As the final year of Pac-12 football begins this Saturday with USC’s home opener, we have been remembering USC’s unbeaten seasons. It’s part of our Pac-12 goodbye tour. USC’s first unbeaten season was back in 1928. Someone who is 105 years old might remember that season, but that’s not a large percentage of our readership.
A very large percentage of our readers will be familiar with this next USC football unbeaten season. It’s the last one forged by the Trojans, their 2004 march to the BCS national championship under Pete Carroll, with Matt Leinart winning the Heisman Trophy. USC was at the very height of its powers, in the midst of a 34-game winning streak which put the rest of college football at the Trojans’ feet. USC gobbled up every award in sight. The celebrities came to the Coliseum and made USC the destination event in Los Angeles sports in the fall. The Lakers had April through June, but from September through November in those days, it was all Trojans. The Dodgers weren’t relevant or particularly good back then. USC was the October showcase in Los Angeles sports.
Let’s relive the 2004 USC football season: