2002 USC Trojans football team

The 2002 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. USC ended the regular season ranked #5 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. Trojans quarterback Carson Palmer won the 2002 Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in America. During the bowl games, USC had a convincing 38–17 win over #3 Iowa in the Orange Bowl. USC became #4 in the final AP Poll and Coaches' Poll. Other notable players for the USC Trojans in 2002 include WR#2 Kareem Kelly, RB#21 Malaefou Mackenzie, QB#10 Matt Cassel, RB#4 Sultan McCullough, RB#34 Hershel Dennis (FR) RB#25 Justin Fargas, RB#39 Sunny Byrd, RB#34 Chad Pierson, S#43 Troy Polamalu, WR#44 Gregg Guenther, TE#86 Dominique Byrd, WR#83 Keary Colbert, WR#1 Mike Williams, WR#7 Sandy Fletcher, WR#82 Donald Hale, TE#88 Doyal Butler, and WR#87 Grant Mattos.

2002 USC Trojans football
National champion (Dunkel, Matthews, Sagarin) Pac-10 co-champion Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 38–17 vs. Iowa
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	11–2 (7–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Pete Carroll (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Norm Chow (2nd season)
Captains	Carson Palmer Troy Polamalu
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,000, grass)
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

2002 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Washington State $+		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 4 USC %+		7	–	1					11	–	2
Arizona State		5	–	3					8	–	6
Oregon State		4	–	4					8	–	5
UCLA		4	–	4					8	–	5
California		4	–	4					7	–	5
Washington		4	–	4					7	–	6
Oregon		3	–	5					7	–	6
Arizona		1	–	7					4	–	8
Stanford		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The team was named national champion by the Dunkel System, Matthews Grid Ratings, and Sagarin Ratings, all NCAA-designated major selectors,^[1]: 115 although none are claimed by the university.

Recruiting

USC was ranked highly (#12 by Scout, #13 by Rivals) for getting Darnell Bing, Manuel Wright, Winston Justice, Fred Matua, Tom Malone, Jason Mitchell, Hershel Dennis, Kyle Williams, Dominique Byrd, Dallas Sartz, Justin Wyatt, Chris McFoy, Mike Williams, LaJuan Ramsey, Oscar Lua and Brandon Hancock among others.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	5:00 p.m.	Auburn*	No. 20	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 24–17	63,269	[2]
September 14	12:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Colorado*	No. 17	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ABC	W 40–3	53,119	[2]
September 21	4:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Kansas State*	No. 11	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	TBS	L 20–27	49,276	[2]
September 28	3:30 p.m.	No. 23 Oregon State	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSN	W 22–0	56,417	[2]
October 5	4:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Washington State	No. 18	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	TBS	L 27–30 OT	36,861	[2]
October 12	3:30 p.m.	California	No. 20	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSN	W 30–28	63,113	[2]
October 19	12:30 p.m.	No. 22 Washington	No. 19	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 41–21	52,961	[2]
October 26	12:30 p.m.	at No. 14 Oregon	No. 15	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	ABC	W 44–33	56,754	[2]
November 9	5:00 p.m.	at Stanford	No. 10	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	ABC	W 49–17	44,950	[2]
November 16	4:00 p.m.	Arizona State	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	TBS	W 34–13	73,923	[2]
November 23	12:30 p.m.	at No. 25 UCLA	No. 7	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	W 52–21	91,084	[2]
November 30	5:00 p.m.	No. 7 Notre Dame*	No. 6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	ABC	W 44–13	91,432	[2]
January 2, 2003	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Iowa*	No. 5	Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl)	ABC	W 38–17	75,971	[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Roster

2002 USC Trojans football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 31 Will Buchanon Fr TE 88 Doyal Butler Jr RB 39 Sunny Byrd So WR 19 Greig Carlson Fr TE 86 Dominique Byrd Fr QB 10 Matt Cassel So WR 83 Keary Colbert Jr RB 25 Justin Fargas Sr TE 44 Gregg Guenther Fr TE 81 Alex Holmes Jr C 62 Norm Katnik Jr WR 2 Kareem Kelly Sr RB 37 David Kirtman Fr QB 11 Matt Leinart Fr FB 21 Malaefou MacKenzie Sr RB 4 Sultan McCullough Sr QB 3 Carson Palmer Sr OT 77 Jacob Rogers Jr G 78 Lenny Vandermade So RB 35 Lee Webb So WR 1 Mike Williams Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 8 Marcell Allmond Jr LB 59 Collin Ashton Fr DT 84 Shaun Cody Fr LB 6 Matt Grootegoed So DB 27 Jason Leach So DT 99 Mike Patterson So S 43 Troy Polamalu Sr DT 93 Bernard Riley Sr LB 42 Dallas Sartz Fr DE 94 Kenechi Udeze So CB 24 Justin Wyatt Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 16 Ryan Killeen Fr P 14 Tom Malone Fr	Head coach Pete Carroll Coordinators/assistant coaches Norm Chow – offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin – wide receivers Ryan Nielsen – volunteer assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2004-05-13

Game summaries

Auburn

Auburn at No. 20 USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	7	0	3	17
• No. 20 Trojans	7	7	3	7	24

• Date: September 2
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Scoring summary

1	12:05	USC	Kareem Kelly 15-yard pass from Carson Palmer (David Davis kick)	USC 7-0
1	8:31	AUB	Cadillac Williams 23-yard run (Damon Duval kick)	Tied 7-7
2	12:04	USC	Sultan McCullough 3-yard run (David Davis kick)	USC 14-7
2	0:11	AUB	Ronnie Brown 1-yard run (Damon Duval kick)	Tied 14-14
3	7:05	USC	David Davis 37-yard field goal	USC 17-14
4	14:51	AUB	Damon Duval 39-yard field goal	Tied 17-17
4	1:26	USC	Carson Palmer 1-yard run (David Davis kick)	USC 24-17

See also: 2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team

at No. 18 Colorado

No. 17 USC at No. 18 Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 17 Trojans	14	6	0	20	40
No. 18 Buffaloes	0	0	3	0	3

• Date: September 14
• Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
• Game start: 12:30 p.m. PST
• Game attendance: 53,119
• Television network: ABC

Scoring summary

1	9:56	USC	Malaefou MacKenzie 32-yard pass from Carson Palmer (David Davis kick)	USC 7-0
1	2:46	USC	Malaefou MacKenzie 14-yard run (David Davis kick)	USC 14-0
2	2:08	USC	Sultan McCullough 62-yard run (kick failed)	USC 20-0
3	2:51	COL	Patrick Brougham 42-yard field goal	USC 20-3
4	10:24	USC	Carson Palmer 1-yard run (David Davis kick)	USC 27-3
4	8:47	USC	Mike Ross recovered blocked punt in end zone (kick failed)	USC 33-3
4	2:47	USC	Darryl Poston 4-yard run (David Davis kick)	USC 40-3

See also: 2002 Colorado Buffaloes football team

at No. 25 Kansas State

No. 11 USC at No. 25 Kansas State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Trojans	0	6	0	14	20
• No. 25 Wildcats	0	12	7	8	27

• Date: September 21
• Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
• Referee: John Laurie
• TV announcers (TBS): Ron Thulin, Charles Davis, Craig Sager, and Erin Andrews

Scoring summary

2	5:43	KSU	Jared Brite 35-yard field goal	KSU 3–0
2	3:46	KSU	Ell Roberson 1-yard fun (Brite kick)	KSU 10–0
2	0:32	USC	Mike Patterson 3-yard fumble return (kick blocked)	KSU 10–6
2	0:32	KSU	Terence Newman 98-yard PAT return	KSU 12–6
3	3:55	KSU	Darren Sproles 10-yard fun (Brite kick)	KSU 19–6
4	14:55	KSU	James Terry 10-yard pass from Ell Roberson (Roberson run)	KSU 27–6
4	10:21	USC	Keary Colbert 9-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	KSU 27–13
4	6:31	USC	Sultan McCullough 25-yard run (Killeen kick)	KSU 27–20

See also: 2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team

^[3]

Statistics	USC	KSU
First downs	16	19
Total yards	276	347
Rushing yards	90	188
Passing yards	186	159
Turnovers	1	5
Time of possession	29:37	30:23

No. 23 Oregon State

No. 23 Oregon State at No. 18 USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Beavers	0	0	0	0	0
• No. 18 Trojans	0	13	6	3	22

• Date: September 28
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Scoring summary

2	14:50	USC	Ryan Killeen 43-yard field goal	USC 3-0
2	13:04	USC	Ryan Killeen 42-yard field goal	USC 6-0
2	0:10	USC	Mike Williams 11-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	USC 13-0
3	4:45	USC	Mike Williams 16-yard pass from Carson Palmer (pass failed)	USC 19-0
4	10:34	USC	Ryan Killeen 32-yard field goal	USC 22-0

See also: 2002 Oregon State Beavers football team

at No. 17 Washington State

No. 18 USC at No. 17 Washington State

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 18 Trojans	7	0	7	13	0	27
• No. 17 Cougars	10	0	7	10	3	30

• Date: October 5
• Location: Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington

See also: 2002 Washington State Cougars football team

California

California at No. 20 USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Bears	14	7	0	7	28
• No. 20 Trojans	3	14	7	6	30

• Date: October 12
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

Scoring summary

1	10:06	CAL	Joe Igber 3-yard run (Mark Jensen kick)	CAL 7-0
1	6:04	USC	Ryan Killeen 34-yard field goal	CAL 7-3
1	2:24	CAL	Terrell Williams 1-yard run (Mark Jensen kick)	CAL 14-3
2	11:42	CAL	Jonathan Makonnen 15-yard pass from Kyle Boller (Mark Jensen kick)	CAL 21-3
2	5:29	USC	Kareem Kelly 6-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	CAL 21-10
2	1:06	USC	Mike Williams 21-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	CAL 21-17
3	8:38	USC	Sultan McCullough 2-yard run (Ryan Killeen kick)	USC 24-21
4	9:59	USC	Ryan Killeen 32-yard field goal	USC 27-21
4	1:41	USC	Ryan Killeen 18-yard field goal	USC 30-21
4	0:35	CAL	Tom Swoboda 5-yard pass from Kyle Boller (Mark Jensen kick)	USC 30-28

See also: 2002 California Golden Bears football team

No. 22 Washington

#22/17 Washington at #19/20 USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Huskies	7	0	0	14	21
• No. 19 Trojans	7	10	17	7	41

• Date: October 19
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Dan Fouts & Todd Harris

Scoring summary

1	2:47	USC	Mike Williams 43-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	USC 7-0
1	0:04	WASH	Paul Arnold 5-yard pass from Cody Pickett (John Anderson kick)	Tied 7-7
2	10:53	USC	Keary Colbert 61-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	USC 14-7
2	6:58	USC	Ryan Killeen 30-yard field goal	USC 17-7
3	9:34	USC	Mike Williams 14-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	USC 24-7
3	6:56	USC	Mike Williams 11-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick)	USC 31-7
3	4:56	USC	Ryan Killeen 33-yard field goal	USC 34-7
4	13:30	WASH	Kevin Ware 2-yard pass from Cody Pickett (John Anderson kick)	USC 34-14
4	10:22	WASH	Reggie Williams 27-yard pass from Cody Pickett (John Anderson kick)	USC 34-21
4	3:23	USC	Justin Fargas 13-yard run (Ryan Killeen kick)	USC 41-21

See also: 2002 Washington Huskies football team

at No. 14 Oregon

No. 15 USC at No. 14 Oregon

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 15 Trojans	14	0	20	10	44
No. 14 Ducks	13	6	0	14	33

• Date: October 26
• Location: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon
• Game attendance: 56,754

See also: 2002 Oregon Ducks football team

at Stanford

No. 10 USC at Stanford

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 10 Trojans	14	7	14	14	49
Cardinal	7	3	0	7	17

• Date: October 19
• Location: Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, California
• Game attendance: 44,950

See also: 2002 Stanford Cardinal football team and Stanford–USC football rivalry

Arizona State

Arizona State at No. 8 USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Sun Devils	3	7	3	0	13
• No. 8 Trojans	10	10	0	14	34

• Date: November 16
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

See also: 2002 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

^[4]

at No. 25 UCLA

No. 7 USC at No. 25 UCLA

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 7 Trojans	21	7	14	10	52
No. 25 Bruins	0	7	0	14	21

• Date: November 23
• Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena
• Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
• Elapsed time: 3:26
• Game attendance: 91,084
• Television network: ABC

       

Scoring summary

1	14:53	USC	Kelly 34-yard passing touchdown from Palmer (Killeen kick)	USC 7–0
	10:30	USC	Colbert 51-yard passing touchdown from Palmer (Kileen kick)	USC 14–0
	6:04	USC	Fargas 1-yard run (Killeen kick)	USC 21–0
2	11:40	UCLA	White 7-yard run (Fikse kick)	USC 21–7
	4:20	USC	MacKenzie 2-yard passing touchdown from Palmer (Killeen kick)	USC 28–7
3	13:45	USC	Colbert34-yard run (Killeen kick)	USC 35–7
	2:05	USC	Guenther Jr. 3-yard pass from Palmer (Killeen kick)	USC 42–7
4	14:55	USC	Killeen 27-yard field goal	USC 45–7
	9:30	USC	Dennis 38-yard run (Killeen kick)	USC 52–7
	2:47	UCLA	White Jr. 10-yard passing touchdown from Moore (Fikse kick)	USC 52–14
	0:59	UCLA	Lewis 14-yard passing touchdown from Sciarra (Fikse kick)	USC 52–21

• Carson Palmer 19/32, 254 Yds, 4 TD
• Kareem Kelly 4 Rec, 94 Yds, 1 TD

^[5]

No. 7 Notre Dame

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Fighting Irish	6	7	0	0	13
• No. 6 Trojans	0	17	13	14	44

• Date: November 30
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
• Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Elapsed time: 3:26
• Game attendance: 91,432
• Game weather: Cloudy; 60 °F (16 °C); wind variable
• Referee: Chuck McFerrin
• Television network: ABC

       

Scoring summary

1	4:10	ND	Setta 34-yard field goal	ND 3–0
	3:46	ND	Setta 32-yard field goal	ND 6–0
2	10:49	USC	Williams 6-yard pass from Palmer (Killeen kick)	USC 7–6
	3:34	USC	Killeen 22-yard field goal	USC 10–6
	1:07	ND	Pierre-Antoine recovered blocked punt in end zone (Setta kick)	ND 13–10
	:05	USC	Williams 19-yard pass from Palmer (Killeen kick)	USC 17–13
3	12:01	USC	MacKenzie 15-yard pass from Palmer (Killeen kick)	USC 24–13
	6:36	USC	Killeen 27-yard field goal	USC 27–13
	2:15	USC	Killeen 29-yard field goal	USC 30–13
4	11:58	USC	McCullough 11-yard run (Killeen kick)	USC 37–13
	7:23	USC	MacKenzie 10-yard pass from Palmer (Killeen kick)	USC 44–13

See also: 2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

• Carson Palmer 32/46, 425 Yds
• Justin Fargas 20 Rush, 120 Yds
• Mike Williams 10 Rec, 169 Yds

^{[6] [7]}

vs. No. 3 Iowa (Orange Bowl)

#3/5 Iowa Hawkeyes at #5/4 USC Trojans

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Hawkeyes	10	0	0	7	17
• No. 5 Trojans	7	3	14	14	38

• Date: January 2
• Location: Pro Player Stadium
• Game attendance: 75,971^[8]
• TV announcers (ABC): Tim Brant, Ed Cunningham

Scoring summary

1	14:43	IOWA	C.J. Jones 100-yard kickoff return	IOWA 7-0
1	12:46	USC	Justin Fargas 4-yard run	TIED 7-7
1	6:26	IOWA	Nate Kaeding 35-yard field goal	IOWA 10-7
2	1:12	USC	Ryan Killeen 35-yard field goal	TIED 10-10
3	10:14	USC	Mike Williams 18-yard pass from Carson Palmer	USC 17-10
3	4:58	USC	Justin Fargas 50-yard run	USC 24-10
4	14:25	USC	Sultan McCullough 5-yard run	USC 31-10
4	2:36	USC	Sunny Byrd 6-yard run	USC 38-10
4	0:34	IOWA	Maurice Brown 18-yard pass from Brad Banks	USC 38-17

Main article: 2003 Orange Bowl

See also: 2002 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

USC played third ranked Iowa in the Orange Bowl. The matchup featured the top two finalists for that season's Heisman Trophy; Trophy winner Carson Palmer and runner up Brad Banks.^[9] Banks was the quarterback for the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes had only lost one game all year and it was to their rival Iowa State. Iowa opened the play up with a bang and set an Orange Bowl record when C.J. Jones returned the opening kickoff of the game 100 yards for a touchdown. USC responded with a touchdown run on from running back Justin Fargas. Iowa regained the lead with a field goal from Nate Kaeding. USC would kick a field goal in the second quarter to even the score 10-10 at the half. USC came out in the second half and separated themselves from Iowa scoring twice in the third quarter to take a 24-10 lead. The first score was a pass from Palmer to Mike Williams and the second was another run from Fargas. USC ended the third quarter with the ball and scored quickly in the fourth quarter giving them a 31-10 lead. The lead grew when Iowa continued to be unable to do anything with the ball and USC took advantage on a rushing touchdown from fan favorite Sunny Byrd to make the score 38-10. Iowa would score off a touchdown pass from Banks however it was too late. USC would end up winning 38-17.

The Trojans dominated time of possession in the game, having control of the ball for 38:06 seconds. This allowed for the Trojans defense to rest while keeping the Iowa defense out on the field and making them tired. USC's defense did not give up a touchdown to Iowa until the fourth quarter of the game and forced Banks to throw his first interception since October 19.^[10]

Statistics	IOWA	USC
First downs	18	30
Total yards	323	550
Rushing yards	119	247
Passing yards	204	303
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	21:54	38:06

2002 team players in the NFL

• Marcell Allmond
• Kevin Arbet
• Collin Ashton
• Darnell Bing
• William Buchanon
• Dominique Byrd
• Matt Cassel
• Shaun Cody
• Keary Colbert
• Justin Fargas
• Matt Grootegoed
• Gregg Guenther
• Alex Holmes
• Norm Katnik
• Kareem Kelly
• Ryan Killeen
• David Kirtman
• Winston Justice
• Jason Leach
• Matt Leinart
• Oscar Lua
• Malaefou MacKenzie
• Tom Malone
• Grant Mattos
• Fred Matua
• Chris McFoy
• Sultan McCullough
• Jason Mitchell
• Carson Palmer
• Mike Patterson
• Troy Polamalu
• LaJuan Ramsey
• Bernard Riley
• Jacob Rogers
• Frostee Rucker
• Dallas Sartz
• Lofa Tatupu
• Kenechi Udeze
• Lenny Vandermade
• John Walker
• Lee Webb
• Kyle Williams
• Mike Williams
• Manuel Wright
• Justin Wyatt