The 2016 season's largest margin: USC 45, Utah State 7. A 38-point win — the year's high-water mark.
2016 — The Top-10 Year
USC finished 2016 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
Who carried it
- Sam DarnoldQB3,086 passing yards
- Max BrowneQB507 passing yards
- Ronald Jones II?1,082 rushing yards
- Justin Davis?607 rushing yards
- Aca'Cedric Ware?397 rushing yards
- JuJu Smith-SchusterWR914 receiving yards
- Darreus RogersWR696 receiving yards
- Deontay BurnettWR622 receiving yards
- Cameron SmithILB83 tackles
- Porter GustinOLB68 tackles
- Michael HutchingsILB66 tackles
- Rasheem GreenDT6 sacks
- Uchenna NwosuOLB3 sacks
Season leaders, 2016.
The season's deepest loss: USC 6, Alabama 52. A 46-point margin the season is remembered by.
The season's last act: USC beat Penn State 52-49 in the postseason.
"Fight On."
2016 is a middle chapter for USC — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.