How it Feels to Be an Undefeated USC Fan
So, the 2004 Championship Campaign began with the slogan, “Leave No Doubt.” This would mark the beginning of an undefeated season, which I have been fortunate enough to take part in as a fan and student. USC would win 14 straight games in the 2004 season to go ranked number from the beginning to the end. They were the consensus number one team in the nation and this year the BCS agreed. So they played in the BCS Bowl Championship, the Orange Bowl (the Championship Bowl rotates to different Bowls each year) against number two ranked, Oklahoma. USC would proceed to decimate Oklahoma with a final score of 55-19. This was despite a lot of hype about Oklahoma. USC critics claimed that Oklahoma was a much better team than USC because they had 2003 Heisman Trophy winner, Jason White and 2004 Heisman runner up, Adrian Peterson in their offense. Oklahoma’s defensive end, Larry Birdine, called Matt Leinart, USC quarterback and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, an overrated quarterback leading an average offense. But of course, he had to eat his words as Matt Leinart threw for 5 touchdowns. Not bad for an average offense and an overrated quarterback. 55 points is a record for points allowed in a championship game. Undoubtedly, the Trojans left no doubt about who the National Champions were.
On my watch, I have yet to see the Trojans lose a football game. It didn’t look like that would happen anytime soon as Matt Leinart decided to return for his senior year instead of going to the NFL draft as the likely number 1 draft pick and millions of dollars of guaranteed money. The media would hype this as a kid that enjoyed the college experience so much that he wanted to stay and shoot for an unprecedented third straight national championship. While this may be true, there was also the fact that he had elbow surgery in the offseason to repair tedonitis in his throwing elbow; he is a left hander.
Matt Leinart would return with offensive standouts: runningbacks, Lendale White (rushed for 2 touchdowns in the Orange Bowl) and Reggie Bush (5th in the Heisman Trophy Voting), Dwayne Jarret (people compare him to Mike Williams), and Steve Smith( caught 3 touchdown passes in the Orange Bowl).
However, in the 2004 season, we would see the departure of many coaches going to Head Coaching positions at other universities or to the NFL, including Norm Chow, the heralded Offensive Coordinator.
Nevertheless, USC kept reloading its stables with what many call a top ranked recruiting class in 2004. They are on track to recruit another 1st ranked class in 2004 with 4 5 star recruits committed to signing with USC.
Today, USC is 2-0 with the defeat of Hawaii with a score of 63-17 and Arkansas in Week 3 with a score of 70-17. As such, to this day, I still have not seen USC lose a game. In the home opener against Arkansas, we saw Matt Leinart throw 4 touchdowns and 2nd and 3rd string USC quarterbacks throw a touchdown each. Reggie Bush scored on a 76 yard run in the Trojan’s opening drive and in less than 2 minutes catch a 29 yard pass from Leinart for his 2nd score of the day. In just one minute and thirty two seconds in the first quarter, the Trojans scored 28 points. At this point, I was thinking we would see the Trojans putting up 100 points in the game but of course the Trojans are classy in victory and would put in the JV team in the third quarter. The Trojans racked up 736 yards in total offense against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Trojans have a 24 game winning streak, the nation’s best.
In week 4, they play Oregon, which would be ranked 24. This would not be a game to take lightly as Oregon has previously toppled number 23 Fresno State in week 3. I hope that I never see the Trojans lose a game until I graduate in 2008. At this rate it is perfectly possible. As long as the Trojans keep working at what they do and keep reloading recruits by luring them with National Championship Titles.
So let the campaign for 5 straight National Championships begin.
