30 things to know about USC

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Published: August 23, 2008

Here we are, less than a week from perhaps the biggest home opener in Scott Stadium history.
With Southern Cal coming to town, we thought it appropriate to introduce fans with 30 things you should know about the Trojans:
No. 1: From the start, let’s make sure we get it right. It’s not Southern Cal, even though people often use that name. The school prefers to be called Southern California or USC and for its teams to be referred to as the Trojans or Troy. They feel it’s inappropriate to be called Southern Cal, noting that it’s the same as calling North Carolina, “North Car.”
No. 2: Under coach Pete Carroll, the Trojans have become the first ever to boast three Heisman Trophy winners within a four-year span. In all, USC has seven Heisman winners, including one it can’t be very proud of in O.J. Simpson.
No. 3: USC and UVa began football programs in the same year, 1888. However, USC fielded rugby teams and not football squads in 1911, 1912, and 1913, the same three-year span that Cavalier football teams went posted a collective 21-6 record.
No. 4: Southern Cal owns a 10-6 record against members of the ACC.
No. 5: The school’s athletic director Mike Garrett, who has held the post since 1993), is somewhat familiar with this part of Virginia. We were told that he used to own a place at Wintergreen and would vacation there each summer and play golf.
No. 6: Garrett, by the way, won the Heisman in 1965 when he became the first in a long line of great USC
I-formation tailbacks, followed by Simpson, Anthony Davis, Ricky Bell, Charles White and Marcus Allen. Reggie Bush was the most recent star Trojan tailback.
No. 7: Two former Washington Redskins head coaches were once assistant coaches at USC — Joe Gibbs and Norv Turner.
No. 8:  One of the greatest alumni of USC was known more for his acting skills than his football: John Wayne, “the Duke,” was a tackle for the Trojans in 1925 and 1926, although he played under his real name of Marion Morrison, a name that wouldn’t fly on the silver screen. Beginning in 1980, the Wayne family started a scholarship for a USC player in John Wayne’s name.
No. 9: Just for kicks, some other famous alumni of USC: actors Will Ferrell, John Ritter, Cybil Shepherd, Forest Whitaker, Marlo Thomas and Fess Parker. Others of note: Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf; astronaut Neil Armstrong; columnist Art Buchwald; opera star Marilyn Horne; Hollywood directors Ron Howard (yes, Opie), George Lucas, Sam Peckinpah; and former NFL great and football play-by-play man Frank Gifford.
No. 10: USC will bring its full band to Scott Stadium. It’s called “The Spirit of Troy.” If you watch
much college football, you will be familiar with two of the songs: “Fight On,” usually played after first downs and scores, and “Tribute to Troy,” which seems to be played over and over and over, but is supposed to be played after every defensive stop.
No. 11: By the way, one USC alum we didn’t mention previously was a former member of the Trojans’ marching band, famed trumpeter Herb Alpert.
No. 12: And, for heaven’s sake, yes, USC’s Song Girls will be in attendance. We’ve been asked that question more than any other since the game was announced. They’re famous for their white sweaters and have been proclaimed one of the best things about college football by veteran ESPN gridiron connoisseur Beano Cook.
No. 13: No, the USC horse, “Traveler,” is not scheduled to make the trip. We don’t think that Traveler actually travels.
No. 14: Virginia will become the 34th state (plus Japan) where the Trojans have played football.
No. 15: Carroll owns a
76-14 record (84.4 percent), making him the winningest active coach in major college football.
No. 16: He has coached 30 first-team All-Americans in his previous seven seasons at USC.
No. 17: During that same span, 42 of his players have been NFL draft picks, including 11 taken in the first round.
No. 18: Southern Cal is the all-time leader in first round NFL draft choices with 71, followed by Ohio State with 66. No ACC team ranks in the top 15 in this category.
No. 19: USC is 5-2 all-time in games played in August.
No. 20: This will not be Carroll’s first visit to Scott Stadium. He was N.C. State’s defensive coordinator under Monte Kiffin from 1980-82, and the Wolfpack won both appearances in Charlottesville against teams coached by Dick Bestwick and George Welsh (Welsh’s first year).
No. 21: USC has 33,500 students, of which 16,500 are undergraduates.
No. 22: The Trojans’ depth chart goes nine deep at split end, nine deep at flanker, and seven deep at tailback.
No.23: Carroll and UVa coach Al Groh have criss-crossed a bit in their careers, but never really gone head-to-head in scheming against one another because they were both defensive coaches for most of their careers. They both were head coach of the New York Jets for one year only, with Carroll resigning after a 6-10 record to become defensive coordinator of the 49ers and Groh resigning after a 9-7 record to become UVa’s head coach.
No. 24: USC has a record of 84-23-8 in season openers (.765) and is 26-7-1 in road openers.
No. 25: If you’re expecting the Trojans to score a jillion points on the Cavaliers, you might want to look at last season’s USC results. In six of their games, the Trojans didn’t exactly blow away the opposition: won 27-24 at Washington; lost 24-23 vs. Stanford; won 20-13 vs. Arizona; lost 24-17 at Oregon; won 24-7 at Cal; and won 24-7 vs. UCLA.
No. 26: USC senior linebacker Clay Matthews may have met Groh before, but may not remember. Groh coached Matthews’ father, also named Clay, in 1992 while serving as linebacker coach for the Cleveland Browns. Matthews, who was in his next-to-last season, played in 278 games, third-most in NFL history. The elder Matthews also played at USC.
No. 27: Virginia thought it had a good chance to land linebacker Brian Cushing of Park Ridge, N.J., a few years ago until USC came into the picture. Cushing is now a senior All-American candidate for the Trojans.
No. 28: There are 82 Californians on the USC roster and no one from Virginia.
No. 29: USC’s team will be leaving Los Angeles at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday on a U.S. Airways flight and will arrive in Charlottesville at 9:30 p.m. Like most visiting teams, the Trojans will stay at the Doubletree hotel. They will depart C’Ville at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night and arrive back in L.A. at 11:30 p.m.
No. 30: Virginia will return the visit to USC on Sept. 11, 2010. It will be USC’s second game of the season after opening Sept. 4 at Hawaii.