2011 USC Trojans football team The 2011 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS college football season . The Trojans were led by head coach Lane Kiffin in his second season . They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and are members of the South Division of the Pacific - 12 Conference . After a triple - overtime loss to Stanford , the Trojans won their last four games , including a 50 - 0 win over rival UCLA in the regular - season finale . USC ended their season ranked No . 6 in the AP Poll with a 10 – 2 record overall and finished first in the South Division with a 7 – 2 record in Pac - 12 play . However , as part of a post - season ban mandated by the NCAA , the Trojans could not claim the Pac - 12 South Division title , participate in the conference championship game or play in a bowl game . The highlight of the season was a thrilling triple - overtime loss to the Stanford Cardinal 48 - 56 . USC concluded their season with two thousand - yard receivers ( Robert Woods and Marqise Lee ) , a thousand - yard rusher ( Curtis McNeal ) , and a 3 , 000 - yard passer ( Matt Barkley ) for the first time since the 2005 season , when Kiffin served as offensive coordinator . Game notes . Minnesota . Robert Woods caught 17 passes – the most ever for a USC player – gained 177 yards , and had 3 touchdowns as USC defeated Minnesota 19 – 17 on September 3 . Quarterback Matt Barkley also set a USC record by completing 34 passes during the game ; Barkley had 45 attempts and finished with 304 yards passing . Despite those offensive records , Minnesota nearly completed a second half comeback . After trailing 19 – 3 at the half , Minnesota kept the Trojans scoreless in the second half . The Golden Gophers narrowed USC ' s lead to 2 points with 8 : 03 left in the game when their backup quarterback , Max Shortell , passed the ball to Brandon Green for a touchdown . Minnesota prevented USC from scoring on the ensuing possession . On their final possession , Minnesota started their drive at their own 9 - yard line with 2 : 04 left to play . Cornerback Torin Harris intercepted a pass by Shortell to end the threat and preserve the win for USC . After the game , the Pacific - 12 Conference name Woods as its offensive player of the week . In addition to his record breaking 17 receptions , Woods returned three kickoffs for 73 yards . Utah . The contest between USC and Utah , the first between the two teams since Utah ' s win in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl , was the first conference game in the history of the new Pac - 12 . A game between California and Colorado was scheduled earlier in the day , but since the game was scheduled as a non - conference game years ahead of time , it did not count as a conference game in the official standings . The Trojans pulled ahead in the first quarter 10 to zero , but Utah scored two touchdowns off of USC turnovers to close the gap to 17 – 14 . The fourth quarter remained scoreless until the final seconds , when the Utes lined up for a 41 - yard field goal to tie . The kick was blocked by Matt Kalil and recovered by Torin Harris , who returned it for a touchdown . The USC sideline rushed the field , which netted the team an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty . Though such penalties are dead - ball fouls and are assessed on the following play , the officials erroneously negated the touchdown and the final score was initially reported as 17 – 14 . Two hours after the game ended , Pac - 12 officials corrected the score to 23 – 14 . The correction was particularly significant for gambling , as the nine - point victory allowed the Trojans to narrowly edge the 8 . 5 point spread . Some bettors were able to cash in on based on either score , while some were limited to the original score , depending on casino house rules . Syracuse . Arizona State . USC had won the last 11 meetings , with Arizona State last defeating USC in 1999 . In this game , USC led 22 – 21 in the third quarter , but Arizona State then scored 22 unanswered points to win 43 – 22 . Arizona . California . USC pulled out to a 20 – 0 halftime lead over the Golden Bears . Matt Barkley threw two touchdowns in the first half , to Brandon Carswell and Marqise Lee . USC tested out the No . 1 national wide receiver recruit George Farmer at running back . He gained 4 yards on 4 carries and caught 1 pass for 14 yards in the game . In the second half , Cal quarterback Zach Maynard , who struggled in the first half , heated up a little bit . He ran for a 3 yard touchdown , but it was not nearly close enough to outscore the Trojans . USC won by a final score of 30 – 9 . Barkley finished with 195 yards and 2 touchdowns , Curtis McNeal lit up the Golden Bears defense for 86 yards and a touchdown , Lee caught 4 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown . USC star receiver Robert Woods only finished with 36 yards . Notre Dame . Colorado . Colorado jumped off to a surprising lead after a Toney Clemons 37 yard touchdown pass from Tyler Hansen . USC then scored 28 unanswered points in the 1st half . Matt Barkley threw all 4 touchdowns in the first half . Two were to freshman wide receiver Marqise Lee ( 33 and 25 yards ) , one to freshman tight end Xavier Grimble ( 5 yards ) , and one to sophomore superstar Robert Woods ( 15 yards ) . Colorado kicker Will Oliver added a 30 yard field goal right before the half . At halftime , USC led 28 – 10 . In the third , Barkley hit Woods again for a 45 yard bomb that put the Trojans up 35 – 10 . Clemons and Hansen connected again in the 4th quarter , followed by a 19 yard screen pass to USC freshman running back Amir Carlisle that sealed the win for the Trojans . Barkley broke the all - time USC record in this game for most touchdown passes in a single game with 6 . He finished 25 / 39 with 318 yards , 6 touchdowns , and 1 INT . USC running backs Curtis McNeal and Carlisle picked up the slack with normal tailback Marc Tyler out . Both had 10 carries , with McNeal picking up 90 yards and Carlisle getting 86 . Woods and Lee were amazing though with 9 catches and 2 touchdowns each ! Woods finished with 130 yards , while Lee tallied 124 yards . USC climbed to a 7 – 2 record , with a 4 – 2 record in the Pac 12 . Colorado still has not picked up a conference win as they fell to 1 – 9 ( 0 – 6 ) . Washington . After Southern California lost to Washington on last - gasp field goals in each of the last two years , the Trojans made sure the final seconds of the latest meeting didn ' t matter at all . Marqise Lee caught a touchdown pass and returned the second - half kickoff 88 yards for a score , and Curtis McNeal had a 79 - yard TD sprint among his career - high 148 yards rushing in USC ' s 40 – 17 victory over Washington . Matt Barkley passed for 174 yards and one touchdown while running for an early score for the Trojans , who made sure Huskies kicker Erik Folk played no significant role , as he did in each of Washington coach Steve Sarkisian ' s first two meetings with his former employer . Oregon . UCLA . Matt Barkley tied his own school record by once again completing six touchdown passes and surpassed the conference record for total touchdown passes in a season with 39 total . He passed for 423 yards , completing 35 of 42 passes ( 83 . 3 percent ) , and no interceptions . Robert Woods set the conference ' s single - season receptions record while catching 12 passes for 113 yards and two TDs . True freshman Marqise Lee had 13 catches for 224 yards and two TDs . Meanwhile , Curtis McNeal rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries ( 10 . 3 avg ) to eclipse 1 , 000 yards on the season . This marked the first time that USC had two thousand yard receivers , a three - thousand yard passer , and a thousand yard rusher since 2005 , when Kiffin was the offensive coordinator . The Trojans ' defensive effort was led by safety T . J . McDonald , who had a game - high 10 tackles , including one for loss , a pass breakup , and an interception that he returned for 25 yards . Cornerback Nickell Robey , linebacker Hayes Pullard , and safety Jawanza Starling each had nine tackles . Robey also had two sacks and two pass breakups . The Trojans , who finished first in the South Division , were not eligible for the post - season due to NCAA - imposed sanctions , so the Bruins were declared the South Division champions .