1978 & 2003 National Championship teams in common

1. talented roster (78 : Charles White, Marcus Allen, Anthony Munoz, Brad Budde, Keith Van Horne, Ronnie Lott, Roy Foster, Lynn Cain, Kevin Williams, Dennis Smith, Dennis Johnson)
2. enthusiastic third-year coach (78 : John Robinson, 03 : Pete Carroll)
3. untested left-handed quarterback (78 : Paul McDonald, 03 : Matt Leinart)
4. early road victory over an SEC team. (78 : over then-No.1 Alabama, 03 : over then-No.6 Auburn)
5. win over Michigan in Rose Bowl game
6. a share of the national title with an SEC team. (78 : with Alabama, 03 : with LSU)
7. early one loss (78 : to Arizona State, 03 : to California)
8. same season record : 12-1

Jersey numbers producing three or more first-team All-Americans

-- at the end of season 2003;
3 : Curtis Conway, Keyshawn Johnson, Carson Palmer
14 : Aaron Rosenberg, Artimus Parker, Tom Malone
16 : Brice Tayor, Frank Gifford, Paul McDonald, Rodney Peete
17 : Don Williams, Erny Pinckert, Mike Battle
28 : Mort Kaer, Clarence Davis, Anthony Davis
42 : Pat Cannamela, Ricky Bell, Ronnie Lott, Erik Affholter
66 : Bill Bain, Pat Howell, Bruce Matthews, Dave Cadigan
71 : John Ferraro, Brad Budde, Tony Boselli
77 : Ron Yary, Sid Smith, Pete Adams, Jacob Rogers
78 : Grenny Lansdell, Marv Montgomery, Steve Riley, George Achica
83 : Jimmy Gunn, Willie Hall, Richard Wood
89 : Nate Shaw, Charles Young, Jim Obradovich

USC's Great Teams(other than nat'l championship teams)

2002 USC, 11-2
It's possible that the Trojans played the toughest schedule in the history of college football and yet came out of it with a Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer and an BCS Orange Bowl victory. Of the 13 teams the 2002 Trojans played, eleven played in bowl games. No.18 Colorado, No.25 Kansas State, No.23 Oregon State, No.17 Washington State, No.22 Washington, No.14 Oregon, No.25 UCLA, No.7 Notre Dame, and No.3 Iowa were among USC's opponents. The losses came on the road to Kansas State and Washington State in overtime early, and then the run came culminating in a three game stretch that saw a 52-21 win over UCLA, and 44-13 win over Notre Dame and a 38-17 win over Iowa.

1969 USC, 10-0-1
The team didn't blow many teams out, but it was good enough to beat five teams that finished with winning records and ended the season unbeaten and Rose Bowl champions. Dubbed the Cardiac Kids because of their ability to stink for three quarters only to blow up in the end, the Trojans beat Stanford on a field goal with no time left, gave UCLA its only loss of the season, and handed Nebraska one of its only two losses on the year.

1976 USC, 11-1
New head coach John Robinson had some pretty big shoes to fill in his first season taking over for John McKay. The season didn't start out well as the Trojans were blasted 46-25 by Missouri. The team recovered by beating Oregon 53-0, Purdue 31-13 and Iowa 55-0. The team found its stride by the end of the year beating UCLA, Notre Dame and Michigan to finish the year 11-1. The star was running back Ricky Bell running for 1,957 yards.

1979 USC, 11-0-1
The 1979 Trojans tied Stanford 17-17 and blasted everyone else up until the Rose Bowl. Anthony Munoz and Brad Budde opened holes for Charles White in his landslide Heisman season. The secondary featured Ronnie Lott and Dennis Smith at safety. The season ended with a bang beating 11-0 Ohio State 17-16 in the Rose Bowl.

Wild Bunch I
In 1969, USC had the best defensive line in America. Led by Al Cowlings, (yes, that Al Cowlings), the Trojans boasted three players who would turn out to be All-Americans in Cowlings, Jimmy Gunn, and in 1970, Charlie Weaver. A fourth player, Tody Smith, was named to the All-Conference team in 1969 while Bubba Scott was the team's most improved player. Not only was this group a rock against the run, it was amazing at getting to the quarterback highlighted by a twelve sack performance of UCLA quarterback Dennis Dummit in a 14-12 win. This great line was named by Cowlings as The Wild Bunch after the William Holden movie at the time. "It was the most talented defensive lined I'd ever seen in college football," said then-head coach John McKay.

Wild Bunch II
The 2003 version, Wild Bunch II, might turn out to be even better. There's All-American Kenechi Udeze, the former 360-pound high school prospect that turned into a sculpted rock. There's Mike Patterson, the bite-sized bowling ball that always seems to get into the backfield. There's Shaun Cody, the superstar recruit that's just now getting over a torn up knee. There's Omar Nazel, a converted linebacker that just won't stop talking. And then there are the backups which look quicker than all the starters. There's the veteran head coach, Pete Carroll, that has seen it all in the pros and in college. And finally, there's the defensive line coach, Ed Orgeron, who's ten-times more intense than any player on the field, and who clearly appears to be insane when he's riling up his players.

College Football Hall of Famers

PAC-10's top 15 career rushers

PLAYER	SCHOOL	YEAR	CAR	YDS	AVG
Charles White Marcus Allen Darrin Nelson Napoleon Kaufman Trung Canidate Gaston Green Anthony Davis Ricky Bell Rueben Mayes Ontiwaun Carter O.J. Simpson Ken Simonton Russell White Derek Loville J.J. Redmond	USC USC Stanford Washington Arizona UCLA USC USC Washington State Arizona USC Oregon State California Oregon Arizona State	1976-79 1978-81 1977-81 1991-94 1996-99 1984-87 1972-74 1973-76 1982-85 1991-94 1967-68 1998- 1990-92 1986-89 1996-99	1,147 932 730 736 604 708 784 710 636 786 674 780 663 811 612	6,245 4,810 4,169 4,106 3,824 3,731 3,724 3,689 3,519 3,457 3,423 3,408 3,367 3,296 3,223	5.4 5.2 5.7 5.6 6.3 5.3 4.8 5.2 5.5 4.4 5.1 4.4 5.1 4.0 5.3

Copyright(c) 2001 Myungsoo Kim. All Rights Reserved.