The 2007 USC Trojans football team (variously "Trojans" or "USC") represented the University of Southern California during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, winning a share of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship and winning the 2008 Rose Bowl.Eddie Pells, USC gets all the bounces and the points in 49–17 win over Illinois , Associated Press, January 1, 2008, Accessed May 30, 2008. The team was coached by Pete Carroll and played its home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The team entered the season with high expectations. It was ranked No. 1 in all national pre-season polls, picked unanimously to win the Pac-10 Conference and expected to contend for a national championship.Stewart Mandel, Early look at '07, CNNSI.com, January 16, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.Mark Schlabach, Trojans, Wolverines top revised look at 2007, ESPN.com, January 22, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.USC consensus favorite to win BCS championship, ESPN.com, August 14, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.Stewart Mandel, Luke Winn, Cory McCartney and Austin Murphy, The Crystal Ball, SI.com, August 29, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.Eric Sondheimer, Gary Klein, Chris Foster, Pac-10 coaches come not to bury the Trojans but praise them, Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008. Those hopes were dealt a major blow when the Trojans lost to 41-point underdog Stanford in a mid-season game that was named one of the greatest upsets in a season that became defined by them.Biggest Upsets of 2007: #2 Stanford 24, No. 2 USC 23, SI.com, December 13, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008.Ted Miller, Looks good on paper, but Pac-10 midseason arrives with thud, ESPN.com, October 10, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.In the Year of the Upset, memorable moments were plentiful, ESPN.com, December 4, 2007, Accessed August 19, 2008. After their second loss, there were questions as to whether the team would be able to even win their own conference, let alone compete nationally.Matt Hayes, The Trojan dynasty is dead and buried , MSNBC/Sporting News, October 27, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008.Chris Dufresne, Loss exposes Trojans as team in transition, Los Angeles Times, October 28, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008. However, USC defied mid-season expectations and rallied, finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 3 in the Associated Press (AP) Poll.AP Top 25 – Final (Dec. 16), ESPN.com, Accessed July 7, 2008.USA Today Coaches Poll – Final (Dec. 16), ESPN.com, Accessed July 7, 2008. By the end of the season various sports journalists said the Trojans were playing the best football of anyone in the country.Gerry Ahern, USC back in title hunt?, Yahoo! Sports, January 1, 2008, Accessed June 10, 2018. Mark Schlabach, Trojans look like nation's best with no one left to play, ESPN.com, January 2, 2008, Accessed July 7, 2008.Art Spander, USC makes its claim as best team in land , CBSSports.com, January 1, 2008, Accessed July 7, 2008.Larry Dorman, U.S.C. Cuts the Profile of a Title Contender, The New York Times, January 2, 2008, Accessed July 7, 2008.Stewart Mandel, Readers' irritating poll obsession, Florida's question mark and more, SI.com, October 15, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008.
The Trojans were named national champion by Dunkel, became the first team to win (or share) six straight Pacific-10 titles, and were the first team in major college football to achieve six straight 11-win seasons.Bill Dwyre, Carroll gives no signals for a fade pattern, Los Angeles Times, December 2, 2007, Accessed July 6, 2008. After the season, ten USC players were selected in the 2008 NFL draft, with a school-record seven players selected in the first two rounds.Sam Farmer, USC is big as the day is Long, Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2008, Accessed April 28, 2008. Over the next four years, 25 more players from the 2007 USC Trojans football team were drafted into the NFL.
Before the season
Pre-season outlook
The Trojans ended the 2006 season with a victory in the 2007 Rose Bowl Game and a No. 4 ranking in both AP and Coaches polls, their fifth straight year winning the Pac-10 Championship and finishing in the top 4. During that 5-year period, the team won two national championships (2003, 2004).AP Top 25 – Final (Jan. 9), ESPN.com, Accessed July 7, 2008.USA Today Coaches Poll – Final (Jan. 9), ESPN.com, Accessed July 7, 2008. Prior to the 2007 season, the Trojans were ranked No. 1 in all national pre-season polls and were expected to challenge for the national championship.Mark Schlabach, Look for USC, West Virginia to play in '07 title game, ESPN.com, February 23, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.Stewart Mandel, Rights of spring, CNNSI.com, April 24, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. The team received a boost in the offseason when many draft-eligible juniors decided to return to school for their senior seasons; the holdover of talented veterans was a major factor in the Trojans being considered preeminent favorites for a national championship. As expected, USC was at the top of the first Coaches Poll of the season, released on August 3, 2007, with 45 of a possible 60 first-place votes; other teams receiving first-place votes were No. 2 Louisiana State University (LSU) with 4 votes, No. 3 Florida with 6 votes, and No. 5 Michigan with 2 votes.USC is No. 1, trailed by SEC foes LSU and Florida, ESPN.com, August 3, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. USC was also at the top of the first AP Poll, released on August 18, with 62 of 65 first-place votes, with No. 2 LSU receiving 2 votes and No. 3 West Virginia receiving one. In mid-August, all twelve experts polled by ESPN picked USC to win the season's BCS Championship Game. On August 29, 2007, the day before the season began, three of four experts at SI.com predicted USC would win the BCS Championship Game, attributing the decision to the Trojans defense.
In terms of overall talent, Carroll stated that the 2007 squad is the "most competitive team we've had" during his six-year tenure as coach.Bill Plaschke, Talent pool has never been deeper for Trojans, Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008. Senior starting quarterback John David Booty entered the season as a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.Gene Menez, Heisman Watch: Early fix, CNNSI.com, April 24, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. Booty, along with returning senior tackle Sam Baker, were ranked as two of the "Top 20 Players Heading Into 2007" by Sports Illustrated.Top 20 Players Heading Into 2007, CNNSI.com, April 24, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
The Trojans entered pre-season fall camp well stocked at the running back position, with 10 former high school Super Prep All-Americans, nine of whom were Prep Star all-Americans and seven were Parade all-Americans.Lee Jenkins, In U.S.C.'s Full Backfield, Student Body Right Has a New Meaning, The New York Times, August 26, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. The exceptional running back situation at USC was a major factor in Sports Illustrated forecasting the 2007 season as "The Year of the Running Back."Austin Murphy, The Year of the Running Back, Sports Illustrated, August 14, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. In judging USC as a pre-season favorite, particular emphasis was made on the defense. Considered to be one of the best defenses during the 2006 season, the Trojans entered 2007 with 10 returning starters and key backups. After a one-season experiment with the 3–4 defense formation, the defense returned to using the 4–3. The highlight of the defense was the linebacking corp, led by Brian Cushing, Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga.Arash Markazi, Postcard from camp: USC, SI.com, August 14, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.Barker Davis, The best defense ever assembled?, Washington Times, August 28, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
At the Pacific-10 Conference media day, the Trojans were the unanimous pre-season pick to win the conference; this was USC's fifth year in a row as the favorite to win the conference title, and only the third time in conference history that a team had been picked unanimously (the other two were USC in 2004 and 2005).Trojans top preseason poll for fifth straight year, Associated Press, July 26, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
Recruiting class
USC's stellar recruiting class was highlighted by the three highest ranked players from the "ESPN 150": No. 1 Joe McKnight (RB); No. 2 Chris Galippo (LB); and No. 3 Marc Tyler (RB).2007 ESPN 150, ESPN.com, Accessed June 4, 2018. The Trojans also landed Scout.com's National Player of the Year and top overall prospect for 2007, Everson Griffen.Griffen Headlines All-Americans , Scout.com, February 6, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. Other notable signees included Rivals.com's No. 1 WR Ronald Johnson and 5-star OL Kristofer O'Dowd. Despite recruiting substantially fewer players than other programs, USC signed the No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting class in various rankings, along with the Florida Gators, the winners of the 2006 National Championship.McKnight pushes USC to the top, Scout.com/ESPN.com, March 7, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.2007 Team Ranking , Rivals.com, February 12, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. In the pre-season, McKnight and Johnson were named two of the top-10 impact freshman for 2007.Mark Schlabach, Illinois' Benn, ND's Clausen impact newcomers for 2007, ESPN.com, June 22, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008.
The football program received 18 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 7, 2007, listed below:
Transfers
In May, the Trojans were joined by former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain, who had an 8–0 win–loss record as a starter during his freshman (and only) year with the team.Mustain will be eligible to play for USC in '08, Associated Press, May 21, 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. Mustain joined fellow Arkansas teammate and wide receiver Damian Williams, who transferred from Arkansas before the 2006 bowl season. Due to NCAA transfer rules all would be unable to compete until 2008, although they would be allowed on the scout team.
In early summer, Jordan Cameron, a former freshman basketball player from Brigham Young University, also transferred to USC to play football as a wide receiver.2007 USC Trojans Football Media Guide (Section 3), USC Athletic Department, July 2007, Accessed May 30, 2008. However, when USC refused to accept some of Cameron's credits from Brigham Young, he was forced to withdraw and attend Ventura College. He missed the football season but was given the option to try to rejoin the team in 2008. Even if he had stayed at USC, due to NCAA transfer rules he would have been ineligible to play in 2007.Scott Wolf, Trojans busy counting scholarships , San Bernardino Sun, July 26, 2007, Accessed July 26, 2007. Cameron ended up enrolling at USC a year later.