What were the five best USC teams ever/in your lifetime?

[saturdaysarebetter]

What were the five best USC teams ever/in your lifetime?

Some great ones: 1972, 1978, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008…..

Your top five?

 

[Java]

Overall season or last game of the season?  Like how they were playing as it ended?

[saturdaysarebetter]

Overall season.

[Java]

Then I like your list except would sub 1976 for 2005

 

The two best teams USC has put on the field in my lifetime on Jan 1 or whatever were 1972 and 2002

[saturdaysarebetter]

I didn’t make a list. I just threw some years out there to consider.

[Butkus51]

Bruddah Saturday fun topic, Shaka.  I’ll take a stab; thought long and hard; but, I came up with 6 teams.   It was close between 1972 vs 2005. But, in the end, I picked 1972 as #1; dat was a great, powerful team.  But, da 2005 team was great as well, one of the best O of all time. They just loss a very close game vs Texas for the NC.  I still think USC was da better team.  As you can see, overall I favored the C. PC teams.  C. PC teams had more prolific O and his D were just as good as C. McKay’s teams.

Let the debate begin…  Cheers

1.  1972, 12-0, NC

2.  2005, 12-1, 2nd NC, runner up

3.  2004, 13-0, NC

4. 2008, 12-1, #2 final national rankings.  This was a NC type team, but their big upset loss to Oregon St 21-27 killed their chance for the NC.

5.  1974, 10-1-1, NC

6.  1978, 12-1, NC

7.  Must add, per SCGator.  1979, 11-0-1  Missed dis great team.  Thanxs SCGator for the pick, agree with you.  The 21-21 tie with Stanford all but killed the NC for USC.  If they had pulled out the win = 12-0 and dual NC with Bama 12-0.  Although 2004 went undefeated, they did not dominate opponents.  2004 had a lot of close games, with opponents scoring  points on C.PC D.  2005 dominated teams, scoring 50+ pts pg and held teams with low scoring.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Butkus51.
• This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Butkus51.
• This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Butkus51.

[SC Gator]

In order

1972.    Never challenged

2004    13-0, dominated all its best opponents.

1962     Different era (unlimited substitution was not yet a thing) but you never forget your first.

2005    Tons of talent, three epic games (ND, Fresno State, and Texas)

1979     Lots of talent, one inexplicably bad half of football v. Stanford or this would be in top 2.

Just missed the cut

2008   Another team with one bad half of football that cost a natty.

2002   Two early losses but a long string of impressive wins to close out the season.  Would have beaten anyone in a tournament in January.  Reviewing               the schedule I noticed that every team SC played that year was ranked in the Top 20 at the time of the game.  Starting in November, they beat                     five Top 10 teams by 32, 21, 31, 31, and 21.

 

 

 

• This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by SC Gator.

[the909]

Teams that I saw play:

1976 – First year I watched college football, made me fall in love with the Trojans
2004 – Officially broke a dry spell & return to true SC greatness. 03 we were robbed but 04 Bush was featured and the rest was history
1988 – Not the best but man I loved Rodney Peete. I was a sophomore and got to see several games from the student seats, so def influenced me lol
1979 – Charles White was incredible
2005 – Leinart, Bush, White and company a lot of fun to watch

These were just teams I was lucky enough to see play and truly enjoyed. Not the best of my viewing years, just my favorite. I lived in Kansas City until 1980, so I also enjoyed the Cornhuskers. But that 76 USC team switched my loyalties, although I enjoyed Rozier and Frazier in the 90’s.

[SC Gator]

Where do you rank the 62 team, Butkus?  You’re old enough to have watched it play.

 

[Butkus51]

Yep dat was a very good team.  Heck N Champs.   C. McKay played, rotated 2 QB’s all season and worked out well.  All PAC, QB’s Pete Beathard and Bill Nelsen, HM All PAC had good passing stats.  Hal Bedsole, AA is one of the All Time Best at USC.  RB, Willie Brown was All PAC and very good RB.  The D was lead by AA LB, Damon Bame, DE Marv Marinovich, NG Pete Lubisich.

In dis OP, we had to pick only 5 very best teams.  Sure, 1962 has to be top 10 all time best USC team.  Shoot, you put them way up there at #3, kool…  Cheers

• This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Butkus51.

[SC Gator]

One of the reasons McKay rotated QBs in 62 was that the substitution rules required a lot of two-way players.  SC had three units — Red, Gold, and Green.  Gold played both ways — Beathard was a safety on defense, Willie Brown was a cornerback, Damon Bame played guard on offense.  Red played offense only.  Nelsen was the Red QB.  Green played defense only.  You basically played two guys at every position every game.

[Note: I may have Red and Gold mixed up; it has been a while.]

 

[the909]

Bedsole w/ an insane 25 yrds/ catch; 19.4 in ’61 wasn’t shabby either.

[BobLinMN-3]

Both QBs went to the NFL.

[BobLinMN-3]

Dominate? 1972 team never trailed at the half. Was ranked #1 from beginning of the season to the end. Destroyed Woody Hayes in the RB.

[LA Duck]

Interesting observation:

All of USC’s best teams were before 2009.

All of Oregon’s best teams were after 2009.

(Yes, realizing that “best” is completely subjective here, and there’s no comparison between one best team winning MNCs and the other one just being in the running for championships.)

 

[SC Gator]

What if we changed the question to:

What were your school’s five best national championship teams that you got to see play?  That would spare our Westwood friends a lot of agonizing.

 

[SC Gator]

Not a coincidence.

What happened in or within two weeks after 2009?

Chip Kelly took over at Oregon.

Pete Carroll left SC for the NFL.

Complete changing of the guard.

 

[Butkus51]

Good point LADuck.  Yep USC FB has been mediocre since C.LR left and far too long.  Hopefully, AD Cohen, GM Bowden, C.LR and the NIL collectives keep up the 2025 momentum.  I like what’s going on with USC FB program.  Not sure about another NC, but making the CFP is there to be had…  Cheers

[BobLinMN-3]

Fraud says none.

[Author]

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