2006 USC Trojans football team The 2006 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season , winning the Pacific - 10 Conference ( Pac - 10 ) and playing in the Rose Bowl . The team was coached by Pete Carroll , led on offense by quarterback John David Booty , and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . The previous year ' s team had played for the national championship , however , with many starters gone , including two Heisman Trophy - winners , there were doubts the team could repeat the success . With a highly ranked recruiting class , however , the Trojans were ranked in the top - 5 in many pre - season polls . USC ' s 13 - 9 loss to rival UCLA snapped its NCAA - record streak of 63 consecutive 20 - point games , and eliminated their hopes of playing in the BCS National Championship game . The team finished the regular season with a 10 – 2 record and were invited to the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) to play at the 2007 Rose Bowl , where they beat the Michigan Wolverines . With a final record of 11 – 2 , they finished the season ranked fourth in both the Associated Press ( AP ) and Coaches Polls . Following the season , a number of players won national awards , while five players left the team as they were selected in the 2007 National Football League ( NFL ) Draft . Before the season . The four previous Trojan teams were very successful . Since the 2002 season , the Trojans won four Pacific - 10 Conference ( Pac - 10 ) titles , two national championships , and three players won the Heisman Trophy . The 2003 team won the Associated Press ( AP ) national championship , while the 2004 team won the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) and AP championships . Additionally , the 2005 team , named by some of the media as one of the best offenses in the history of college football , played for the national championship where they lost to the Texas Longhorns . Eleven starters returned from that team , and the Trojans were picked by the Pac - 10 media to win the conference . The team began the season ranked sixth in the AP Poll and third in the Coaches Poll . Coaching changes . After the 2005 season , defensive coordinator , Jethro Franklin , took an assistant coaching position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Idaho coach , Nick Holt , a former assistant at USC , was hired to replace him . Holt had previously served as linebackers coach for three years at USC . Roster changes . Although returning 11 starters from 2005 , the team lost eleven players to the National Football League ( NFL ) , including 2004 Heisman Trophy winner , Matt Leinart , and 2005 Heisman winner , Reggie Bush . Bush , who had one year left of eligibility , announced his plans to skip his senior season a week after the team ' s loss in the Rose Bowl . Bush was eventually selected as the second pick in the 2006 NFL Draft , while Leinart was the second Trojan selected in the first round . In all the team lost eight players on offense and three on defense . Recruiting . The Trojans signed 25 recruits for the new class . Included in the top ranked class were four five - star recruits on defense , three five - star recruits on offense , and another thirteen four - star recruits . Pre - season honors . Eleven Trojan players were named to pre - season national award watchlists . In addition to the awards , five players were named to various pre - season All - America teams . " Playboy " , " Athlon " , " Lindy ' s " , " Street & Smith ' s " , " Rivals . com " , and " NationalChamps . Net " each named Jarrett and Baker to their first teams , with Jarrett also named to " Sporting News " , " Blue Ribbon ' s " , " Phil Steele ' s " , and " Collegefootballnews . com " first teams . Both " ESPN . com " and " Street & Smith " named Jackson and Kalil to their first teams , and Jackson was additionally named to " Sporting News " " Athlon " , and " Phil Steele ' s " first teams . Rivers was named to various second teams . Season . Roster . The Trojans went into the 2006 campaign having suffered many season - ending injuries . Redshirt senior and 2003 starting fullback Brandon Hancock tore his knee ligaments in fall camp , ending his career . Hancock was expected to start at fullback . Redshirt senior running back and 2003 starter Hershel Dennis re - tore his knee ligaments in spring practice after initially tearing them during the 2005 FedEx Orange Bowl , finishing his time at USC unless he gets a sixth year of eligibility . Dennis was expected to compete for the starting tailback job with redshirt junior Chauncey Washington and a host of talented freshmen . Sophomore safety Will Harris suffered torn knee ligaments during the off - season while recovering from a 2005 knee injury and was not expected to return in 2006 . Senior defensive end Rashaad Goodrum suffered a back and rib injury in 2005 and was not expected to play again for USC . Redshirt sophomore defensive end Lawrence Miles missed the season while recovering from shoulder surgery and was expected to miss the season . Redshirt senior walk - on linebacker Lou Ferrigno , Jr . suffered a season - ending knee injury in spring practice and is out of eligibility . Freshman wide receiver Jamere Holland was lost for the season with a shoulder injury . Freshman linebacker Joshua Tatum suffered a knee injury . Redshirt junior offensive lineman Matt Spanos was academically ineligible . By the Trojans ' first game at Arkansas , the starting lineup had undergone some revisions from the expected one from the summer . True freshman tailback C . J . Gable beat out talented freshmen Emmanuel Moody , Allen Bradford , and Stafon Johnson along with upperclassmen Desmond Reed and Michael Coleman for the starting job after junior Chauncey Washington was not ready to go due to injuries . Redshirt junior fullback Ryan Powdrell won the starting job after Hancock ' s season ended before it began . Redshirt junior Drew Radovich beat out Jeff Byers for the starter ' s job at left guard . Sophomore linebacker Brian Cushing was installed in Kyle Moore ' s starting spot at defensive end . Redshirt junior cornerback Terrell Thomas became the other starter with Kevin Thomas . Redshirt senior linebacker Oscar Lua was the first starting middle linebacker . Finally , redshirt sophomore walk - on Greg Woidneck won the starting punter ' s job . Coaching staff . The Trojan team was coached by sixth - year head coach , Pete Carroll and his staff , most of whom returned from 2005 . Game notes . USC began the season with many impressive streaks intact despite having lost the 2006 Rose Bowl to Texas . Arkansas . Although both ESPN and Arkansas asked for the game to be moved , the Trojans opened their season playing at the Arkansas Razorbacks , who were led by ninth - year head coach Houston Nutt and by running back Darren McFadden . Although USC won the game in 2005 , 70 – 17 , this game looked to be closer as the Trojans had to replace two Heisman Trophy winners , Leinart and Bush . However , with John David Booty taking over for Leinart and C . J . Gable becoming the first true freshman to start at running back in USC history , the Trojans outmatched the Razorbacks . Although Razorback freshman quarterback , Mitch Mustain , ran for the first touchdown of his career and one Razorback running back ran for a touchdown , Booty threw three touchdowns , three Trojan running backs ran for a touchdown each , and Mario Danelo kicked two field goals to outscore them , 50 – 14 . A crowd of 76 , 564 , a record in Razorback Stadium , attended the game . With the win , the Trojans extended their record - setting streak of games where they scored at least 20 points to 53 . Nebraska . The Nebraska Cornhuskers , led by second - year head coach , Bill Callahan , next traveled to face the Trojans in the Coliseum , where the Trojans held a 27 home - game winning streak . Although the Cornhuskers had an early 3 – 0 lead , three unanswered touchdown passes by Booty gave the Trojans a 21 – 3 lead in the third quarter . Although quarterback , Zac Taylor , ran for a touchdown to cut the Trojan ' s lead , a rushing touchdown by Chauncey Washington sealed the win for the Trojans , 28 – 10 . During the game , wide receiver , Dwayne Jarrett , with two receiving touchdowns , became USC ' s all - time leader in touchdown receptions , with 31 . With the win , the Trojans extended their streak of games where they scored at least 20 points to 54 and extended their Pac - 10 - record home winning streak to 28 . Arizona . The Trojans next traveled to face the Arizona Wildcats , led by third - year head coach , Mike Stoops . Both offenses struggled early in the game , and the Trojans took a 3 – 0 lead before half - time . The Trojans finally increased their lead in the third quarter when Jarrett scored the first touchdown of the game to tie the Pac - 10 record for career receiving touchdowns with 32 . A fourth quarter field goal by the Wildcats brought them within a touchdown , but the Trojans answered with a Danelo field goal . Emmanuel Moody ran for the last score of the game to give the Trojans a 20 – 3 win and extend their streak of games where they scored at least 20 points to 55 . With the conference win , the Trojans increased their winning streak over conference foes to 24 games . The win did not come without a price , however , as the Trojans , who had already lost fullback s , Brandon Hancock and Ryan Powdrell to season - ending injuries , lost freshman fullback , Stanley Havili , to an ankle injury . Washington State . The Trojans next traveled to face the Washington State Cougars , led by fourth - year head coach , Bill Doba , and quarterback , Alex Brink . Although Jarrett came into the game tied for the Pac - 10 career record of receiving touchdowns , he would sit out the game with an ankle injury . Steve Smith took his place , however , and scored two touchdowns to lead the Trojans in the 28 – 22 win . Although the Cougars lost their only lead in the first quarter , they had a chance to score and tie the game on the final play of the game before Brink ' s pass was intercepted . The Trojans continued their conference winning streak and moved to 25 games and increased their streak of scoring 20 points to 56 games . Washington . The Washington , led by first - year head coach , Tyrone Willingham , and quarterback , Isaiah Stanback , next visited the Trojans . Willingham was the last coach to beat the Trojans at the Coliseum in 2001 with Stanford , but the Huskies were large underdog s . Despite this , the Huskies kept the game close , as , after two early Trojan touchdowns , their only other scores came from four Danelo field goals . The Huskies scored on two Stanback touchdown passes and two field goals , but the time clock ran out during their final drive , giving the Trojans a 26 – 20 win . With the win , the Trojans continued their home winning streak , their conference winning streak , and their streak of games scoring over 20 points . Arizona State . The Arizona State Sun Devils , led by sixth - year head coach , Dirk Koetter , and quarterback , Rudy Carpenter , next visited the Trojans . Though the Sun Devils started the season with three wins , they had been blown out in both of their next two games and were a three touchdown underdog to the Trojans . The Trojans dominated the first half with three touchdowns before the Sun Devils could score . Their third touchdown , a pass to Jarrett , made him the Pac - 10 leader in career touchdown receptions with 33 . The Sun Devils , however , finally answered with a rushing touchdown before half - time . The Sun Devils tied the game in the third quarter with Carpenter ' s touchdown pass and a returned interception for a touchdown , however , Chauncey Washington ran for the game - winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter to give the final score of 28 – 21 in favor of the Trojans . Once again scoring over 20 points , they won another home conference game to extend their streaks . Oregon State . The Trojans next visited the Oregon State Beavers , led by head coach , Mike Riley . The Beavers took an early lead , and , after the Trojans tied the game , scored three field goals to take a nine point lead . A Danelo field goal at the end of the first half brought the Trojans within six points at half - time . The Beavers took control of the game in the second half , passing for a touchdown , returning a punt for a touchdown , and kicking another field goal to take a 33 – 10 lead . The Trojans finally answered at the end of the third quarter to bring their deficit to 16 points . In the fourth quarter , Booty threw his second touchdown of the game , and , after a two - point conversion , brought the score to 33 – 25 in favor of the Beavers . Booty threw his third touchdown of the game with seven seconds remaining , however , their second two - point conversion attempt was batted away by the Beavers to preserve their 33 – 31 win . Though the Trojans continued their streak of games scoring over 20 points , they ended their streaks of , among others , 38 wins in the regular season , 27 wins against Pac - 10 opponents , and 18 wins on the road . Notre Dame . Notre Dame visited the Coliseum with a four game losing streak to the Trojans , however an eight game winning streak in the season . After the epic 2005 game , the Irish thought they might break the losing streak , and would be assured of a BCS Bowl game . With a win , the Trojans knew that they would still be in the national title hunt . The game started with the Irish receiving the ball and Brady Quinn throwing a quick 38 - yard pass to Rhema McKnight . The Irish drive stalled afterwards and turned the ball over after Quinn ' s fourth down pass flew errantly into the endzone . The Trojans took over and quarterback John David Booty led them on a 61 - yard drive that ended with a 9 - yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett . After the next Irish drive ended with a punt and a return by the Trojans to the Irish 26 , Booty completed another touchdown pass to Jarrett to put the Trojans ahead 14 – 0 . On the ensuing Irish drive , Quinn and Darius Walker brought the Irish downfield , allowing Carl Gioia to kick a field goal . The first quarter ended with the Trojans winning 14 – 3 . In the first drive of the second quarter , Booty led the Trojans to the Irish 1 - yard line where he snuck the ball in for USC ' s third touchdown of the game . On the ensuing drive for the Irish , on a third down , Quinn scrambled for 59 - yards , Notre Dame ' s longest run of the season , to bring the Irish to the USC 17 - yard line . Four plays later , a Darius Walker fumble was recovered by the Trojans giving them the ball back . The Irish defense , however , held the Trojans for the first time forcing a punt . The punt was partially blocked giving the Irish the ball back on the 7 - yard line . On the next play , Quinn threw a touchdown to Marcus Freeman . The next two drives by the Trojans both ended when Booty threw an interception , but the Irish couldn ' t capitalize on either , turning the ball over on downs two more times . The half ended with the Trojans leading 21 – 10 . The second half began with a Trojan drive of 65 - yards capped with a Chauncey Washington 2 - yard touchdown run . The only other score of the third quarter came on Notre Dame ' s second drive of 58 - yards , when Quinn hit Rhema McKnight for a 2 - yard touchdown pass on fourth down . The fourth quarter began with the Trojans driving to an eventual 32 - yard field goal by Mario Danelo . After the Irish were held , Booty threw a 43 - yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett to give the Trojans a 37 – 17 lead ( Danelo missed the extra point ) . Quinn drove the Irish 78 - yards and threw a 2 - yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija to put the Irish deficit to 13 points . However , the onside kick attempt , was recovered by Brian Cushing , who ran it back to give the Trojans a 20 - point lead again . Notre Dame ' s last drive would end on another failed fourth down attempt , giving the Trojans the 44 – 24 win . UCLA . UCLA ' s defensive performance snapped USC ’ s NCAA - record streak of 63 consecutive 20 - point games . Michigan . In the month leading to the Rose Bowl , starting kicker Troy Van Blarcom was dismissed by the university because of his grades , leaving all duties to Mario Danelo . The Rose Bowl crowd marked USC ' s 11th sell out , a single season school record . Legacy . USC is the first team to win five Pac - 10 championships in a row , although the Trojans shared the 2002 championship with Washington State and the 2006 championship with California . USC ' s popularity continued to remain high , setting a school record with 11 sold - out games over the season and a total attendance of 995 , 778 , shy of the all - time record set in 2005 of 1 , 037 , 565 — attributable to the smaller stadiums at away games in the 2006 season . At the end of the 2006 season , with only Dwayne Jarrett departing early for the NFL and returning many of the starters from the 2006 team , major media sources projected the 2007 USC Trojans football team as the presumptive pre - season No . 1 team and national title contender for the 2007 season . Deaths . USC placekicker Mario Danelo was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in San Pedro , California , on the night of January 6 , 2007 .