The 2000 USC Trojans football team represented the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) in the

2000 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners claiming their seventh national championship and their thirty-seventh conference championship, the first of each since the departure of head coach Barry Switzer. Oklahoma ...

. In their third and final year under head coach Paul Hackett, the Trojans compiled a 5-7 record (2–6 against conference opponents), finished in a three-way tie for last place in the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

(Pac-10), and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 337 to 309. This was the last year of Hackett's tenure at USC, and the first year the Trojans had ever finished last in the Pac-10. After winning the 18th

Kickoff Classic The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002. History In 1978, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), which operated and scheduled ...

against ranked

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, the Trojans won their next two non-conference games and were ranked as high as eighth in the AP Poll. The game against San Jose State was the 500th game USC played in the Coliseum, which they won after trailing 24–12. They lost their first conference game to

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

, breaking their 26-game winning streak against the conference rival, and lost the next four, eventually going 2–6 in conference play. It placed 8th, tied with

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

Petros Papadakis Petros Papadakis (born June 16, 1977) is an American sportscaster who serves as a college football analyst for Fox Sports and co-host of the ''Petros and Money Show'' on AM 570 LA Sports. He is a former tailback and team captain for the Univer ...

, a team captain for the season and current broadcaster, claims he was "the captain of the worst football team in USC history." Quarterback

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

led the team in passing, completing 228 of 415 passes for 2,914 yards with 16 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

Sultan McCullough Sultan Rashad McCullough (born February 12, 1980) is a retired American football running back. He has played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Montreal Alouettes. During ...

led the team in rushing with 227 carries for 1,163 yards and six touchdowns.

Kareem Kelly Kareem Kelly (born April 1, 1981) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. World junior record holder over indoor 50 meters 5.67 sec. He played college football ...

led the team in receiving yards with 55 catches for 796 yards and four touchdowns.

Schedule

Game summaries

Penn State

Roster

Rankings

Awards

*No All-Pac-10 selections2011 USC football media guide

References

{{USC Trojans football navbox

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

USC Trojans football seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Con ...