2010 USC Trojans football team The 2010 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS college football season . The Trojans were led by head coach Lane Kiffin , who was in his 1st season . They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and are members of the Pacific - 10 Conference . Game notes . Hawaii Warriors . The Trojans began the season by taking advantage of the NCCA ' s Hawaii scheduling exemption which permits an extra non - conference game when traveling to Hawaii , which allowed them a 13 - game schedule without a bowl game . The game turned out to be an offensive showcase , with Matt Barkley throwing a USC record - tying five touchdowns . Virginia Cavaliers . In their home debut the Trojans hosted the Virginia Cavaliers , who played their first game ever in the state of California . Compared with the previous match ' s high - scoring , the game remained close with the Cavaliers failing by only three points . Minnesota Golden Gophers . USC extended its victory streak against Big Ten schools to 11 games in a road win against the embattled Golden Gophers , who lost their previous game to FCS foe South Dakota . Minnesota went on to fire its head coach Tim Brewster later in the season . The game was also the 19th straight nonconference win by the Trojans , a streak that would be broken later in the season by Notre Dame . Washington State Cougars . Southern California began their conference schedule after dropping six spots in the AP rankings since the preseason poll despite going undefeated . Washington State scored on their opening drive , but the Trojans went on to score 50 points in a blowout , earning Lane Kiffin a 4 - 0 record , the best start of a USC coach ' s tenure since Jess Hill in 1951 . Washington Huskies . For consecutive years , head coach Steve Sarkisian ' s Washington Huskies upset the Trojans by kicking a last - second field goal . Sarkisian was an assistant coach at USC prior to taking over the program at Washington . Erik Folk , who hit the game - winning field goal for Washington , was named Pac - 10 special teams player of the week . He went 4 - for - 4 on field goals and completed two PAT attempts . The previous year , Folk kicked a 22 - yarder to defeat the Trojans 16 - 13 . Stanford Cardinal . For the second week in a row USC lost in the final seconds of the game by a field goal , as Stanford kicker Nate Whitaker made a 30 - yarder as time expired . It marked the first time since 2000 that Stanford defeated the Trojans at Stanford Stadium , and the first time since 2001 that USC has lost two games in a row . California Golden Bears . Matt Barkley once again tied the USC mark for touchdown passes in a game by throwing five to put the Trojans up 42 - 0 at halftime . USC rested its starters in the second half , allowing 14 points , but still prevailed by 34 points . Oregon Ducks . The Ducks came into the game ranked 1st in the AP poll . The previous three weeks a team ranked number one had lost , but the Trojans were unable to continue this streak . USC cut the lead to three during the third quarter , but Oregon scored all the game ' s remaining points and won by margin of three touchdowns . Arizona State Sun Devils . The Trojans eked out a single - point victory against Arizona State thanks to a rare defensive two - point conversion in the fourth quarter . After the Sun Devils scored a touchdown to put them in the lead by four points Torin Harris blocked the extra point and ran it back to the opposite end - zone , cutting ASU ' s newly - found lead to two . Kicker Joe Houston later kicked a 29 - yard field to put the Trojans in the lead , which they maintained during the game ' s final minutes . Arizona Wildcats . USC beat Arizona to extend its win streak in Tucson to nine with a 160 yard performance by Marc Tyler and avenged their season - ending loss from the previous year . Oregon State Beavers . The Trojans lost their third straight game in Corvallis and lost Matt Barkley to injury late in the second quarter . Oregon State ' s 36 – 7 victory marked the worst defeat for USC against the Beavers in 96 years . Notre Dame Fighting Irish . Playing with its backup quarterback Mitch Mustain , USC lost to Notre Dame and ended its victory streak against its arch rival dating back to 2001 . The Fighting Irish scored the go - ahead touchdown with 2 : 23 remaining in the game , and the Trojans failed to convert a two - minute drill after a pass to Ronald Johnson that would have resulted in a touchdown and the probable win was dropped . Mustain later threw an interception that ended the game and gave Notre Dame the victory . UCLA Bruins . After losing to rival Notre Dame the week before , USC bounced back to close their season with a win over cross - town rival UCLA to retain the Victory Bell . Quarterback Matt Barkley returned after missing the previous week and threw one of the team ' s two touchdown passes . Allen Bradford led the Trojans by gaining 212 yards rushing and catching a 47 - yard touchdown throw to extend the victory streak against the Bruins to four .