2008 USC Trojans football team
| 2008 USC Trojans football | |
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Pac-10 champion
Rose Bowl champion |
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Rose Bowl, W 38–24 vs. Penn State
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| Conference | Pacific-10 Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 2 |
| AP | No. 3 |
| 2008 record | 12–1 (8–1 Pac-10) |
| Head coach | Pete Carroll |
| Offensive coordinator | Steve Sarkisian |
| Offensive scheme | Multiple |
| Defensive coordinator | Nick Holt |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium |
Los Angeles Coliseum (Capacity: 93,607, grass) |
| 2008 Pacific-10 football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #3 USC $ | 8 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #10 Oregon | 7 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #19 Oregon State | 7 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 5 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 4 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 4 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 3 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 1 | – | 8 | 2 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | – | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Scoring summary | ||||
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| 1 |
3:06
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OSU | Ryan Pretorius 29-yard field goal | OSU 3-0 |
| 1 |
0:33
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USC | Stanley Havili 35-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 7-3 |
| 2 |
11:00
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USC | Blake Ayles 1-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 14-3 |
| 2 |
2:49
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USC | Rey Maualuga 48-yard interception return (David Buehler kick) | USC 21-3 |
| 3 |
6:02
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USC | Damian Williams 24-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 28-3 |
| 3 |
1:33
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USC | Damian Williams 17-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 35-3 |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
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| 1 |
4:06
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USC | Stafon Johnson 2-yard run (David Buehler kick) | USC 7-0 |
| 2 |
9:05
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USC | Joe McKnight 55-yard run (David Buehler kick) | USC 14-0 |
| 2 |
4:38
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USC | Damian Williams 12-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 21-0 |
| 2 |
0:24
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USC | David Buehler 35-yard field goal | USC 24-0 |
| 3 |
5:03
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USC | C.J. Gable 1-yard run (David Buehler kick) | USC 31-0 |
| 4 |
11:45
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ND | Brandon Walker 41-yard field goal | USC 31-3 |
| 4 |
7:57
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USC | Patrick Turner 17-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 38-3 |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
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| 1 |
11:07
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UCLA | Kahlil Bell 21-yard pass from Dominique Johnson (Kai Forbath kick) | UCLA 7-0 |
| 1 |
3:34
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USC | Joe McKnight 12-yard run (David Buehler kick) | Tied 7-7 |
| 1 |
1:09
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USC | Damian Williams 12-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 14-7 |
| 2 |
1:55
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USC | Stafon Johnson 2-yard run (David Buehler kick) | USC 21-7 |
| 3 |
12:31
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USC | Patrick Turner 18-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 28-7 |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
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| 1 |
4:12
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USC | Damian Williams 27-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 7-0 |
| 1 |
0:04
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PSU | Daryll Clark 9-yard run (Kevin Kelly kick) | Tied 7-7 |
| 2 |
12:27
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USC | Mark Sanchez 6-yard run (David Buehler kick) | USC 14-7 |
| 2 |
7:00
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USC | David Buehler 30-yard field goal | USC 17-7 |
| 2 |
1:24
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USC | Ronald Johnson 19-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 24-7 |
| 2 |
0:36
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USC | C.J. Gable 20-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 31-7 |
| 4 |
13:33
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PSU | Derrick Williams 2-yard pass from Daryll Clark (Kevin Kelly kick) | USC 31-14 |
| 4 |
12:02
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USC | Ronald Johnson 45-yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) | USC 38-14 |
| 4 |
7:22
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PSU | Kevin Kelly 25-yard field goal | USC 38-17 |
| 4 |
4:24
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PSU | Jordan Norwood 9-yard pass from Daryll Clark (Kevin Kelly kick) | USC 38-24 |
The 2008 USC Trojans football team (variously "Trojans" or "USC") represented the University of Southern California during the 2008 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Pete Carroll and played their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The Trojans finished the 2007 season with a decisive Rose Bowl victory, #2 ranking in the Coaches Poll and #3 ranking (with one first-place vote) in the AP Poll. In January 2008, immediately after the bowl season, USC was ranked at #4 by Sports Illustrated online and #5 by ESPN.com; the general opinion was that while the Trojans were facing key player departures, the losses were mitigated by the overall talent level of the program. Georgia was ranked as the early pre-season #1 team.Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com soon revised their rankings to #3 and #4, respectively, after nearly all draft-eligible juniors decided to remain with the program instead of entering the NFL Draft. Going into the spring, USC ranked as the premier team in the Pac-10 Conference, taking advantage of a deep talent pool, including a number of talented running backs holding over from the previous season.
The Trojans' biggest question entering spring practices was who would take over the starting quarterback position from John David Booty. Junior Mark Sanchez entered spring practice as the acknowledged leader, having started three games the previous season due to an injury to Booty, winning two; however, Arkansas-transfer and former Razorback starter Mitch Mustain had the most college game experience, having started and won eight games for the 2006 Razorbacks team his freshman year while putting on an impressive performance on the scout team in the 2007 season during the NCAA-mandated waiting period. Both Sanchez (2005) and Mustain (2006) were considered the top quarterback in the nation coming out of their respective high school classes. The Trojans entered spring with a number of qualified running backs, but not quite as many as in 2007. Battling for the starting position were top returners Junior Stafon Johnson (673 yards) and sophomore Joe McKnight (540 yards); but challenging them would be redshirt sophomore C.J. Gable, who started five games as a freshman in 2006 and the first two of 2007 before a season-ending injury, junior Allen Bradford, as well as previously injured redshirt freshman Broderick Green and Marc Tyler. All six running backs earned Parade or USA Today All-American honors in high school, four earned both. Questions remained around the wide receivers, who had struggled with consistency the previous season; all starters returned, with special attention focused on Arkansas transfer Damian Williams, who caught 19 passes for the Razorbacks in 2006 but sat out 2007 along with fellow Arkansas teammate Mustain. The offensive line was hit hard by graduation, returning only one starter. The defense lost several important players to graduation, but the linebacker corp returned key players such as Brian Cushing Rey Maualuga and Clay Matthews.
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