USC football: 5 best seasons in Trojans history, ranked
By John Buhler
2003 is the beginning of the Pete Carroll USC football dynasty.
For many, Pete Carroll’s run at USC is the one we think about when the West Coast program is brought up. The two-time failed NFL coach came to Los Angeles as somewhat of an afterthought and elevated USC to heights it hadn’t experience since John Robinson’s first run there. Carroll’s run from 2002-2005 is among the greatest in college football history.
The 2003 Trojans went 12-1 overall and 7-1 in Pac-10 play. Their only loss that season was at the California Golden Bears by three points in triple overtime. While the early 2000s was a down period for Pac-10 football, Cal was often seen as the second-best program to USC. The Trojans rattled off nine straight victories, beating the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl to No. 1.
Though USC only beat three ranked teams that season, all three were ranked in the top six. They shut out the No. 6 Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare in Week 1. USC then blew out the No. 6 Washington State Cougars in the Coliseum on Nov. 1. Of course, the Trojans would win by multiple scores against Michigan in the Rose Bowl to finish No. 1 in the AP Poll.
Besides the road loss to Cal in Berkley, the only ding on this national championship for the Trojans was it wasn’t unanimous. The LSU Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners narrowly in the Sugar Bowl to give Nick Saban his first-ever national championship. In almost any other year, they would have been unanimous national champions, but that’s how the BCS era was back then.