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2006 USC

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

Schedule and results

USC in 2006, game by game: won at Arkansas 50–14; won vs. No. 19 Nebraska 28–10; won at Arizona 20–3; won at Washington State 28–22; won vs. Washington 26–20; won vs. Arizona State 28–21; lost at Oregon State 31–33; won at Stanford 42–0; won vs. No. 21 Oregon 35–10; won vs. No. 17 California 23–9; won vs. No. 6 Notre Dame 44–24; lost at UCLA 9–13; won vs. No. 3 Michigan 32–18+42−4Won 50–14 at Arkansas+36ArkansasWon 28–10 vs. No. 19 Nebraska+18No. 19 NebraskaWon 20–3 at Arizona+17ArizonaWon 28–22 at Washington State+6Washington StateWon 26–20 vs. Washington+6WashingtonWon 28–21 vs. Arizona State+7Arizona StateLost 31–33 at Oregon State-2Oregon StateWon 42–0 at Stanford+42StanfordWon 35–10 vs. No. 21 Oregon+25No. 21 OregonWon 23–9 vs. No. 17 California+14No. 17 CaliforniaWon 44–24 vs. No. 6 Notre Dame+20No. 6 Notre DameLost 9–13 at UCLA-4UCLAWon 32–18 vs. No. 3 Michigan+14No. 3 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atArkansasW 50–⁠1474%
Sep 16vs19NebraskaW 28–⁠1078%
Sep 23atArizonaW 20–⁠382%
Sep 30atWashington StateW 28–⁠2275%
Oct 7vsWashingtonW 26–⁠2088%
Oct 14vsArizona StateW 28–⁠2185%
Oct 28atOregon StateL 31–⁠3378%
Nov 4atStanfordW 42–⁠091%
Nov 11vs21OregonW 35–⁠1074%
Nov 18vs17CaliforniaW 23–⁠971%
Nov 25vs6Notre DameW 44–⁠2471%
Dec 2atUCLAL 9–⁠1374%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3MichiganRose BowlW 32–⁠1857%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 32–⁠18 in the Rose Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Pac-10 champions7–⁠2 in the conference, shared with California

2 consensus All-AmericansDwayne Jarrett, WR; Sam Baker, OL

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠2 shared first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 2
Points
396–⁠197
Coach
Pete Carroll
Elo
1833 +87 this season
SP+ rating
30.3 No. 2 of 119; offense No. 6, defense No. 4, special teams No. 8
SRS
21.0 No. 1 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 1
Offensive coordinator
Lane Kiffin
Defensive coordinator
Nick Holt
Captains
John David Booty, Ryan Kalil, Oscar Lua and Dallas Sartz
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense18th of 119
  • Defense41st of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1143%1.0318th of 119
Defense0.0337%1.1041st of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.1own 323% allowed
Defense-0.1own 281% 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 2006 class

Vidal Hazelton WR★★★★★No. 3
Stafon Johnson RB★★★★★No. 10
Taylor Mays ATH★★★★★No. 11
Allen Bradford RB★★★★★No. 17
Antwine Perez CB★★★★★No. 23
C.J. Gable RB★★★★★No. 26
David Ausberry WR★★★★No. 38
Joshua Tatum ILB★★★★No. 47

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

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs64.20.950
Receivers44.30.968
Offensive line24.00.943
Defensive line33.70.891
Linebackers24.00.977
Defensive backs34.30.951
Athletes and specialists15.00.995
Whole class214.10.949

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 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 2Dwayne Jarrett WRCarolina Panthers
Rd 2Steve Smith WRNew York Giants
Rd 2Ryan Kalil CCarolina Panthers
Rd 5Dallas Sartz LBWashington Redskins
Rd 7Oscar Lua LBNew England Patriots

All-Pac-10

8 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2006 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2006 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠211–⁠24
California7–⁠210–⁠314
Oregon State6–⁠310–⁠421
UCLA5–⁠47–⁠6
Oregon4–⁠57–⁠6
Arizona State4–⁠57–⁠6
Washington State4–⁠56–⁠6
Arizona4–⁠56–⁠6
Washington3–⁠65–⁠7
Stanford1–⁠81–⁠11

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