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2003 USC

12–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Pete Carroll, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 2003, game by game: won at Auburn 23–0; won vs. BYU 35–18; won vs. Hawai’i 61–32; lost at California 31–34; won at Arizona State 37–17; won vs. Stanford 44–21; won at Notre Dame 45–14; won at Washington 43–23; won vs. No. 6 Washington State 43–16; won at Arizona 45–0; won vs. UCLA 47–22; won vs. Oregon State 52–28; won vs. No. 4 Michigan 28–14+45−3Won 23–0 at Auburn+23AuburnWon 35–18 vs. BYU+17BYUWon 61–32 vs. Hawai’i+29Hawai’iLost 31–34 at California-3CaliforniaWon 37–17 at Arizona State+20Arizona StateWon 44–21 vs. Stanford+23StanfordWon 45–14 at Notre Dame+31Notre DameWon 43–23 at Washington+20WashingtonWon 43–16 vs. No. 6 Washington State+27No. 6 Washington StateWon 45–0 at Arizona+45ArizonaWon 47–22 vs. UCLA+25UCLAWon 52–28 vs. Oregon State+24Oregon StateWon 28–14 vs. No. 4 Michigan+14No. 4 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atAuburnW 23–⁠056%
Sep 6vsBYUW 35–⁠1882%
Sep 13vsHawai’iW 61–⁠3279%
Sep 27atCaliforniaL 31–⁠3472%
Oct 4atArizona StateW 37–⁠1771%
Oct 11vsStanfordW 44–⁠2186%
Oct 18atNotre DameW 45–⁠1469%
Oct 25atWashingtonW 43–⁠2370%
Nov 1vs6Washington StateW 43–⁠1665%
Nov 15atArizonaW 45–⁠090%
Nov 22vsUCLAW 47–⁠2287%
Dec 6vsOregon StateW 52–⁠2885%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4MichiganRose BowlW 28–⁠1460%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 28–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 2003.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Pac-10 champions7–⁠1 in the conference

3 consensus All-AmericansMike Williams, WR; Jacob Rogers, OT; Kenechi Udeze, DE

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
534–⁠239
Coach
Pete Carroll
Elo
1849 +157 this season
SP+ rating
30.1 No. 2 of 117; offense No. 2, defense No. 19
SRS
24.9 No. 1 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 2
Offensive coordinator
Norm Chow
Captains
Keary Colbert and Melvin Simmons
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 36— allowed
Defense-0.1own 28— 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 2003 class

Whitney Lewis WR★★★★★No. 2
Reggie Bush RB★★★★★No. 17
Steve Smith ATH★★★★No. 35
Lawrence Jackson WDE★★★★No. 39
Chris Barrett TE★★★★No. 48
Thomas Williams OLB★★★★No. 117
LenDale White RB★★★★No. 133

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs24.50.947
Receivers24.50.988
Defensive line14.00.982
Linebackers14.00.932
Athletes and specialists14.00.983
Whole class74.30.966

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 2004

The 2004 draft
Rd 1Kenechi Udeze DEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 2Jacob Rogers OTDallas Cowboys
Rd 2Keary Colbert WRCarolina Panthers
Rd 4Will Poole DBMiami Dolphins

All-Pac-10

9 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2003 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2003 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠112–⁠11
Washington State6–⁠210–⁠39
Oregon5–⁠38–⁠5
California5–⁠38–⁠6
Oregon State4–⁠48–⁠5
Washington4–⁠46–⁠6
UCLA4–⁠46–⁠7
Arizona State2–⁠65–⁠7
Stanford2–⁠64–⁠7
Arizona1–⁠72–⁠10

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