CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 USC

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Pete Carroll, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 2002, game by game: won vs. Auburn 24–17; won at No. 18 Colorado 40–3; lost at No. 25 Kansas State 20–27; won vs. No. 23 Oregon State 22–0; lost at No. 17 Washington State 27–30; won vs. California 30–28; won vs. No. 22 Washington 41–21; won at No. 14 Oregon 44–33; won at Stanford 49–17; won vs. Arizona State 34–13; won at No. 25 UCLA 52–21; won vs. No. 7 Notre Dame 44–13; won vs. No. 3 Iowa 38–17+37−7Won 24–17 vs. Auburn+7AuburnWon 40–3 at No. 18 Colorado+37No. 18 ColoradoLost 20–27 at No. 25 Kansas State-7No. 25 Kansas StateWon 22–0 vs. No. 23 Oregon State+22No. 23 Oregon StateLost 27–30 at No. 17 Washington State-3No. 17 Washington StateWon 30–28 vs. California+2CaliforniaWon 41–21 vs. No. 22 Washington+20No. 22 WashingtonWon 44–33 at No. 14 Oregon+11No. 14 OregonWon 49–17 at Stanford+32StanfordWon 34–13 vs. Arizona State+21Arizona StateWon 52–21 at No. 25 UCLA+31No. 25 UCLAWon 44–13 vs. No. 7 Notre Dame+31No. 7 Notre DameWon 38–17 vs. No. 3 Iowa+21No. 3 Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsAuburnW 24–⁠1762%
Sep 14at18ColoradoW 40–⁠335%
Sep 21at25Kansas StateL 20–⁠2743%
Sep 28vs23Oregon StateW 22–⁠051%
Oct 5at17Washington StateL 27–⁠3043%
Oct 12vsCaliforniaW 30–⁠2872%
Oct 19vs22WashingtonW 41–⁠2162%
Oct 26at14OregonW 44–⁠3334%
Nov 9atStanfordW 49–⁠1768%
Nov 16vsArizona StateW 34–⁠1377%
Nov 23at25UCLAW 52–⁠2151%
Nov 30vs7Notre DameW 44–⁠1366%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs3IowaOrange BowlW 38–⁠1755%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa 38–⁠17 in the Orange Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 2: 20
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 17
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 18
  7. Wk 7: 18
  8. Wk 8: 20
  9. Wk 9: 19
  10. Wk 10: 15
  11. Wk 11: 11
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 8
  14. Wk 14: 7
  15. Wk 15: 6
  16. Wk 16: 5
  17. Final: 4

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 2002.

Pac-10 champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Washington State

Heisman TrophyCarson Palmer, QB; also the Unitas Golden Arm

2 consensus All-AmericansCarson Palmer, QB; Troy Polamalu, S

Broyles AwardNorm Chow, coach

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 4
Points
465–⁠240
Coach
Pete Carroll
Elo
1789 +247 this season
SP+ rating
34.5 No. 1 of 117; offense No. 1, defense No. 4
SRS
28.9 No. 1 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 8
Offensive coordinator
Norm Chow
Captains
Carson Palmer and Troy Polamalu
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 30— allowed
Defense0.0own 34— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Winston Justice OT★★★★★No. 32
Kyle Williams OT★★★★No. 46
Darnell Bing S★★★★No. 56
Manuel Wright DT★★★★No. 63
Hershel Dennis RB★★★★No. 74

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs14.00.969
Receivers13.00.800
Offensive line24.50.982
Defensive line14.00.974
Defensive backs23.50.888
Whole class73.90.926

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2003

The 2003 draft
Rd 1Carson Palmer QBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 1Troy Polamalu DBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 3Justin Fargas RBOakland Raiders
Rd 6Kareem Kelly WRNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Malaefou MacKenzie RBJacksonville Jaguars

All-Pac-10

4 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2002 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2002 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠111–⁠24
Washington State7–⁠110–⁠310
Arizona State5–⁠38–⁠6
Oregon State4–⁠48–⁠5
UCLA4–⁠48–⁠5
California4–⁠47–⁠5
Washington4–⁠47–⁠6
Oregon3–⁠57–⁠6
Arizona1–⁠74–⁠8
Stanford1–⁠72–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.