||||||||||
| 1960s | 0–2 | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 0–1 | ||||||||||
| 2020s | 0–1 |
- Both ranked
- 1 meeting: Northwestern 0, USC 1
- Average margin
- 20.8 points; 1 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Northwestern
- 0–2 Northwestern’s record at home
- At USC
- 3–0 USC’s record at home
- Neutral sites
- 0–1 Northwestern first
- Shutouts
- 1
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Games that tell the story
- USC’s biggest win1969: USC 48, Northwestern 6by 42 points
- Ranked showdown1995: USC 41, Northwestern 32No. 3 Northwestern at No. 17 USC
Both programs through the years
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
Named most valuable
| Keyshawn Johnson USC | 1995 |
Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).
On television
| 2025 | FOX | 1.9 million viewers |
Viewers: Nielsen, as compiled by nschultz7’s ratings tracker.
Every game
| Nov 7, 2025 | 20USC 38, Northwestern 17 | at USC | ||
| Jan 1, 1996 | 17USC 41, 3Northwestern 32 | Neutral site | Rose Bowl | |
| Sep 27, 1969 | 5USC 48, Northwestern 6 | at USC | ||
| Sep 28, 1968 | 3USC 24, Northwestern 7 | at Northwestern | ||
| Oct 2, 1954 | 9USC 12, Northwestern 7 | at Northwestern | ||
| Sep 26, 1952 | 16USC 31, Northwestern 0 | at USC |
Every game is listed as played on the field.