UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS • HER 103 • LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90089-0601 TELEPHONE: (213) 740-8480 FAX: (213) 740-7584 SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE FOR RELEASE: Aug. 2, 2005 TIM TESSALONE, DIRECTOR 2005 SCHEDULE 2005 USC FOOTBALL NOTES DATE OPPONENT TIME Sept. 3 at Hawaii 1 p.m. (ESPN2) PRE-SEASON RANKINGS… Sept. 17 Arkansas 7:15 p.m. (FSN) The two-time defending national champion 2005 Trojans are the clear favorite to win the Sept. 24 at Oregon 4 p.m. (ABC) national title again, according to various pre-season prognosticators. Here’s a look: Oct. 1 at Arizona State TBA Oct. 8 Arizona TBA National Pacific-10 Oct. 15 at Notre Dame 2:30 p.m. (NBC) Athlon 1st 1st Oct. 22 at Washington TBA The Sporting News 1st 1st Oct. 29 Washington State 12:30 p.m. (ABC) Street & Smith’s 1st 1st Nov. 5 Stanford TBA Phil Steele’s 1st 1st Nov. 12 at California TBA Lindy’s 1st 1st Nov. 19 Fresno State 7:15 p.m. (FSN) Blue Ribbon 1st 1st Dec. 3 UCLA 1:30 p.m. (ABC) Gold Sheet 1st 1st 2004 RESULTS …AND PRE-SEASON HONORS st (13-0 overall, 8-0 for 1 place in Pac-10) QB Matt Leinart (Playboy, Athlon, The Sporting News, Street & Smith’s, Phil Steele’s, Lindy’s, 24 vs. Virginia Tech 13 Blue Ribbon), TB Reggie Bush (Playboy, Athlon, The Sporting News, Street & Smith’s, Phil (at Landover, Md.) Steele’s, Lindy’s, Blue Ribbon), S Darnell Bing (The Sporting News, Street & Smith’s, Phil 49 Colorado State 0 Steele’s), P Tom Malone (Playboy, Phil Steele’s) and WR Dwayne Jarrett (Athlon) have been 42 at BYU 10 named to various pre-season All-American first teams. TB LenDale White was a pre- 31 at Stanford 28 season All-American third teamer by several media outlets. Besides the above mentioned, 23 California 17 the following Trojans were selected to various pre-season All-Pac-10 first teams: OT Sam 45 Arizona State 7 Baker, CB Justin Wyatt, OG Fred Matua, DE Lawrence Jackson, WR Steve Smith, OT 38 Washington 0 Winston Justice and S Scott Ware. 42 at Washington State 12 28 at Oregon State 20 49 Arizona 9 WATCH LISTS 41 Notre Dame 10 The following Trojans have made the official “Watch Lists” for national 2005 post-season 29 at UCLA 24 awards, to date: 55 vs. Oklahoma 19 (Orange Bowl) QB Matt Leinart Maxwell Award (top player) S Darnell Bing Thorpe Award (top defensive back) RETURNING STARTERS (14) Lott Trophy (top defensive impact player) Bronko Nagurski Trophy (top defensive player) OFFENSE (8) Bednarik Award (top defensive player) QB Matt Leinart OT Sam Baker TB Reggie Bush Maxwell Award (top player) TB LenDale White OG Fred Matua TB LenDale White Maxwell Award (top player) WR Steve Smith C Ryan Kalil WR Dwayne Jarrett Maxwell Award (top player) WR Dwayne Jarrett OT Taitusi Lutui WR Steve Smith Maxwell Award (top player) C Ryan Kalil Rimington Trophy (top center) DEFENSE (5) S Darnell Bing DE Frostee Rucker SCHEDULE LB Dallas Sartz CB Justin Wyatt DE Lawrence Jackson USC will be challenged by a schedule that includes 6 opponents who played in bowls last season, with 4 who won at least 8 games. USC opens its 2005 slate at Hawaii on Labor Day SPECIAL TEAMS (1) weekend, then has a bye before hosting Arkansas (the schools’ first meeting since 1974) in P Tom Malone the Coliseum, where Troy has won its past 21 games (5 shy of the Pac-10 record). The Trojans then begin Pac-10 action by playing 4 of their next 5 games on the road, with a home OTHERS RETURNING WITH CAREER STARTS OT Winston Justice (23) contest versus Arizona sandwiched in the middle of trips to Oregon, Arizona State, intersec- TB Hershel Dennis (13) tional rival Notre Dame and Washington. USC then closes its regular season with 4 of its WR Chris McFoy (10) last 5 games at home (Troy has won a league record 15 consecutive Pac-10 home games) FB Brandon Hancock (9) by hosting Washington State for Homecoming and Stanford before going to California and TE Dominique Byrd (6) then coming home for non-conference foe Fresno State (the Bulldogs beat Troy in the 1992 FB David Kirtman (5) OG Jeff Byers (4) Freedom Bowl in the only other meeting) and, after a bye, crosstown rival UCLA. This S Scott Ware (3) schedule should help USC once again be among college football’s most popular draws. WR William Buchanon (3) Last season, the Trojans set a Pac-10 record for home attendance average (85,229), as TB Reggie Bush (2) well as school marks for total home attendance, overall attendance average and total overall LB Collin Ashton (2) attendance. QUOTING PETE CARROLL RETURNING TROJANS Fourteen starters (8 on offense, 5 on defense, plus the punter) return in 2005. In all, 76 THE 2005 TROJANS squadmen are back from a year ago, including 58 who saw playing time (49 were lettermen and 28 were on USC’s season-ending 2-deep). On the roster are 24 Trojans who have “It’s an exciting challenge to be the re- started at least once in their career. Joining them will be 19 new scholarship players— turning national champion and we look including 3 who enrolled at USC this past spring and participated in spring practice—who forward to dealing with everything that comprise what some recruiting observers have ranked as the nation’s top class for the third goes with that. We’ll handle it well. Our approach will be the same as it always is. year in a row. Our goal always is to win the Pac-10 and win the Rose Bowl. WIN STREAKS USC has the longest current Pac-10 win streaks for overall games (22), home games (a “We’re really proud of our recent accom- school-record 21, with 4 shuouts), Pac-10 home games (a school- and Pac-10-record 15), plishments. But we view those now as Pac-10 games (15) and road games (9). Troy’s 22-game winning streak is the longest things in the past. All indications are that current streak in the nation and is USC’s longest since a school- and Pac-10-record 25 we have been able to move forward. Our consecutive from 1931 to 1933. The 21-game home winning streak is approaching the Pac- focus is on the 2005 season. 10 mark of 26 by California, 1919-23. The 15-game Pac-10 win streak is USC’s longest “Our primary objective will be to recap- since a school-record 19 consecutive in 1987-89 (the Pac-10 mark is 22 by Cal, 1947-50). ture the intensity and competitive atmo- The 9-game road winning streak (which does not include 3 neutral site victories during that sphere that we’ve had the past few years span) is the Trojans’ longest since a school-record 12 in a row in 1978-80 (which did not here. If our returning players and the include 2 neutral site wins). group of outstanding new players we have coming in can do that, then we have a HIGH RANKING chance to have another good season. USC has been ranked in the AP Top 10 for its past 31 games, its longest string since 34 in a row in 1978-80. The Trojans have been in the AP Top 5 in 33 of the last 35 polls (not “We have grown comfortable with being including pre-season polls). USC has been AP’s No. 1 team in the last 17 polls (not in this environment, with all this attention on us. We’ve been there. We went including pre-season polls), tying a school and Pac-10 record and also the third longest through the whole season last year as the streak in AP history (the record is 20 by Miami from 2001 to 2002, followed by Notre Dame’s nation’s No. 1 team. We deal with that kind 19 from 1988 to 1989). In its history, USC has held the AP No. 1 spot (again, not including of thing as we deal with everything, by pre-season polls) for 62 weeks; only 4 other schools have done so more often (Notre going about our business in a normal fash- Dame’s 89, Oklahoma’s 86, Ohio State’s 67 and Nebraska’s 65). ion. We aren’t concerned with the hype and the future. We’ll just try to prove our RECORD WHEN NO. 1 worth week to week. I love that kind of USC has a 49-4-2 (.909) record in games when it is ranked No. 1 by AP. When a No. 1- challenge. We have to see if we can do it. ranked Trojan team faced a ranked opponent, it has gone 17-2-1 (.875), with the losses “We don’t know yet how we are going to versus Oklahoma in 1963 and Alabama in 1977 and the tie with Oklahoma in 1973. When do. But I do know how we are going to a No. 1 USC squad played an unranked opponent, it went 32-2-1 (.929), with the losses at attack the challenges. Knowing that, I like Oregon State in 1967 and versus Arizona in 1981 and the tie with Stanford in 1979. our chances of being a really good team again this year. WIRE-TO-WIRE NO. 1 In 2004, USC became only the second team ever to be ranked No.