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 (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Young (3rd season)
Captains	Ennis Davis Eric Denmon Zeke Moreno Petros Papadakis
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ←  1999 2001 →

2000 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
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
USC		2	–	6					5	–	7
Washington State		2	–	6					4	–	7
California		2	–	6					3	–	8
$ – 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) in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. 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 (Pac-10), and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 337 to 309. ^[1]

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 against ranked Penn State, 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, 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 and Washington State. Petros Papadakis, a team captain for the season and current broadcaster, claims he was "the captain of the worst football team in USC history." ^[2]

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. ^[3]

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	KCAL	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 ( Jeweled Shillelagh)	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

Season summary

vs No. 22 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 No. 9 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 No. 11 Notre Dame

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

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

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

Awards

• No All-Pac-10 selections ^[4]

References