2010 USC Trojans football team

Schedule

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Rankings

Preseason

• July 1, 2010 – Running backs coach Todd McNair's contract expired June 30, 2010. He played a key part in the NCAA's investigation of the school's athletic department dealing with former Trojans running back Reggie Bush.
• July 6, 2010 – Seantrel Henderson, the nation's No. 1-ranked offensive tackle recruit was given a release from his commitment to play with USC. Following the release from his commitment, Henderson signed to play with the University of Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes football team. Defensive end Malik Jackson transferred to Tennessee.

Game summaries

Hawaii

;First quarter

• USC - David Ausberry 46 yard pass from Matt Barkley for a TD (2-point pass failed), 10:07 - USC 6-0
• HAW - Scott Enos kicks a 24-yard field goal, 6:33 - USC 6-3
• USC - Ronald Johnson 1 yard pass from Matt Barkley for a TD (Ronald Johnson 2-point pass), 1:38 - USC 14-3 ;Second quarter
• USC - Rhett Ellison 6 yard pass from Matt Barkley (2-point pass failed), 12:19 - USC 20-3
• HAW - Scott Enos kicks a 40 yard field goal, 7:27 - USC 20-6
• HAW - Kealoha Pilares 56 yard pass from Bryant Moniz (Scott Enos kick), 2:57 - USC 20-13
• USC - Ronald Johnson 13 yard pass from Matt Barkley (Joe Houston kick), 1:06 - USC 27-13
• HAW - Scott Enos kicks a 18 yard field goal, 0:03 - USC 27-16 ;Third quarter
• USC - Ronald Johnson returns a punt for a 89 yard TD (Joe Houston kick), 7:17 - USC 34-16
• HAW - Alex Green runs for a 1 yard TD (Scott Enos kick), 1:54 - USC 34-23
• USC - Ronald Johnson 3 yard pass from Matt Barkley (Mitch Mustain 2-point rush), 0:27 - USC 42-23 ;Fourth quarter
• HAW - Kealoha Pilares 65 yard pass from Shane Austin (Scott Enos kick), 6:48 - USC 42-30
• USC - Marc Tyler runs for a 44 yard TD (Joe Houston kick), 6:35 - USC 49-30
• HAW - Kealoha Pilares 30 yard pass from Shane Austin (2-point pass failed), 3:52 - USC 49-36 ;Passing
• USC - Matt Barkley 18-23, 257 yards, 5TDs
• Hawaii - Bryant Monlz 18-36, 269 yards, 1TD ;Rushing
• USC - Marc Tyler 17 carries, 154 yards, 1TD
• Hawaii - Alex Green 9 carries, 66 yards, 1TD ;Receiving
• USC - Ronald Johnson 7 receptions, 59 yards, 3TDs
• Hawaii - Kealoha Pilares 5 receptions, 176 yards, 3TDs

The Trojans began the season by taking advantage of the NCCA's Hawaii scheduling exemption which permits an extra non-conference game when traveling to Hawaii, which allowed them a 13-game schedule without a bowl game. The game turned out to be an offensive showcase, with Matt Barkley throwing a USC record-tying five touchdowns.

Virginia

In their home debut the Trojans hosted the Virginia Cavaliers, who played their first game ever in the state of California. Compared with the previous match's high-scoring, the game remained close with the Cavaliers failing by only three points.

Minnesota

USC extended its victory streak against Big Ten schools to 11 games in a road win against the embattled Golden Gophers, who lost their previous game to FCS foe South Dakota. Minnesota went on to fire its head coach Tim Brewster later in the season. The game was also the 19th straight nonconference win by the Trojans, a streak that would be broken later in the season by Notre Dame.

Washington State

Southern California began their conference schedule after dropping six spots in the AP rankings since the preseason poll despite going undefeated. Washington State scored on their opening drive, but the Trojans went on to score 50 points in a blowout, earning Lane Kiffin a 4-0 record, the best start of a USC coach's tenure since Jess Hill in 1951.

Washington

For consecutive years, head coach Steve Sarkisian's Washington Huskies upset the Trojans by kicking a last-second field goal. Sarkisian was an assistant coach at USC prior to taking over the program at Washington.

Erik Folk, who hit the game-winning field goal for Washington, was named Pac-10 special teams player of the week. He went 4-for-4 on field goals and completed two PAT attempts. The previous year, Folk kicked a 22-yarder to defeat the Trojans 16-13.

Stanford

For the second week in a row USC lost in the final seconds of the game by a field goal, as Stanford kicker Nate Whitaker made a 30-yarder as time expired. It marked the first time since 2000 that Stanford defeated the Trojans at Stanford Stadium, and the first time since 2001 that USC has lost two games in a row.

California

Matt Barkley once again tied the USC mark for touchdown passes in a game by throwing five to put the Trojans up 42-0 at halftime. USC rested its starters in the second half, allowing 14 points, but still prevailed by 34 points.

Oregon

The Ducks came into the game ranked 1st in the AP poll. The previous three weeks a team ranked number one had lost, but the Trojans were unable to continue this streak. USC had a three-point lead in the third quarter, but Oregon scored all the game's remaining points and won by margin of three touchdowns.

Arizona State

The Trojans eked out a single-point victory against Arizona State thanks to a rare defensive two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. After the Sun Devils scored a touchdown to put them in the lead by four points Torin Harris blocked the extra point and ran it back to the opposite end-zone, cutting ASU's newly found lead to two. Kicker Joe Houston later kicked a 29-yard field to put the Trojans in the lead, which they maintained during the game's final minutes.

Arizona

USC beat Arizona to extend its win streak in Tucson to nine with a 160-yard performance by Marc Tyler and avenged their season-ending loss from the previous year.

Oregon State

The Trojans lost their third straight game in Corvallis and lost Matt Barkley to injury late in the second quarter. Oregon State's 36–7 victory marked the worst defeat for USC against the Beavers in 96 years.

Notre Dame

Playing with its backup quarterback Mitch Mustain, USC lost to Notre Dame and ended its victory streak against its arch rival dating back to 2001. The Fighting Irish scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:23 remaining in the game, and the Trojans failed to convert a two-minute drill after a pass to Ronald Johnson that would have resulted in a touchdown and the probable win was dropped. Mustain later threw an interception that ended the game and gave Notre Dame the victory.

UCLA

After losing to rival Notre Dame the week before, USC bounced back to close their season with a win over cross-town rival UCLA to retain the Victory Bell. Quarterback Matt Barkley returned after missing the previous week and threw one of the team's two touchdown passes. Allen Bradford led the Trojans by gaining 212 yards rushing and catching a 47-yard touchdown throw to extend the victory streak against the Bruins to four.

References

References

1. (September 2, 2010). "USC Trojans vs. Hawaii Warriors Box Score". [[ESPN]].
2. (September 11, 2010). "Virginia Cavaliers vs. USC Trojans Box Score". [[ESPN]].
3. (September 18, 2010). "USC Trojans vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score". [[ESPN]].
4. (September 25, 2010). "USC Trojans vs. Washington State Cougars Box Score". [[ESPN]].
5. (October 2, 2010). "Washington Huskies vs. USC Trojans Box Score". [[ESPN]].
6. (October 9, 2010). "USC Trojans vs. Stanford Cardinal Box Score". [[ESPN]].
7. (October 16, 2010). "California Golden Bears vs. USC Trojans Box Score". [[ESPN]].
8. (October 30, 2010). "Oregon Ducks vs. USC Trojans Box Score". [[ESPN]].
9. (November 6, 2010). "Arizona State Sun Devils vs. USC Trojans - Box Score". [[ESPN]].
10. (November 13, 2010). "USC Trojans vs. Arizona Wildcats - Box Score". [[ESPN]].
11. (November 20, 2010). "USC Trojans vs. Oregon State Beavers - Box Score". [[ESPN]].
12. (November 27, 2010). "Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. USC Trojans Box Score". [[ESPN]].
13. (December 4, 2010). "USC Trojans vs. UCLA Bruins - Box Score". [[ESPN]].
14. Klein, Gary (July 1, 2010) [http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0702-usc-todd-mcnair-20100702-16,0,7691724.story USC parts ways with running backs coach Todd McNair], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', Retrieved July 1, 2010
15. Evans, Thayer. (2010-07-09). "Seantrel Henderson Will Attend Miami".
16. Wolf, Scott (July 6, 2010) [http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_15454026 Top recruit Henderson breaks commitment; DE Jackson to transfer to Tennessee] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-07-09 , ''[[Los Angeles Daily News]]'', Retrieved July 6, 2010)
17. (2010-03-03). "Come Fly Away: Why a Trip to Hawaii Earns College Football Teams an Extra Game". Bleacher Report.
18. (September 2, 2010). "Matt Barkley, Ronald Johnson connect for 3 TDs in win over Hawaii". ESPN.
19. (September 11, 2010). "No. 16 USC holds off Virginia in Lane Kiffin's Coliseum return". ESPN.
20. (September 18, 2010). "Robert Woods' return for TD helps USC pull away from Minnesota". ESPN.
21. (September 25, 2010). "Lane Kiffin first USC coach to start 4-0 with Trojans since 1951". ESPN.
22. (October 4, 2010). "Folk named special teams Pac-10 player of the week". [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]].
23. (October 2, 2010). "Washington boots winning field goal as time expires, stuns USC". ESPN.
24. Klein, Gary (October 9, 2010) [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-oct-09-la-spw-usc-stanford10-story.html USC falls to Stanford on last-second field goal], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', Retrieved November 14, 2010.
25. (October 16, 2010). "Matt Barkley's 5 TD passes ties USC record in rout of Cal". ESPN.
26. (October 30, 2010). "LaMichael James breaks through as No. 2 Oregon puts away USC". ESPN.
27. (November 6, 2010). "USC holds off Arizona State en route to wild win". ESPN.
28. (November 13, 2010). "No. 18 Arizona drops second straight as Marc Tyler keys USC". ESPN}}{{dead link.
29. Lopresti, Mike. (November 21, 2010). "Thanksgiving feast of football could bring clarity to BCS". [[USA Today]].
30. (November 20, 2010). "Jacquizz Rodgers sparks Oregon State's romp over USC". ESPN.
31. (November 27, 2010). "Robert Hughes' TD run sends ND past USC for first time since '01". ESPN.
32. (December 4, 2010). "Allen Bradford's 212 rush yards, 47-yard TD catch carry USC past UCLA". ESPN.