H. Res. 153 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

March 5, 2009. 

Whereas the University of Southern California (USC) Trojan 

football team achieved many historic accomplishments 

during the 2008 regular season; 

Whereas the USC Trojan football team has now won more 

Rose Bowls than any other team in the Nation; 

Whereas USC has achieved its seventh straight top 5 finish; 

Whereas USC achieved an unprecedented seventh consecutive 

season of at least 11 or more victories; 

Whereas USC was invited to make an unprecedented seventh 

consecutive Bowl Championship Series appearance; 

Whereas USC won an unprecedented seventh consecutive Pacific–10 (Pac–10) Conference championship; 

Whereas USC has become the first school to win 3 consecutive Rose Bowls; 

Whereas USC has appeared in a record-tying fourth consecutive Rose Bowl; 

Whereas USC is now tied with the record for most bowl victories of all time; 

Whereas USC has won 86 of its last 96 games; 
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Whereas with USC’s 2009 Rose Bowl victory, the Pac–10 

Conference finished a perfect 5 and 0 in post-season bowl 

appearances; 

Whereas, during the 2008 season, USC’s defense was ranked 

number one in the Nation, holding opponents to just over 

221 yards per game; 

Whereas, during the 2008 season, USC featured 3 All-American first team players (linebackers Rey Maualuga, Brian 

Cushing, and safety Taylor Mays); 

Whereas USC will feature 5 players in the Under Armour 

Senior Bowl game held in Mobile, Alabama (linebackers 

Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, and Clay Matthews, and 

defensive linemen Fili Moala and Kyle Moore); 

Whereas USC head football coach Pete Carroll is 88 and 15 

(85.4 percent) in 8 years (2001 to 2008) as a college 

head coach at USC, his record is the best winning percentage of any current NCAA Division I coach with at 

least 5 years of experience; 

Whereas Coach Pete Carroll was featured on CBS’s ‘‘60 Minutes’’, not only for his football accomplishments but for 

his work with ‘‘A Better L.A.’’, a nonprofit group consisting of a consortium of local agencies and organizations working to reduce gang violence by empowering 

change in individuals and communities; 

Whereas, in the fall of 2008, Coach Pete Carroll helped organize ‘‘LA Live Peace 08’’, a march and rally at the Coliseum to promote gang intervention and non-violence in 

Los Angeles; 

Whereas the annual Rose Bowl is the oldest of all college 

bowl games, and its history and prestige have earned it 

the title ‘‘The Granddaddy of Them All’’; 
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Whereas USC has played in the Rose Bowl on 33 occasions 

and won 24 times, both records exceeding any other collegiate football program; 

Whereas, during the 2009 Rose Bowl game, quarterback 

Mark Sanchez passed for a game second-best 413 yards, 

a game record-tying 4 touchdown passes, and ran for a 

touchdown; 

Whereas Sanchez’s efforts resulted in him being named the 

Offensive Most Valuable Player of the game; 

Whereas, during the 2009 Rose Bowl game, linebacker 

Kaluka Maiava made 4 tackles and 2 pass breakups, and 

he was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the 

game; 

Whereas with linebacker Kaluka Maiava taking home Defensive MVP honors, each linebacker in USC’s starting lineup has now been named defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl 

(Kaluka Maiava in 2009, Rey Maualuga in 2008, and 

Brian Cushing in 2007); and 

Whereas, under the leadership of USC’s 10th president, Steven B. Sample, USC has established itself as a worldclass research university, known for its leadership in the 

fields of communication, media, public diplomacy, the 

sciences, and the arts: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) commends the University of Southern California 

(USC) Trojan football team and USC President Steven 

B. Sample for USC’s victory in the 2009 Rose Bowl; 
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(2) applauds Coach Pete Carroll for his leadership 

not only on the football field, but also in the community; 

and 

(3) recognizes the achievements of the players, 

coaches, students, alumni, and staff who were instrumental in helping the University of Southern California 

win the Rose Bowl. 

Attest: 

Clerk.