USC Trojans football statistical leaders
A four-year starter, Matt Barkley is the Trojans' career leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
The USC Trojans football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the USC Trojans football program in various categories,[ 1] including passing , rushing , receiving , total offense , defensive stats, and kicking /special teams. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. Through the 2023 season, the Trojans represented the University of Southern California in the NCAA Division I FBS Big 10 team , but will join the Big Ten Conference for 2024 and beyond.
Although USC began competing in intercollegiate football in 1888,[ 1] the school's official record book considers the "modern era" to have begun in the 1920s. Records from before this decade are often incomplete and inconsistent, and they are generally not included in these lists.
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since the 1920s, seasons have increased from 10 to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
The Trojans have played in 57 bowl games in school history,[ 2] 39 of which have come since the 1970 season . Although the official NCAA record book does not include bowl games in statistical records until 2002,[ 3] and most colleges also structure their record books this way, USC counts all bowl games in its records.[ 1]
Due to COVID-19 issues, the NCAA ruled that the 2020 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any football player, giving everyone who played in that season the opportunity for five years of eligibility instead of the normal four.[ 4]
These lists are updated through the end of the 2023 season . Recent USC Football Media Guides do not include full top 10 lists for single-game records. However, the 2003 version of the media guide included long lists of top individual single-game performances,[ 5] and box scores from more recent games are readily available, so the lists are easily derived.
Passing
Passing yards
Career
Rk
Player
Yards
Years
1
Matt Barkley
12,327
2009 2010 2011 2012
2
Carson Palmer
11,818
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
3
Matt Leinart
10,693
2002 2003 2004 2005
4
Cody Kessler
10,339
2012 2013 2014 2015
5
Rob Johnson
8,472
1991 1992 1993 1994
6
Rodney Peete
8,225
1985 1986 1987 1988
7
Caleb Williams
8,170[ 6]
2022 2023
8
Kedon Slovis
7,576
2019 2020 2021
9
Sam Darnold
7,229
2016 2017
10
John David Booty
6,125
2003 2005 2006 2007
Single season
Rk
Player
Yards
Year
1
Caleb Williams
4,537
2022
2
Sam Darnold
4,143
2017
3
Carson Palmer
3,942
2002
4
Cody Kessler
3,826
2014
5
Matt Leinart
3,815
2005
6
Caleb Williams
3,633[ 6]
2023
7
Rob Johnson
3,630
1993
8
Matt Leinart
3,556
2003
9
Cody Kessler
3,536
2015
10
Matt Barkley
3,528
2011
Passing touchdowns
Rushing
Rushing yards
Career
Rk
Player
Yards
Years
1
Charles White
6,245
1976 1977 1978 1979
2
Marcus Allen
4,810
1978 1979 1980 1981
3
Anthony Davis
3,724
1972 1973 1974
4
Ricky Bell
3,689
1974 1975 1976 1977
5
Ronald Jones II
3,619
2015 2016 2017
6
O. J. Simpson
3,423
1967 1968
7
Mike Garrett
3,221
1963 1964 1965
8
Reggie Bush
3,169[ a]
2003 2004 2005
9
LenDale White
3,159
2003 2004 2005
10
Fred Crutcher
2,815
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
Single season
Rk
Player
Yards
Year
1
Marcus Allen
2,427
1981
2
Charles White
2,050
1979
3
Ricky Bell
1,957
1975
4
O. J. Simpson
1,880
1968
5
Charles White
1,859
1978
6
Reggie Bush
1,740
2005
7
Marcus Allen
1,563
1980
8
Ronald Jones II
1,550
2017
9
O. J. Simpson
1,543
1967
10
Javorius Allen
1,489
2014
Rushing touchdowns
Receiving
Receptions
Receiving yards
Career
Rk
Player
Yards
Years
1
Marqise Lee
3,655
2011 2012 2013
2
Johnnie Morton
3,201
1990 1991 1992 1993
3
Dwayne Jarrett
3,138
2004 2005 2006
4
Kareem Kelly
3,104
1999 2000 2001 2002
5
JuJu Smith-Schuster
3,092
2014 2015 2016
6
Steve Smith
3,019
2003 2004 2005 2006
7
Keary Colbert
2,964
2000 2001 2002 2003
8
Robert Woods
2,930
2010 2011 2012
9
Tyler Vaughns
2,801
2017 2018 2019 2020
10
Keyshawn Johnson
2,796
1994 1995
Single season
Rk
Player
Yards
Year
1
Marqise Lee
1,721
2012
2
Johnnie Morton
1,520
1993
3
JuJu Smith-Schuster
1,454
2015
4
Keyshawn Johnson
1,434
1995
5
Keyshawn Johnson
1,362
1994
6
Mike Williams
1,314
2003
7
Nelson Agholor
1,313
2014
8
Robert Woods
1,292
2011
9
Michael Pittman Jr.
1,275
2019
10
Dwayne Jarrett
1,274
2005
Receiving touchdowns
Total offense
Total offense is the sum of passing and rushing statistics. It does not include receiving or returns.[ 11]
Total offense yards
Career
Rk
Player
Yards
Years
1
Matt Barkley
12,214
2009 2010 2011 2012
2
Carson Palmer
11,621
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
3
Matt Leinart
10,623
2003 2004 2005
4
Cody Kessler
9,914
2012 2013 2014 2015
5
Caleb Williams
8,688 [ 6]
2022 2023
6
Rodney Peete
8,640
1985 1986 1987 1988
7
Rob Johnson
7,896
1991 1992 1993 1994
8
Sam Darnold
7,561
2016 2017
9
Kedon Slovis
7,426
2019 2020 2021
10
Charles White
6,240
1976 1977 1978 1979
Single season
Rk
Player
Yards
Year
1
Caleb Williams
4,919
2022
2
Sam Darnold
4,225
2017
3
Matt Leinart
3,851
2005
4
Carson Palmer
3,820
2002
5
Caleb Williams
3,769 [ 6]
2023
6
Cody Kessler
3,674
2014
7
Matt Barkley
3,542
2011
8
Matt Leinart
3,494
2003
9
Kedon Slovis
3,445
2019
10
Rob Johnson
3,425
1993
Touchdowns responsible for
"Touchdowns responsible for" is the NCAA's official term for combined passing and rushing touchdowns.[ 12]
Defense
Note: The USC Football Media Guide does not generally give a full top 10 in defensive statistics.[ 1]
Interceptions
Tackles
Single season
Rk
Player
Tackles
Year
1
Rex Moore
206
1986
Single game
Rk
Player
Tackles
Year
Opponent
1
Sam Anno
23
1986
Illinois
Sacks
Special teams
Field goals made
Field goal percentage
^ a b c The NCAA does not credit Bush with this total; it later ruled him to have been ineligible for the last two games of the 2004 season and all of the 2005 season. USC includes all of Bush's statistics in its record books, but adds a prominent disclaimer indicating the NCAA treatment of his records.
^ a b The NCAA does not credit Bush with this game.
References
^ a b c d "2023 USC Trojans Football Media Guide" (PDF) . USC Trojans. July 20, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "USC Trojans Bowls" . Sports-Reference CFB . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats" . ESPN.com . AP. August 28, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2014 .
^ Cobb, David (August 21, 2020). "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility" . CBSSports.com . Retrieved November 27, 2021 .
^ "Top Individual Performances" (PDF) . USCTrojans.com . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015 .
^ a b c d e f g h i "Caleb Williams" . ESPN.com . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ a b "USC vs. Colorado Box Score" . ESPN.com . September 30, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023 .
^ a b "Box Score: DIRECTV Holiday Bowl" . ESPN.com . December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Brenden Rice" . ESPN.com . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Ja'Kobi Lane" . ESPN.com .
^ "2022 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 9. Retrieved October 17, 2022 .
^ "2022 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved October 17, 2022 .
Venues Bowls and rivalries Culture and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold