The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Ten Conference.
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program was previously in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 season. Stanford was known as the "Cardinal" for its first two decades of athletic competition, then more commonly as the "Cardinals" until 1930. The name was changed to the "Indians" from 1930 to January 1972, and back to the "Cardinals" from 1972 through 1981. A student vote in December 1975 to change the nickname to "Robber Barons" was not approved by administrators.
The 2010 Pacific-10 Conference football season began on September 2, 2010 with a victory by USC at Hawaii. Conference play began on September 11 with Stanford shutting out UCLA 35–0 in Pasadena on ESPN.
The 2011 Pac-12 Conference football season began on September 1, 2011 with Montana State at Utah and UC Davis at Arizona State. The conference's first game was played on September 10 with Utah at USC, and the final game played was the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, December 2. Oregon defeated UCLA to claim their third straight conference title. This is the first season for the conference as a 12-team league. In July 2011, Colorado and Utah joined the conference, at which time the league's name changed from the Pacific-10 Conference.
The 2012 Pac-12 Conference football season began on August 30, 2012, with Northern Colorado at Utah. The conference's first game was played on September 15 with #2 USC at #21 Stanford, and the final game played was the Pac-12 Championship Game on November 30, 2012. This is the second season for the conference as a 12-team league. Pac-12 champion Stanford was featured in the Rose Bowl, a BCS bowl, when they prevailed 20–14 against Big Ten Champion Wisconsin on January 1, 2013.
The 2012 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Trojans were led by third-year head coach Lane Kiffin, played their home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. USC returned 18 starters and 13 All-Conference performers from a team that finished the 2011 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 two-year-post-season ban mandated by the NCAA, the Trojans could not claim the 2011 Pac-12 South Division title, participate in the conference championship game or play in a bowl game. The 2012 season was the first year under Kiffin that the Trojans were eligible for post-season play. They started the season ranked #1 in the AP Poll, but finished unranked—the first team to do so since the 1964 Ole Miss Rebels and the first to do so in the BCS-era. The Trojans finished the season 7–6, 5–4 in Pac-12 play, tied for second in the Pac-12 South Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they were defeated 21–7 by Georgia Tech.
The 2014 Pac-12 Conference football season was the fourth season of college football for the Pac-12 Conference as a 12-team league. The season began on Thursday, August 28, 2014, and the first conference game was on Saturday, September 6, 2014, when USC played at Stanford. The final game was the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 5, 2014, with FOX televising the game. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Arizona Wildcats, 51–13 for the conference championship and went on to play in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks defeated the Florida State Seminoles 59–20 in the semifinal game in the Rose Bowl, but lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes 42–20 in the championship game.
The Stanford–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans. The two teams will no longer be in the same conference in 2024 and played the last scheduled game of the series on September 9, 2023, with the Trojans winning 56–10. The two teams first played in 1905 and began playing regularly in 1918. Between 1911 and 1913, there were rugby games played between the two schools. In some places, these games are counted as football games. The only six years in which the rivalry was not played since that year were in 1921, 1924, the three years of World War II (1943–1945), and the Covid season in 2020. The teams have frequently vied for the conference championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. Stanford is USC's oldest current rival.
The 2015 Pac-12 Conference football season was the fifth season for the conference as a twelve-team league. The season began on September 3, 2015 with a trio of games, Arizona hosting UTSA, Utah hosting Michigan, and Hawaii hosting Colorado. The final game was the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 5, 2015, with ESPN televising the game.
The 2015 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by fifth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 2016 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by head coach Clay Helton in his first full season after replacing Steve Sarkisian in the sixth game of the 2015 season. They finished the season 10–3, 7–2 in Pac-12 play to finish in second place in the South Division. They were invited to the Rose Bowl where they defeated Big Ten Conference champion Penn State.
The 2016 Pac-12 Conference football season is the sixth season for the conference as a twelve-team league. The season began on August 26, 2016, with California vs. Hawaii. The final game was the 2016 Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 2, 2016, with Fox televising the game.
The 2017 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Clay Helton. They finished the season 11–3, 8–1 in Pac-12 play to be champions of the South Division. They represented the South Division in the Pac-12 Championship Game where they defeated Stanford to become Pac-12 Champions. They were invited to play in the Cotton Bowl where they were soundly defeated at the hands of Ohio State, 24–7.
The 2017 Pac–12 Conference football season is the seventh for the twelve-team league. The season began on August 26, 2017, and ended with the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1, 2017 at Levi's Stadium.
The 2017 Pac-12 Football Championship Game was played on December 1, 2017 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California to determine the champion of the Pac-12 Conference in football for the 2017 season. It was the seventh football championship game in Pac-12 Conference history. The game featured the South Division champion USC Trojans against the North Division co-champion Stanford Cardinal, a rematch of the 2015 championship and the first rematch in the game's history. USC defeated Stanford by a score of 31–28, becoming the first South Division member to win the Pac-12 Championship Game.
The 2019 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Clay Helton.
The 2019 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by second-year head coach Mario Cristobal. Oregon played their home games at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. The Ducks competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 2020 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by fifth-year head coach Clay Helton.
The 2020 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by third-year head coach Mario Cristobal. The Ducks played their home games at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 2021 Pac-12 Conference football season was the 43rd season of Pac-12 football taking place during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 28, 2021, and ended with the 2021 Pac-12 Championship Game on December 3, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.
