USC Trojans football under Paul Hackett

Paul Hackett was the coach of the University of Southern California's football team from 1998 to 2000. He compiled a 19-18 record, and was succeeded by Pete Carroll.

Contents

1998

1998 USC Trojans football
Sun Bowl, L 19-28 vs. TCU
Conference Pacific-10 Conference
1998 record 8-5 (5-3 Pac-10)
Head coach Paul Hackett
Home stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
« 1997 1999 »
1998 Pacific-10 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#8 UCLA †   8 – 0         10 – 2  
#4 Arizona   7 – 1         12 – 1  
Oregon   5 – 3         8 – 4  
USC   5 – 3         8 – 5  
Washington   4 – 4         6 – 6  
Arizona State   4 – 4         5 – 6  
California   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Oregon State   2 – 6         5 – 6  
Stanford   2 – 6         3 – 8  
Washington State   0 – 8         3 – 8  
† – BCS representative as champion
Rankings from AP Poll

This was Paul Hackett's inaugural year as head coach as the Trojans head coach as well as his only winning season and bowl appearance with the team. It was also the Trojans' 75th anniversary playing at the Coliseum.

After three wins, including an opener against Purdue in the Pigskin Classic, USC was ranked as high as 18 in the AP Poll, but lost two of its next three and dropped out of the rankings permanently.

During halftime of the game against UCLA, 91-year-old USC "Super Fan" Giles Pellerin died while watching his 797th consecutive USC football game.[1]

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
August 30 Purdue* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Pigskin Classic IX) W 27–17   56,623
September 12 San Diego State* #22 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 35–6   49,927
September 19 Oregon State #18 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 40–20   45,629
September 26 at #10 Florida State* #18 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL L 10–20   79,815
October 3 Arizona State #21 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 35–24   56,093
October 10 California #19 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 31–32   65,678
October 7 at Washington State Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA W 42–14   31,178
October 24 at #12 Oregon Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR L 13–17   45,807
October 31 Washington Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 33–10   62,276
November 7 at Stanford Stanford Stadium • Palo Alto, CA W 34–9   43,250
November 21 at #3 UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell) L 17–34   88,080
November 28 #9 Notre Dame* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Notre Dame – USC rivalry) W 10–0   90,069
December 31 vs. TCU* Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl) L 19–28   46,612
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Coaching staff

1998 USC Trojans coaching staff
Name Position Year at USC Alma mater (Year)
Paul Hackett Head Coach 1st UC Davis (1969)
Steve Greatwood Offensive Line 1st Oregon (1981)
Hue Jackson Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs 2nd Pacific (1987)
Ken O'Brien Quarterbacks 1st UC Davis (1983)
Ed Orgeron Defensive Line 1st Northwestern State (1984)
Larry Petroff Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator 1st Ashland College (1973)
Shawn Slocum Linebackers 1st Texas A&M (1987)
Dennis Thurman Secondary 6th USC (1978)
Mike Wilson Wide Receivers 2nd Washington State (1981)
Bill Young Defensive Coordinator 1st Oklahoma State (1967)

1999

1999 USC Trojans football
Conference Pacific-10 Conference
1999 record 6-6 (3-5 Pac-10)
Head coach Paul Hackett
Home stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
« 1998 2000 »
1999 Pacific-10 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Stanford †   7 – 1         8 – 4  
#19 Oregon   6 – 2         9 – 3  
Washington   6 – 2         7 – 5  
Arizona State   5 – 3         6 – 6  
Oregon State   4 – 4         7 – 5  
Arizona   3 – 5         6 – 6  
USC   3 – 5         6 – 6  
California   3 – 5         4 – 7  
UCLA   2 – 6         4 – 7  
Washington State   1 – 7         3 – 9  
† – BCS representative as champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1999 season included the Trojan's 1,000th game, a home win against Oregon State. The Trojans won three of their four non-conference games, but lost five of its eight conference games including a triple overtime loss to Oregon, the longest game in USC's history.

One bright spot for the Trojans was their victory over UCLA. The win broke the Bruins' eight-year streak of victories, the longest in the rivalry's history.

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
September 21 at Hawaii* #21 Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI W 62–7   50,000
September 18 San Diego State* #17 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 24–21   53,966
September 25 at Oregon #16 Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR L 37–29 3OT  45,660
October 2 Oregon State Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 37–29   43,795
October 9 at Arizona #22 Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ L 24–31   51,418
October 16 at Notre Dame* Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Notre Dame – USC rivalry) L 24–25   80,012
October 23 Stanford Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 31–35   57,494
October 30 at California California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA L 7–17   54,000
November 6 Arizona State Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 16–26   53,382
November 13 at Washington State Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA W 31–28   23,065
November 20 UCLA Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell) W 17–7   91,384
November 26 #25 Louisiana Tech* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA W 45–19   45,070
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Coaching staff

1999 USC Trojans coaching staff
Name Position Year at USC Alma mater (Year)
Paul Hackett Head Coach 2nd UC Davis (1969)
Steve Greatwood Offensive Line 2nd Oregon (1981)
Hue Jackson Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs 3rd Pacific (1987)
Steve Morton Tight Ends 1st Washington State (1976)
Ken O'Brien Quarterbacks 2nd UC Davis (1983)
Ed Orgeron Defensive Line 2nd Northwestern State (1984)
Shawn Slocum Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator 2nd Texas A&M (1987)
Dennis Thurman Secondary 7th USC (1978)
Mike Wilson Wide Receivers 3rd Washington State (1981)
Bill Young Defensive Coordinator 2nd Oklahoma State (1967)

2000

2000 USC Trojans football
Conference Pacific-10 Conference
2000 record 5–7 (2–6 Pac-10)
Head coach Paul Hackett
Home stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
« 1999 2001 »
2000 Pacific-10 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#3 Washington †§   7 – 1         11 – 1  
#4 Oregon State ‡§   7 – 1         11 – 1  
#7 Oregon §   7 – 1         10 – 2  
Stanford   4 – 4         5 – 6  
UCLA   3 – 5         6 – 6  
Arizona State   3 – 5         6 – 6  
Arizona   3 – 5         5 – 6  
USC   2 – 6         5 – 7  
Washington State   2 – 6         4 – 7  
California   2 – 6         3 – 8  
† – BCS representative as champion
‡ – BCS at-large representative
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

This was the last year of Hackett's tenure at USC, and the first year the Trojan's had ever finished last in the Pac-10. After winning the 18th Kickoff Classic against ranked Penn State, the Trojans won their next two non-conference games and were ranked as high as eighth in the AP Poll. The game against San Jose State was the 500th game USC played in the Coliseum, which they won after trailing 24–12.

They lost their first conference game to Oregon State, breaking their 26 game winning streak against the conference rival, and lost the next four, eventually going 2–6 in conference play. It placed 8th, tied with California and Washington State. Petros Papadakis, a team captain for the season and current broadcaster, claims he was "the captain of the worst football team in USC history."[2]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
August 27 11:30 AM vs. #22 Penn State* #15 Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic XVIII) ABC W 29–5   78,902
September 9 5:00 PM Coloado* #11 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA ABC W 17–14   65,153
September 23 3:30 PM San Jose State #9 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA FSN W 34–24   56,545
September 30 3:30 PM at Oregon State #8 Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR FSN L 21–31   33,775
October 7 12:30 PM Arizona #18 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA ABC L 15–31   49,342
October 14 12:30 PM #9 Oregon Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA ABC L 17–28   54,031
October 21 12:30 PM at Stanford Stanford Stadium • Palo Alto, CA ABC L 30–32   50,125
October 28 3:30 PM California Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA FSN L 16–28   54,393
November 4 6:00 PM at Arizona State Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ FSN W 44–38 2OT  49,865
November 11 3:30 PM Washington State Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA FSN L 27–33   40,565
November 18 3:30 PM at UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell) FSN W 38–35   80,227
November 25 12:30 PM Notre Dame* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Notre Dame – USC rivalry) ABC L 21–38   81,342
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

References

  1. ^ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1998-11-22/features/9811220352_1_beamer-pellerin-alabama
  2. ^ http://www.laweekly.com/content/printVersion/43825
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