Stanford–USC football rivalry

Stanford–USC football rivalry
	Stanford Cardinal USC Trojans
First meeting	November 4, 1905; Stanford 16, USC 0
Latest meeting	September 8, 2018; #10 Stanford 17, #17 USC 3
Next meeting	TBD
Statistics
Meetings total	97
All-time series	USC leads, 61–33–3
Largest victory	USC, 49–0 (1977)
Longest win streak	USC, 12 (1958–69)
Longest unbeaten streak	USC, 15 (1976–1990)
Current win streak	Stanford, 1 (2018–present)

The Stanford–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans, both members of the Pac-12 Conference and the only private schools in the conference. The two teams first played in 1905 and have met nearly every year since 1919 (missing only 1921, 1924, and World War II years 1943–1945), frequently vying for the conference championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. Stanford is USC's oldest current rival.^[1]

Series history

Early rivalry

The rivalry began in earnest in the 1930s during a period in which USC had several undefeated seasons. A group of Stanford freshmen, after a stinging loss to an undefeated USC team, promised never to lose to USC again. The "Vow Boys" made good on their promise, winning their next 3 games against the Trojans.^[2]

Notable games and incidents

For most of its history, USC dominated the series, and overall USC has won about two-thirds of the games, but the rivalry has been marked with notable incidents and expressions of disdain between the two schools. In 1972, USC coach John McKay accused Stanford and its fans of having "no class" and said he'd "like to beat Stanford by 2,000 points"; Stanford coach Jack Christiansen responded that he wouldn't "get into a urinating contest with a skunk".^[3]^[4] In 1979, Stanford came back in the last four minutes to tie #1 USC 21–21 on October 13. This game, considered one of the greatest of the 20th century,^[5] effectively cost USC a national title (they dropped to #4 in the polls afterwards). USC finished 11–0–1, but was ranked #2 in both polls due to the tie. In 1980, the Stanford Band marched onto the field accompanied by a horse skeleton on wheels, being ridden by a Trojan-helmeted human skeleton, in a parody of USC's Traveler mascot.^[6] For the 2012 game, the Stanford band leader inexplicably showed up dressed as the USC Trojan mascot.^[7]

Recent history

USC cemented its margin in the series between 1958 and 1990, going 29–3–1, but the teams have split the 30 decisions since. The competitive atmosphere of the rivalry particularly heated up in 2007, after Stanford hired head coach Jim Harbaugh.^[8] 1–3 Stanford (who had been 1–11 the prior season under head coach Walt Harris) entered the 2007 game as a 41-point underdog against #2 USC, but pulled out a 24–23 win in what has been called one of the biggest college football upsets of all time.

The 2009 game was marked by a post-game verbal confrontation between Harbaugh and USC head coach Pete Carroll, after Stanford capped off its convincing 55–21 win over #9 USC with a late 2-point conversion attempt and another touchdown; Carroll came off the field saying "What's your deal?" at Harbaugh, who responded, "What's your deal?" Stanford then adopted the phrase as a slogan for its season ticket packages.

In recent years, the rivalry has been memorable for its upsets. The lower-ranked team pulled off an upset six out of nine years from 2007–2015 (four by Stanford and two by USC), including four years in a row from 2012–2015 (two each for Stanford and USC). In 2012, #21 Stanford knocked off the #2 Trojans, 21–14. In 2013, unranked USC defeated #5 Stanford 20–17, ending Stanford's longest winning streak in the series, at four, and possibly costing the Cardinal a trip to the national championship game.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] In 2015, unranked Stanford went on the road and upset #6 USC 41–31.

In 2010, the then-Pac-10 Conference expanded to 12 teams and split into north and south divisions, moving Stanford and USC into different divisions. This move threatened the annual rivalry, since teams from each division were not scheduled to play each other every year; however, the conference elected to maintain the "historic California rivalries", including both the Stanford–USC rivalry and the Cal-UCLA rivalry.^[13]

Both teams being ranked entering the game was once a rare occurrence but has become the norm in recent years. There have been 15 games where both Stanford and USC were ranked, with 2 from 1940–1953, 4 from 1968–1972, just 1 from 1973–2008, and 8 since 2009.

USC leads the series 61–33–3; they have led since the third game. USC holds the longest win streak in the series, with 12 wins from 1958–1969. USC also went 14–0–1 from 1976–1990, with the two teams playing to a tie in 1979. Stanford's longest win streak was 4 from 2009–2012. The early years of the series had near-parity, with USC leading 17–15–2 from 1905–1957. USC then went 39–9–1 from 1958–2006; however, Stanford is 9–5 since then, including 4 of 6 in the L.A. Coliseum. The teams met twice in the 2015, once in the regular season, and, after #7 Stanford and #24 USC won their divisions, a rematch in the Pac-12 Championship Game, which #7 Stanford won 41–22, also ending the four-year streak of upsets in the series. In 2017 the teams, both ranked in the top 15, again met for the conference championship, with USC winning 31-28, the first win by a southern division team since the Pac-12 adopted the championship game format.^[14]

Game results

Stanford victories	USC victories	Tie games

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	November 4, 1905	Stanford	Stanford	16–0
2	November 27, 1919	Los Angeles	USC	13–0
3	October 16, 1920	Los Angeles	USC	10–0
4	November 11, 1922	Stanford	USC	6–0
5	October 27, 1923	Stanford	USC	14–7
6	October 17, 1925	Los Angeles	Stanford	13–9
7	October 30, 1926	Los Angeles	Stanford	13–12
8	October 15, 1927	Stanford	Tie	13–13
9	November 3, 1928	Los Angeles	USC	10–0
10	October 26, 1929	Stanford	USC	7–0
11	October 25, 1930	Los Angeles	USC	41–12
12	November 7, 1931	Los Angeles	USC	19–0
13	October 22, 1932	Stanford	USC	13–0
14	November 11, 1933	Los Angeles	Stanford	13–7
15	October 27, 1934	Stanford	Stanford	16–7
16	November 9, 1935	Los Angeles	Stanford	3–0
17	October 24, 1936	Stanford	#6 USC	14–7
18	November 6, 1937	Los Angeles	Stanford	7–6
19	October 22, 1938	Stanford	USC	13–2
20	November 11, 1939	Los Angeles	#4 USC	33–0
21	October 26, 1940	Stanford	#9 Stanford	21–7
22	November 8, 1941	Los Angeles	#9 Stanford	13–0
23	October 24, 1942	San Francisco	Stanford	14–6
24	October 26, 1946	Stanford	USC	28–20
25	November 8, 1947	Los Angeles	#5 USC	14–0
26	October 23, 1948	Stanford	USC	7–6
27	November 5, 1949	Los Angeles	Stanford	34–13
28	November 4, 1950	Stanford	Tie	7–7
29	November 10, 1951	Los Angeles	Stanford	27–20
30	November 8, 1952	Stanford	#6 USC	54–7
31	November 7, 1953	Los Angeles	#17 USC	23–20
32	November 6, 1954	Stanford	#10 USC	21–7
33	November 5, 1955	Los Angeles	Stanford	28–20
34	October 27, 1956	Stanford	Stanford	27–19
35	November 9, 1957	Los Angeles	Stanford	35–7
36	November 1, 1958	Stanford	USC	29–6
37	October 24, 1959	Los Angeles	#5 USC	30–28
38	October 29, 1960	Stanford	USC	21–10
39	November 11, 1961	Los Angeles	USC	30–15
40	November 10, 1962	Stanford	#2 USC	39–14
41	November 9, 1963	Los Angeles	USC	25–11
42	November 7, 1964	Stanford	USC	15–10
43	October 16, 1965	Los Angeles	#6 USC	14–0
44	October 15, 1966	Stanford	#5 USC	21–7
45	October 7, 1967	Los Angeles	#1 USC	30–0
46	October 12, 1968	Stanford	#2 USC	27–24
47	October 11, 1969	Los Angeles	#4 USC	26–24
48	October 10, 1970	Stanford	#12 Stanford	24–14
49	October 16, 1971	Los Angeles	#15 Stanford	33–18
50	October 7, 1972	Stanford	#1 USC	30–21

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
51	November 10, 1973	Los Angeles	#8 USC	27–26
52	November 9, 1974	Stanford	#11 USC	35–10
53	November 8, 1975	Los Angeles	Stanford	13–10
54	November 6, 1976	Stanford	#4 USC	48–24
55	November 5, 1977	Los Angeles	#16 USC	49–0
56	November 4, 1978	Stanford	#6 USC	13–7
57	October 13, 1979	Los Angeles	Tie	21–21
58	November 8, 1980	Stanford	#4 USC	34–9
59	October 17, 1981	Los Angeles	#7 USC	25–17
60	October 16, 1982	Stanford	#14 USC	41–21
61	November 5, 1983	Los Angeles	USC	30–7
62	November 3, 1984	Stanford	#18 USC	20–11
63	October 19, 1985	Los Angeles	USC	30–6
64	October 25, 1986	Stanford	USC	10–0
65	November 7, 1987	Los Angeles	USC	39–24
66	September 10, 1988	Stanford	#6 USC	24–20
67	October 28, 1989	Los Angeles	#10 USC	19–0
68	October 13, 1990	Stanford	#16 USC	37–22
69	October 19, 1991	Los Angeles	Stanford	24–21
70	November 7, 1992	Stanford	#21 Stanford	23–9
71	November 6, 1993	Los Angeles	USC	45–20
72	October 15, 1994	Stanford	USC	27–20
73	November 4, 1995	Los Angeles	#14 USC	31–30
74	November 9, 1996	Stanford	Stanford	24–20
75	November 8, 1997	Los Angeles	USC	45–21
76	November 7, 1998	Stanford	USC	34–9
77	October 23, 1999	Los Angeles	Stanford	35–31
78	October 21, 2000	Stanford	Stanford	32–30
79	September 29, 2001	Los Angeles	Stanford	21–16
80	November 9, 2002	Stanford	#10 USC	49–17
81	October 11, 2003	Los Angeles	#9 USC	44–21
82	September 25, 2004	Stanford	#1 USC	31–28
83	November 5, 2005	Los Angeles	#1 USC^†	51–21
84	November 4, 2006	Stanford	#9 USC	42–0
85	October 6, 2007	Los Angeles	Stanford	24–23
86	November 15, 2008	Stanford	#6 USC	45–23
87	November 14, 2009	Los Angeles	#25 Stanford	55–21
88	October 9, 2010	Stanford	#16 Stanford	37–35
89	October 29, 2011	Los Angeles	#4 Stanford	56–48^3OT
90	September 15, 2012	Stanford	#21 Stanford	21–14
91	November 16, 2013	Los Angeles	USC	20–17
92	September 6, 2014	Stanford	#14 USC	13–10
93	September 19, 2015	Los Angeles	Stanford	41–31
94	December 5, 2015	Santa Clara	#7 Stanford	41–22^‡
95	September 17, 2016	Stanford	#7 Stanford	27–10
96	September 10, 2017	Los Angeles	#6 USC	42–24
97	December 1, 2017	Santa Clara	#11 USC	31–28^‡
98	September 8, 2018	Stanford	#10 Stanford	17–3
Series: USC leads 61–33–3
† USC vacated this win after NCAA sanctions. ‡Pac-12 Football Championship Game

References

↑ "USC Football Heads To Bay Area To Face No. 16 Stanford". USC Trojans. October 3, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
↑ "Tradition: Great Moments in the First Fifty Years of Cardinal Football". The Stanford Review. XXXVII (8). December 1, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
↑ Greg Katz, "Coaches long a part of USC-Stanford rivalry", ESPN.com, September 4, 2014.
↑ Scott Wolf, "USC-Stanford football game always seems to include some ill will", Los Angeles Daily News, September 3, 2014.
↑ Whittingham, Richard (2001). "6", Rites of autumn: the story of college football (in English). New York: The Free Press, 148-183. ISBN 0-7432-2219-9.
↑ David Wharton, "Riding a High Horse : Saukko, Better Known as Tommy Trojan, Saddles Up Traveler for 25th Season at USC", Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1985.
↑ McGarry, Tim (November 15, 2012). "Stanford band leader dresses as USC Trojan". USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
↑ Lombardi, David (December 4, 2015). "The epic recent history of the Stanford-USC rivalry". ESPN.com.
↑ Miller, Ted (2012-09-25). "USC-Stanford: Still spicy after all the years". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
↑ Tim Kawakami, "Stanford-USC football rivalry more friendly", The San Jose Mercury News, September 12, 2012.
↑ George Schroeder, "Southern Cal, Stanford a real rivalry", USAToday, September 14, 2012.
↑ Jack Blanchat, "The Absurdity of Rivalry: A history of Stanford and USC's insane 7-year battle", Yahoo! Sports, September 4, 2014.
↑ "Pac-12 divisions split Calif. schools". ESPN.com. October 21, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
↑ Josh Dubow, "No. 11 USC beats No. 14 Stanford 31-28 for Pac-12 title", Associated Press in San Francisco Chronicle, December 2, 2017.

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[1] "USC Football Heads To Bay Area To Face No. 16 Stanford". USC Trojans. October 3, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

[2] "Tradition: Great Moments in the First Fifty Years of Cardinal Football". The Stanford Review. XXXVII (8). December 1, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

[3] Greg Katz, "Coaches long a part of USC-Stanford rivalry", ESPN.com, September 4, 2014.

[4] Scott Wolf, "USC-Stanford football game always seems to include some ill will", Los Angeles Daily News, September 3, 2014.

[5] Whittingham, Richard (2001). "6", Rites of autumn: the story of college football (in English). New York: The Free Press, 148-183. ISBN 0-7432-2219-9.

[6] David Wharton, "Riding a High Horse : Saukko, Better Known as Tommy Trojan, Saddles Up Traveler for 25th Season at USC", Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1985.

[7] McGarry, Tim (November 15, 2012). "Stanford band leader dresses as USC Trojan". USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2014.

[8] Lombardi, David (December 4, 2015). "The epic recent history of the Stanford-USC rivalry". ESPN.com.

[rivalry-9] Miller, Ted (2012-09-25). "USC-Stanford: Still spicy after all the years". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2012-11-09.

[10] Tim Kawakami, "Stanford-USC football rivalry more friendly", The San Jose Mercury News, September 12, 2012.

[11] George Schroeder, "Southern Cal, Stanford a real rivalry", USAToday, September 14, 2012.

[12] Jack Blanchat, "The Absurdity of Rivalry: A history of Stanford and USC's insane 7-year battle", Yahoo! Sports, September 4, 2014.

[13] "Pac-12 divisions split Calif. schools". ESPN.com. October 21, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2014.

[14] Josh Dubow, "No. 11 USC beats No. 14 Stanford 31-28 for Pac-12 title", Associated Press in San Francisco Chronicle, December 2, 2017.

Stanford Cardinal football
Venues	Stanford Field (1905–1921) Stanford Stadium (1921–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games California: Big Game USC Notre Dame San Jose State: Bill Walsh Legacy Game
Culture & lore	Stanford Tree "Come Join the Band" "All Right Now" Stanford Band The Play Stanford Axe T formation 1906–17 Stanford rugby teams 1894 Chicago game 2007 USC game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 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 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
National championship seasons in bold

USC Trojans football
Venues	Athletic Park (1895–98) Fiesta Park (1897–98, 1902, 1904–06, 1916) Chutes Park (1900) Prager Park (1903) Bovard Field (1904–10, 1914–15, 1917–22) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame UCLA Victory Bell Crosstown Cup Stanford
Culture & lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game
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 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
National championship seasons in bold

Pac-12 football rivalries
Conference	Apple Cup (Washington–Washington State) Arizona–Arizona State Big Game (California–Stanford) California–UCLA Civil War (Oregon–Oregon State) Oregon–Washington Rumble in the Rockies (Colorado–Utah) Stanford–USC UCLA–USC
Non-conference	Arizona–New Mexico Battle of the Brothers (Utah–Utah State) Battle of the Palouse (Idaho–Washington State) Beehive Boot (BYU–Utah–Utah State) Bill Walsh Legacy Game (San Jose State–Stanford) Colorado–Nebraska Holy War (Utah–BYU) Notre Dame–USC Notre Dame–Stanford Rocky Mountain Showdown (Colorado–Colorado State)

Statistics
Stanford Cardinal USC Trojans
First meeting	November 4, 1905 Stanford 16, USC 0
Latest meeting	September 8, 2018 #10 Stanford 17, #17 USC 3
Next meeting	TBD
Meetings total	97
All-time series	USC leads, 61–33–3
Largest victory	USC, 49–0 (1977)
Longest win streak	USC, 12 (1958–69)
Longest unbeaten streak	USC, 15 (1976–1990)
Current win streak	Stanford, 1 (2018–present)