CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2019 USC

8–⁠5 (7–⁠2 Pac-12), coached by Clay Helton.

Schedule and results

USC in 2019, game by game: won vs. Fresno State 31–23; won vs. No. 23 Stanford 45–20; lost at BYU 27–30; won vs. No. 10 Utah 30–23; lost at No. 17 Washington 14–28; lost at No. 9 Notre Dame 27–30; won vs. Arizona 41–14; won at Colorado 35–31; lost vs. No. 7 Oregon 24–56; won at Arizona State 31–26; won at California 41–17; won vs. UCLA 52–35; lost vs. No. 19 Iowa 24–49+27−32Won 31–23 vs. Fresno State+8Fresno StateWon 45–20 vs. No. 23 Stanford+25No. 23 StanfordLost 27–30 at BYU-3BYUWon 30–23 vs. No. 10 Utah+7No. 10 UtahLost 14–28 at No. 17 Washington-14No. 17 WashingtonLost 27–30 at No. 9 Notre Dame-3No. 9 Notre DameWon 41–14 vs. Arizona+27ArizonaWon 35–31 at Colorado+4ColoradoLost 24–56 vs. No. 7 Oregon-32No. 7 OregonWon 31–26 at Arizona State+5Arizona StateWon 41–17 at California+24CaliforniaWon 52–35 vs. UCLA+17UCLALost 24–49 vs. No. 19 Iowa-25No. 19 Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsFresno StateW 31–⁠2344%
Sep 7vs23StanfordW 45–⁠2049%
Sep 14atBYUL 27–⁠3055%
Sep 20vs10UtahW 30–⁠2350%
Sep 28at17WashingtonL 14–⁠2831%
Oct 12at9Notre DameL 27–⁠3026%
Oct 19vsArizonaW 41–⁠1466%
Oct 25atColoradoW 35–⁠3165%
Nov 2vs7OregonL 24–⁠5650%
Nov 9atArizona StateW 31–⁠2648%
Nov 16atCaliforniaW 41–⁠1755%
Nov 23vsUCLAW 52–⁠3576%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs19IowaHoliday BowlL 24–⁠4944%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa 49–⁠24 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 68th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 24
  2. Wk 5: 21
  3. Wk 14: 25
  4. Wk 15: 24
  5. Wk 16: 22
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
7–⁠2 3rd in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
422–⁠382
Coach
Clay Helton
Elo
1613 +71 this season
SP+ rating
13.1 No. 22 of 130; offense No. 9, defense No. 59, special teams No. 39
SRS
9.3 No. 28 of 130 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 11 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 20 roster talent No. 4 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Graham Harrell
Defensive coordinator
Clancy Pendergast
Captains
Michael Pittman Jr., Christian Rector, Jordan Iosefa and John Houston Jr.
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense19th of 130
  • Defense90th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted11th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted81st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2150%1.1719th of 130
Defense0.1547%1.1490th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
0.12 def		49% off
46% def		—11th off
81st 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
Offense4.2own 2821% allowed
Defense3.6own 2819% caused

CORE rating 8.5, 31st of 130 (offense 8.1, defense -0.4).

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 yardsKedon Slovis QB3,502 yds
Passing touchdownsKedon Slovis QB30 TD
Rushing yardsVavae Malepeai RB503 yds
Rushing touchdownsVavae Malepeai RB6 TD
Receiving yardsMichael Pittman Jr. WR1,275 yds
Receiving touchdownsMichael Pittman Jr. WR11 TD
TacklesJohn Houston Jr. LB104 tkl
SacksDrake Jackson LB5.5 sacks
InterceptionsIsaiah Pola-Mao S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Kyle Ford WR★★★★No. 38
Drake Jackson SDE★★★★No. 56
Max Williams CB★★★★No. 187
Maninoa Tufono ILB★★★★No. 200
Jude Wolfe TE★★★★No. 218
Drake London WR★★★★No. 258
Jason Rodriguez OT★★★★No. 312
Kenan Christon RB★★★★No. 393

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.836
Running backs14.00.893
Receivers53.60.915
Offensive line14.00.901
Defensive line33.30.891
Linebackers43.30.887
Defensive backs73.10.869
Whole class233.30.884

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 1Austin Jackson OTMiami Dolphins
Rd 2Michael Pittman Jr. WRIndianapolis Colts

Roster 111

The 2019 roster

111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oregon8–⁠112–⁠25
Utah8–⁠111–⁠316
USC7–⁠28–⁠5
Arizona State4–⁠58–⁠5
California4–⁠58–⁠5
Washington4–⁠58–⁠5
Oregon State4–⁠55–⁠7
UCLA4–⁠54–⁠8
Washington State3–⁠66–⁠7
Colorado3–⁠65–⁠7
Stanford3–⁠64–⁠8
Arizona2–⁠74–⁠8

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