CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

USC vs. Washington State

USC and Washington State have 77 meetings on file, the first in 1921; officially, USC leads 62–⁠10–⁠4; as played, 63–⁠10–⁠4 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s USC 8–⁠2, and USC has won the last 4. The NCAA vacated USC’s win (2005); it doesn’t count officially. This page counts every game as it was played.

Official series
USC leads 62–⁠10–⁠4
USC wins on file
63
Washington State wins on file
10
Ties
4
Earliest on file
1921
Longest streak
16 USC
Current streak
4 USC
Last 10 meetings
USC 8–⁠2
Most recent
2022

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1920s6–⁠1
1930s6–⁠2–⁠2
1940s5–⁠0–⁠1
1950s7–⁠1–⁠1
1960s2–⁠0
1970s9–⁠0
1980s6–⁠1
1990s9–⁠1
2000s7–⁠2
2010s3–⁠2
2020s3–⁠0
Both ranked
7 meetings: USC 5, Washington State 2; 1 both in the top 10
Average margin
18.8 points; 18 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At USC
43–⁠6–⁠2 USC’s record at home
At Washington State
4–⁠20–⁠2 Washington State’s record at home
Shutouts
9

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

Games that tell the story

  1. USC’s biggest win2008: USC 69, Washington State 0by 69 points
  2. Washington State’s biggest win1986: Washington State 34, USC 14by 20 points
  3. Upset1925: Washington State 17, USC 12Washington State had a 15% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Upset1921: USC 28, Washington State 7USC had a 16% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  5. Upset2013: Washington State 10, USC 7Washington State had a 19% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  6. Ranked showdown2003: USC 43, Washington State 16No. 6 Washington State at No. 3 USC
  7. Ranked showdown1981: USC 41, Washington State 17No. 14 Washington State at No. 4 USC
  8. Ranked showdown2017: Washington State 30, USC 27No. 5 USC at No. 16 Washington State

Coach against coach

YearsUSCSeriesWashington State
1926–⁠1940Howard Jones10–⁠2–⁠3O.E. Hollingbery
1946–⁠1949Jeff Cravath3–⁠0Phil Sarboe
1952–⁠1955Jess Hill4–⁠0Alton Kircher
1969–⁠1975John McKay7–⁠0Jim Sweeney
1983–⁠1986Ted Tollner3–⁠1Jim Walden
1989–⁠1992Larry Smith4–⁠0Mike Price
1993–⁠1997John Robinson4–⁠1Mike Price
1998–⁠2000Paul Hackett2–⁠1Mike Price
2003–⁠2007Pete Carroll5–⁠0Bill Doba

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from USC’s side (Jones 10–⁠2–⁠3 against Hollingbery). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of USC and Washington State, 1921 on130015001700190019401960198020002020

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

Cody Kessler USC21 of 32, 400 yards, 5 TD2014 Passing
Nelson Agholor USC8 catches, 220 yards, 1 TD2014 Receiving
Steve Smith USC11 catches, 186 yards, 2 TD2006 Receiving
Drake London USC13 catches, 170 yards, 2 TD2021 Receiving

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).

From the newspapers

  • The Evening star's story of the 1928 game: COASTS "BIG GAME" HAS TITLE BEARING

    1928 · Evening star, Nov 19, 1928

  • The Evening star's story of the 1929 game: TROJANS WIN, III, BY A STRONG FINISH Held to TT Count in First Half of Struggle With Washington State.

    1929 · Evening star, Washington, D.C., Dec 1, 1929

  • The Imperial Valley press's story of the 1931 game

    1931 · Imperial Valley press, Oct 12, 1931

  • The The Daily Alaska empire's story of the 1932 game: so. CALIFORNIA, WASH. SKATERS DISAPPOINTING Neither Play Brilliant Game In First Conference Contest

    1932 · The Daily Alaska empire, Alaska, Oct 3, 1932

  • The The Daily Alaska empire's story of the 1933 game: 'TROJANS BEAT COUGARS 33-0 Irvine w arburton Sets Pace that Carries Team mates to Victory

    1933 · The Daily Alaska empire, Oct 9, 1933

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.

Every game

Oct 8, 20226USC 30, Washington State 14at USC
Sep 18, 2021USC 45, Washington State 14at Washington State
Dec 6, 202017USC 38, Washington State 13at USC
Sep 21, 2018USC 39, Washington State 36at USC
Sep 29, 201716Washington State 30, 5USC 27at Washington State
Nov 1, 2014USC 44, Washington State 17at Washington State
Sep 7, 2013Washington State 10, 25USC 7at USC
Sep 25, 201020USC 50, Washington State 16at Washington State
Sep 26, 200912USC 27, Washington State 6at USC
Oct 18, 20086USC 69, Washington State 0at Washington State
Sep 22, 20071USC 47, Washington State 14at USC
Sep 30, 20063USC 28, Washington State 22at Washington State
Oct 29, 20051USC 55, Washington State 13vacatedat USC
Oct 30, 20041USC 42, Washington State 12at Washington State
Nov 1, 20033USC 43, 6Washington State 16at USC
Oct 5, 200217Washington State 30, 18USC 27at Washington State
Nov 11, 2000Washington State 33, USC 27at USC
Nov 13, 1999USC 31, Washington State 28at Washington State
Oct 17, 1998USC 42, Washington State 14at Washington State
Sep 13, 1997Washington State 28, 23USC 21at USC
Oct 26, 1996USC 29, Washington State 24at Washington State
Oct 14, 19955USC 26, Washington State 14at USC
Nov 5, 199422USC 23, 16Washington State 10at Washington State
Sep 25, 1993USC 34, Washington State 3at USC
Oct 24, 199215USC 31, 13Washington State 21at USC
Oct 12, 1991USC 34, Washington State 27at Washington State
Oct 6, 199015USC 30, Washington State 17at USC
Sep 30, 198911USC 18, 19Washington State 17at Washington State
Oct 31, 1987USC 42, Washington State 7at USC
Oct 11, 1986Washington State 34, 9USC 14at Washington State
Nov 2, 1985USC 31, Washington State 13at USC
Oct 6, 1984USC 29, Washington State 27at Washington State
Oct 8, 1983USC 38, Washington State 17at USC
Oct 31, 19814USC 41, 14Washington State 17at USC
Oct 6, 19791USC 50, Washington State 21at USC
Sep 30, 19772USC 41, Washington State 7at USC
Oct 9, 197611USC 23, Washington State 14at Washington State
Oct 11, 19753USC 28, Washington State 10at USC
Oct 12, 19747USC 54, Washington State 7at Washington State
Oct 13, 19734USC 46, Washington State 35at USC
Nov 4, 19721USC 44, Washington State 3at Washington State
Nov 6, 197117USC 30, Washington State 20at USC
Nov 7, 1970USC 70, Washington State 33at Washington State
Nov 8, 19696USC 28, Washington State 7at USC
Sep 15, 19677USC 49, Washington State 0at USC
Oct 25, 1958USC 14, Washington State 6at Washington State
Oct 26, 1957Washington State 13, USC 12at USC
Nov 3, 195620USC 28, Washington State 12at Washington State
Sep 17, 1955USC 50, Washington State 12at USC
Sep 17, 195417USC 39, Washington State 0at USC
Sep 19, 1953USC 29, Washington State 13at Washington State
Sep 19, 1952USC 35, Washington State 7at USC
Sep 22, 1951USC 31, Washington State 21at USC
Oct 7, 1950Washington State 20, USC 20at Washington State
Oct 1, 1949USC 35, Washington State 7at USC
Sep 27, 1947USC 21, Washington State 0at USC
Sep 27, 1946USC 13, Washington State 7at USC
Oct 17, 1942USC 26, 10Washington State 12at USC
Oct 18, 1941USC 7, Washington State 6at USC
Sep 28, 1940USC 14, Washington State 14at USC
Oct 7, 1939USC 27, Washington State 0at USC
Oct 15, 1938USC 19, Washington State 6at USC
Oct 30, 1937Washington State 0, USC 0at Washington State
Oct 17, 1936USC 0, Washington State 0at USC
Nov 16, 1935USC 20, Washington State 10at USC
Oct 6, 1934Washington State 19, USC 0at USC
Oct 7, 1933USC 33, Washington State 0at USC
Oct 1, 1932USC 20, Washington State 0at USC
Oct 10, 1931USC 38, Washington State 6at USC
Oct 11, 1930Washington State 7, USC 6at Washington State
Nov 30, 1929USC 27, Washington State 7at USC
Nov 17, 1928USC 27, Washington State 13at USC
Nov 19, 1927USC 27, Washington State 0at USC
Oct 9, 1926USC 16, Washington State 7at USC
Nov 28, 1925Washington State 17, USC 12at USC
Nov 30, 1922USC 41, Washington State 3at USC
Dec 3, 1921USC 28, Washington State 7at USC

Every game is listed as played on the field; a win the NCAA later vacated is marked “vacated”; the official series above counts them the NCAA’s way.