CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 USC

11–⁠3 (8–⁠1 Pac-12), coached by Clay Helton, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 2017, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 49–31; won vs. No. 14 Stanford 42–24; won vs. Texas 27–24; won at California 30–20; lost at No. 16 Washington State 27–30; won vs. Oregon State 38–10; won vs. Utah 28–27; lost at No. 13 Notre Dame 14–49; won at Arizona State 48–17; won vs. No. 23 Arizona 49–35; won at Colorado 38–24; won vs. UCLA 28–23; won vs. No. 14 Stanford 31–28; lost vs. No. 5 Ohio State 7–24+31−35Won 49–31 vs. Western Michigan+18Western MichiganWon 42–24 vs. No. 14 Stanford+18No. 14 StanfordWon 27–24 vs. Texas+3TexasWon 30–20 at California+10CaliforniaLost 27–30 at No. 16 Washington State-3No. 16 Washington StateWon 38–10 vs. Oregon State+28Oregon StateWon 28–27 vs. Utah+1UtahLost 14–49 at No. 13 Notre Dame-35No. 13 Notre DameWon 48–17 at Arizona State+31Arizona StateWon 49–35 vs. No. 23 Arizona+14No. 23 ArizonaWon 38–24 at Colorado+14ColoradoWon 28–23 vs. UCLA+5UCLAWon 31–28 vs. No. 14 Stanford+3No. 14 StanfordLost 7–24 vs. No. 5 Ohio State-17No. 5 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsWestern MichiganW 49–⁠3161%
Sep 9vs14StanfordW 42–⁠2463%
Sep 16vsTexasW 27–⁠2484%
Sep 23atCaliforniaW 30–⁠2064%
Sep 29at16Washington StateL 27–⁠3060%
Oct 7vsOregon StateW 38–⁠1091%
Oct 14vsUtahW 28–⁠2770%
Oct 21at13Notre DameL 14–⁠4951%
Oct 28atArizona StateW 48–⁠1764%
Nov 4vs23ArizonaW 49–⁠3577%
Nov 11atColoradoW 38–⁠2470%
Nov 18vsUCLAW 28–⁠2384%
Dec 1vs14StanfordPac-12 Championship GameW 31–⁠2853%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs5Ohio StateCotton BowlL 7–⁠2447%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 24–⁠7 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; Pac-12 champions.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 5
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 13
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 21
  10. Wk 10: 17
  11. Wk 11: 15
  12. Wk 12: 12
  13. Wk 13: 11
  14. Wk 14: 11
  15. Wk 15: 8
  16. Final: 12

Pac-12 champions8–⁠1 in the conference, won the Pac-12 Championship Game

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Pac-12
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 4
Points
456–⁠366
Coach
Clay Helton
Elo
1734 +60 this season
SP+ rating
17.9 No. 17 of 128; offense No. 12, defense No. 24, special teams No. 86
SRS
10.3 No. 27 of 130 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 48 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 4 roster talent No. 3 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tee Martin
Defensive coordinator
Clancy Pendergast
Captains
Sam Darnold, Chris Hawkins, Uchenna Nwosu and [[Cameron Smith
Offense
Multiple
Defense
5–⁠2

How good, play by play

  • Offense27th of 130
  • Defense59th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted25th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted51st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1746%1.2527th of 130
Defense0.0840%1.3059th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.06 def		46% off
39% def		—25th off
51st def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.5own 3014% allowed
Defense3.3own 3018% caused

CORE rating 11.8, 18th of 130 (offense 9.3, defense -2.5).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsSam Darnold QB4,143 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Darnold QB26 TD
Rushing yardsRonald Jones II 1,550 yds
Rushing touchdownsRonald Jones II 19 TD
Receiving yardsDeontay Burnett WR1,114 yds
Receiving touchdownsDeontay Burnett WR9 TD
TacklesCameron Smith ILB107 tkl
SacksRasheem Green DT10 sacks
InterceptionsJack Jones DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Stephen Carr RB★★★★★No. 20
Joseph Lewis WR★★★★★No. 31
Austin Jackson OT★★★★No. 35
Jay Tufele DT★★★★No. 39
Marlon Tuipulotu DT★★★★No. 60
Bubba Bolden S★★★★No. 59
Levi Jones OLB★★★★No. 93
Greg Johnson ATH★★★★No. 102

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.952
Running backs15.00.989
Receivers34.00.929
Offensive line53.60.924
Defensive line53.60.927
Linebackers23.50.920
Defensive backs33.70.926
Athletes and specialists43.00.873
Whole class243.60.921

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Sam Darnold QBNew York Jets
Rd 2Ronald Jones II RBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 2Uchenna Nwosu OLBLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 3Rasheem Green DESeattle Seahawks

Roster 111

The 2017 roster

111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠111–⁠312
Washington7–⁠210–⁠316
Stanford7–⁠29–⁠520
Washington State6–⁠39–⁠4
Arizona State6–⁠37–⁠6
Arizona5–⁠47–⁠6
Oregon4–⁠57–⁠6
UCLA4–⁠56–⁠7
Utah3–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado2–⁠75–⁠7
California2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon State0–⁠91–⁠11

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