2000 USC Trojans football team

2000 USC Trojans football
2000 USC Trojans football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	5–7 (2–6 Pac-10)
Head coach	Paul Hackett (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Hue Jackson (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Young (3rd season)
Captains	Ennis Davis; Eric Denmon; Zeke Moreno; Petros Papadakis;
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

2000 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Washington $+	7	–	1	11	–	1
No. 4 Oregon State %+	7	–	1	11	–	1
No. 7 Oregon +	7	–	1	10	–	2
Stanford	4	–	4	5	–	6
UCLA	3	–	5	6	–	6
Arizona State	3	–	5	6	–	6
Arizona	3	–	5	5	–	6
Washington State	2	–	6	4	–	7
California	2	–	6	3	–	8
	2	–	6	5	–	7

$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2000 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) as a member of Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third and final year under head coach Paul Hackett, the Trojans compiled an overall record of 5–7 record with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing in a three-way for eighth at the bottom of the Pac-10 standings, and were outscored by opponents 337 to 309. The team played home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

This was first time the USC finished last in the Pac-10. After winning the 18th Kickoff Classic against ranked Penn State, the Trojans won their next two non-conference games and were ranked as high as No. 8 in the AP poll. The game against San Jose State in September 23 was the 500th game USC played in the Coliseum, which the Trojans won after trailing 24–12. They lost their first conference game to Oregon State, breaking their 26-game winning streak against the conference rival, and then lost the next four games, tying with California and Washington State for last place in the Pac-10. Petros Papadakis, a team captain for the season and later a broadcaster, claims he was "the captain of the worst football team in USC history."^[1]

Quarterback Carson Palmer led the team in passing, completing 228 of 415 passes for 2,914 yards with 16 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Sultan McCullough led the team in rushing with 227 carries for 1,163 yards and six touchdowns. Kareem Kelly led the team in receiving yards with 55 catches for 796 yards and four touchdowns.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 27	11:30 a.m.	vs. No. 22 Penn State*	No. 15	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic)	ABC	W 29–5	78,902
September 9	5:00 p.m.	Colorado*	No. 11	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 17–14	65,153
September 23	3:30 p.m.	San Jose State*	No. 9	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSNW2	W 34–24	56,545
September 30	3:30 p.m.	at Oregon State	No. 8	Reser Stadium Corvallis, OR	FSNW2	L 21–31	33,775
October 7	12:30 p.m.	Arizona	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 15–31	49,342
October 14	12:30 p.m.	No. 9 Oregon		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 17–28	54,031
October 21	12:30 p.m.	at Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	ABC	L 30–32	50,125
October 28	3:30 p.m.	California		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSN	L 16–28	54,393
November 4	6:00 p.m.	at Arizona State		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	FSNW	W 44–38 ^2OT	49,865
November 11	3:30 p.m.	Washington State		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSN	L 27–33	40,565
November 18	3:30 p.m.	at UCLA		Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Victory Bell)	FSNW2	W 38–35	80,227
November 25	12:30 p.m.	No. 11 Notre Dame*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	ABC	L 21–38	81,342
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	15	12	11	10	9	8	18	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches Poll	16	13	12	11	9	7	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
BCS	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Game summaries

vs Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Nittany Lions	3	0	2	0	5
No. 15 Trojans	14	9	0	6	29

vs Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	0	7	7	0	14
No. 11 Trojans	0	7	7	3	17

vs San Jose State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	10	14	0	0	24
No. 9 Trojans	0	12	0	22	34

at Oregon State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Trojans	7	7	0	7	21
Beavers	14	0	0	17	31

vs Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	21	0	7	3	31
No. 18 Trojans	0	6	3	6	15

vs Oregon

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Ducks	7	7	7	7	28
Trojans	7	0	3	7	17

at Stanford

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	0	8	13	9	30
Cardinal	7	7	6	12	32

vs California

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Bears	7	7	8	6	28
Trojans	6	10	0	0	16

at Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Trojans	7	14	14	0	3	6	44
Sun Devils	3	0	10	22	3	0	38

vs Washington State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	12	7	14	33
Trojans	0	0	7	20	27

at UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	7	14	7	10	38
Bruins	14	7	7	7	35

vs Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Fighting Irish	7	14	7	10	38
Trojans	7	7	0	7	21

^[3]

Roster

2000 USC Trojans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
C	`50`	Eric Denmon	Sr
OT	`67`	Phillip Eaves	Jr
RB	`40`	Miguel Fletcher	So
WR	`7`	Sandy Fletcher	Fr
WR	`2`	Kareem Kelly	So
FB	`21`	Malaefou MacKenzie	So
RB	`4`	Sultan McCullough	So
QB	`3`	Carson Palmer	So
QB	`11`	Mike Van Raaphorst	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`29`	Chris Cash	Jr
LB	`18`	Kori Dickerson	Jr
LB	`9`	Zeke Moreno	Sr
S	`47`	John Morgan	Sr
DT	`90`	Ryan Nielsen	Jr
S	`31`	Ifeanyi Ohalete	Sr
S	`43`	Troy Polamalu	So
CB	`42`	Kris Richard	Jr
DT	`93`	Bernard Riley	So
LB	`55`	Markus Steele	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
PK	`15`	David Newbury	Jr

Head coach

Paul Hackett

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2001-02-16

Awards

No All-Pac-10 selections^[4]

References

^ "Los Angeles Fresh Meat - LA Weekly". Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ "2000 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^ "Notre Dame at USC Box Score, November 25, 2000". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
^ 2011 USC football media guide

[1] "Los Angeles Fresh Meat - LA Weekly". Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2015.

[2] "2000 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

[3] "Notre Dame at USC Box Score, November 25, 2000". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2025.

[4] 2011 USC football media guide

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USC Trojans football
Venues	Athletic Park (1895–1898) Fiesta Park (1897–1898, 1901–1902, 1904–1906, 1916) Chutes Park (1900) Prager Park (1903) Bovard Field (1904–1910, 1914–1915, 1917–1923) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame Stanford UCLA: Victory Bell
Culture and lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Tribute to Troy Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game So This Is College
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911–1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold