87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
GAME NOTES
TEXAS TIME
*The No. 8 ranked USC football team (11-2) will face No. 14 Tulane (11-2) in the 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., at 12 p.m. CT on Jan. 2, 2023 on ESPN.
*This will be USC’s third-ever appearance in the Cotton Bowl.
*The 1994 Trojans, behind 3 touchdown catches by wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, defeated Texas Tech, 55-14, in the 1995 Cotton Bowl, and No. 8 USC fell to No. 5 Ohio State in the 2017 Cotton Bowl.
*This is USC’s third game in AT&T Stadium. In addition to the 2017 Cotton Bowl, the Trojans first opened the 2016 season there with a 52-6 loss to Alabama.
RANKINGS
*USC is ranked No. 8 in the latest AP Poll and 8th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
*Tulane is ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
*In the CFP rankings, the Trojans sit at No. 10, while the Green Wave is at No. 16.
SERIES
*This will be the first time in 76 years that the Trojans have faced off against the Green Wave. USC played Tulane in 1931, 1942 and 1946 and holds a 2-1 record.
*In 1931, the Trojans, under head coach Howard Jones, beat the Green Wave in the 1932 Rose Bowl to cap a national championship season.
TULANE SCOUTING REPORT
*By beating No. 22 UCF in the conference championship game, Tulane has now defeated a ranked opponent two games in a row (the Green Wave beat No. 24 Cincinnati in the final week of the regular season).
*These wins broke the longest losing streak against Top-25 teams in college football poll history (Tulane hadn’t defeated a ranked opponent since 1984 for 61 straight loses).
*QB Michael Pratt leads the Tulane offense going 207-for-321 (.645) for 2,775 yards with 25 TDs and 5 INTs.
*WR Shae Wyatt leads the Green Wave receiving corps with 35 receptions for 692 yards and 7 TDs.
*RB Tyjae Spears leads the ground attack with 1376 rushing yards on 212 carries with 15 TDs. Spears is No. 11 in the nation in rushing TDs (15) and No. 13 in the nation in rushing yards (1,376).
*Defensively, LB Dorian Williams tops the Tulane stat sheet with 115 tackles. His 72 solo tackles are the ninth-most solo tackles in the country.
*LB Nick Anderson (108 tackles), S Larry Brooks (83 tackles) and S Macon Clark (63) are among Tulane’s top defenders.
*Tulane is the sixth least penalized team in the nation (avg. 4.0 per game).
VERSUS AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
*USC is 9-3-0 against teams from the American Athletic Conference, most recently defeating Houston 26-9 in an away game in 1996.
*Tulane is 5-10 against teams from the Pac-12 Conference, most recently losing to Washington 12-24 in the Independence Bowl in 1987.
SEASON ENDERS
*USC is 69-47-11 (.587) in all season finales (not including 1 win and 1 loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 70-48-11, .585.).
10-/11-/12-WIN SEASONS
*With an 11-2 overall mark in 2022, USC is pursuing its fifth-ever 12-win season (not including 2004, when 2 of its 13 wins were vacated due to NCAA penalty, and 2005, when all 12 wins were vacated due to NCAA penalty). USC won 12 games in 1972, 1978, 2003 and 2008.
*USC has had 11-win seasons 14 times (not including 2005, when all 12 wins were vacated due to NCAA penalty).
*USC has posted at least 10 wins in a season 28 times (not including 2005, when all 12 wins were vacated due to NCAA penalty). Of those, USC hit the 10-win mark by the end of the regular season on 18 occasions (not including 2005, when all 12 wins were vacated due to NCAA penalty).
14 GAMES
*This is just the fourth time that USC has played 14 games in a season, along with 2013 (10-4), 2015 (8-6) and 2017 (11-3).
MONDAY GAMES
*USC is 18-12 on Mondays, including 14-4 in bowl games. USC’s last Monday game was the legendary 52-49 Rose Bowl victory over Penn State in 2016.
IN JANUARY
*USC has a 33-11 (.750) all-time record while playing in the month of January, including 27-10 in January bowls (not including 1 win and 1 loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 34-12, .739 overall and 28-11 in bowls).
ON JANUARY 2
*USC owns a 6-2 record in games played on Jan. 2, including 3-2 in the Rose Bowl. The games were in 1898 (5-0 win over Santa Barbara AC in the rain), 1932 (35-0 win over Pittsburgh in the 1933 Rose Bowl as USC won a national championship), 1938 (7-3 win over previously unbeaten, unscored upon Duke in the 1939 Rose Bowl), 1966 (14-13 loss to Purdue as USC’s late 2-point conversion try failed in the 1967 Rose Bowl), 1988 (22-14 loss to Michigan in the 1989 Rose Bowl), 1994 (55-14 win over Texas Tech in the 1995 Cotton Bowl), 2002 (38-17 win over Iowa in the 2003 Orange Bowl) and 2016 (52-49 win over Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl).
ARTIFICIAL TURF
*USC is 49-34-1 in its last 84 games on artificial turf (not including 3 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 52-34-1).
INSIDE (DOME)
*USC is 3-3 in domed (or closed roof) stadiums, beating Washington State in the Kingdome in 1976, Texas A&M in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl in the Astrodome and Houston in the Astrodome in 1996, but losing in AT&T Stadium to Alabama in 2016 and to Ohio State in the 2017 Cotton Bowl and to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship in Allegiant Stadium in 2022.
NFL STADIUMS
*Since 2014, USC has played 7 games in a current NFL stadium. It beat Nebraska, 45-42, in the 2014 Holiday Bowl in Qualcomm Stadium, lost to Stanford, 41-22, in the 2015 Pac-12 Championship Game in Levi’s Stadium and to Wisconsin, 23-21, in the 2015 Holiday Bowl in Qualcomm Stadium, lost to Alabama, 52-6, in AT&T Stadium in the 2016 season opener and beat Stanford, 31-28, in the 2017 Championship Game in Levi’s Stadium, lost to Ohio State, 24-7, in the 2017 Cotton Bowl in AT&T Stadium and lost to Utah 47-24 in Allegiant Stadium in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship.
IN TEXAS
*This will be USC’s third time visiting AT&T Stadium. The 2016 Alabama game was USC’s first time in AT&T Stadium, and its first trip to the Metroplex area since playing in the 1995 Cotton Bowl versus Texas Tech and its first visit to the state of Texas since the 2012 Sun Bowl in El Paso versus Georgia Tech. USC then returned in 2017 to play in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State.
*USC is 9-7 in games played in Texas: 2-1 at Texas, 2-0 against Texas Tech (1 game in Lubbock and 1 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas), 1-1 at Baylor, 1-0 each versus Texas A&M (in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston), Rice, SMU and Houston, 0-1 each versus Michigan State in the John Hancock Bowl, TCU in the Sun Bowl, Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl and 0-2 in AT&T Stadium against Alabama and Ohio State.
TRAVELER IN DALLAS
*Traveler, USC’s white horse mascot that appears at all home football games with a Trojan warrior astride, will make an appearance in Dallas at the 2022 Cotton Bowl. Traveler rarely attends road games, but also was at the 1995 and 2017 Cotton Bowl. The farthest Traveler has traveled was the 2005 Orange Bowl in Miami.
ONE-SEASON TURNAROUND
*The 2022 Trojans have equaled the biggest one-season victory turnaround (+7 victories) in USC history. USC’s 1962 national champs won 11 games after winning just 4 in 1961. Last season, Troy won 4 games and this year it has 11 victories.
USC-TULANE CONNECTIONS
*USC has 1 player from Louisiana (DL Earl Barquet Jr.), while Tulane has 3 players from California (DB Gabe Liu, DB Chadwick Bailey and OL Caleb Thomas).
*USC QB Caleb Williams was high school teammates with Tulane LB Adam Uppuluri at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC.
*USC DL Earl Barquet Jr. was high school teammates with Tulane DL Patrick Jenkins at John Ehret High School in Marrero, LA.
*USC SNP Jac Casasante, DL Sinjun Astani and DB Ceyair Wright were high school teammates with Tulane DB Chadwick Bailey at Loyola High School in Los Angeles.
*USC Baseball Assistant Coach Travis Jewett previously served as the head coach for Tulane from 2017-2022.
*USC Director for Olympic Sports Performance Josh Heidegger worked with Tulane football during the 2014 season & also oversaw training for the track and field program.
*Tulane women’s golf head coach Stew Burke spent three seasons (2017-2019) at USC as the Trojans’ associate head coach (women’s golf).
LAST GAME
*Go to page 38 for a recap of USC’s 24-47 loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 2.
*The team that has lost the Pac-12 Championship Game has never won their bowl game.
BOWL HISTORY
*USC has a remarkable record in bowl games. The Trojans have the nation’s sixth highest bowl winning percentage (.642) among the 98 schools that have made at least 10 bowl appearances (behind Utah’s .708, Marshall’s .706, Army’s .700, Oklahoma State’s .656 and Louisiana Tech’s .653) (not including 1 USC win and 1 USC loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: .636). USC’s 34 bowl victories is third behind Alabama’s 44 and Georgia’s 35 for the most in the nation (not including 1 win for both teams vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 35 for USC, 45 for Alabama). Troy’s 53 bowl appearances are tied for sixth most with Ohio State and Nebraska, behind Alabama (74), Texas (58), Georgia (59), Oklahoma (55) and Tennessee (54) (not including 2 USC appearances, 1 Ohio State appearance and 1 Alabama appearance vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 55 for USC, 54 for Ohio State, 75 for Alabama). USC once won 9 consecutive bowl games (the 1923-30-32-33-39-40-44-45 Rose Bowls and 1924 Christmas Festival); only Florida State has won more in a row (11).
*USC’s overall post-season record is 34-19 (not including 1 win and 1 loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 35-20). The Trojans were a bowl participant each year they were eligible from 1972 to 1990.
*USC has appeared in an unprecedented 33 Rose Bowls, where it has a 25-8 mark (.758) (not including 1 appearance and 1 loss later vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 34 Rose Bowls, 25-9, .735). In addition, that is also the most wins by a school in a single bowl. USC has won 12 of its last 14 Rose Bowls (not including 1 appearance and 1 loss later vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 12 of its last 15). USC is the only team to win 3 consecutive Rose Bowls (2007-08-09). USC twice played in 4 consecutive Rose Bowl games (1967 to 1970 and 2006 to 2009); Ohio State (1973 to 1976) is the only other team to have done so.
*USC has also appeared in 13 other bowls–the Christmas Festival, Liberty Bowl, Bluebonnet Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Aloha Bowl, Florida Citrus Bowl, Sun (John Hancock) Bowl (3 times), Freedom Bowl (twice), Cotton Bowl (twice), Las Vegas Bowl (twice), Orange Bowl (twice), Emerald Bowl and Holiday Bowl (3 times).
*USC made 5 BCS bowl appearances (2003 Orange, 2004 Rose, 2007 Rose, 2008 Rose, 2009 Rose) (not including 2 appearances–2005 Orange and 2006 Rose–vacated by NCAA penalty; original record: an unprecedented 7 consecutive BCS bowl appearances). USC’s 5 overall BCS bowl trips tied for seventh most, behind Ohio State’s 9, Oklahoma’s 9, Florida State’s 8, Florida’s 7, Virginia Tech’s 6 and Alabama’s 6 (not including 2 appearances vacated by NCAA penalty; original record: 7 appearances, tied for fourth most; also, 1 Ohio State appearance vacated by NCAA penalty). USC’s 5 BCS bowl victories tied with Ohio State for the most of any school (not including 1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 6 victories, tied with Ohio State for most; also, 1 Ohio State win vacated by NCAA penalty).
USC’S COTTON BOWL RECORD
*1995–USC 55, Texas Tech 14 (Cotton Bowl)
*2017–Ohio State 24, USC 7 (Cotton Bowl Classic)
USC’S RECORD IN OTHER BOWLS
*1923–USC 14, Penn State 3 (Rose Bowl)
*1924—USC 20, Missouri 7 (Christmas Festival)
*1930–USC 47, Pittsburgh 14 (Rose Bowl)
*1932–USC 21, Tulane 12 (Rose Bowl)
*1933–USC 35, Pittsburgh 0 (Rose Bowl)
*1939–USC 7, Duke 3 (Rose Bowl)
*1940–USC 14, Tennessee 0 (Rose Bowl)
*1944–USC 29, Washington 0 (Rose Bowl)
*1945–USC 25, Tennessee 0 (Rose Bowl)
*1946–Alabama 34, USC 14 (Rose Bowl)
*1948–Michigan 49, USC 0 (Rose Bowl)
*1953–USC 7, Wisconsin 0 (Rose Bowl)
*1955–Ohio State 20, USC 7 (Rose Bowl)
*1963–USC 42, Wisconsin 37 (Rose Bowl)
*1967–Purdue 14, USC 13 (Rose Bowl)
*1968–USC 14, Indiana 3 (Rose Bowl)
*1969–Ohio State 27, USC 16 (Rose Bowl)
*1970–USC 10, Michigan 3 (Rose Bowl)
*1973–USC 42, Ohio State 17 (Rose Bowl)
*1974–Ohio State 42, USC 21 (Rose Bowl)
*1975–USC 18, Ohio State 17 (Rose Bowl)
*1975—USC 20, Texas A&M 0 (Liberty Bowl)
*1977–USC 14, Michigan 6 (Rose Bowl)
*1978—USC 47, Texas A&M 28 (Bluebonnet Bowl)
*1979–USC 17, Michigan 10 (Rose Bowl)
*1980–USC 17, Ohio State 16 (Rose Bowl)
*1982—Penn State 26, USC 10 (Fiesta Bowl)
*1985–USC 20, Ohio State 17 (Rose Bowl)
*1985—Alabama 24, USC 3 (Aloha Bowl)
*1987—Auburn 16, USC 7 (Florida Citrus Bowl)
*1988–Michigan State 20, USC 17 (Rose Bowl)
*1989–Michigan 22, USC 14 (Rose Bowl)
*1990–USC 17, Michigan 10 (Rose Bowl)
*1991—Michigan State 17, USC 16 (John Hancock Bowl)
*1992—Fresno State 24, USC 7 (Freedom Bowl)
*1993—USC 28, Utah 21 (Freedom Bowl)
*1996–USC 41, Northwestern 32 (Rose Bowl)
*1998—TCU 28, USC 19 (Sun Bowl)
*2001—Utah 10, USC 6 (Las Vegas Bowl)
*2003—USC 38, Iowa 17 (Orange Bowl)
*2004–USC 28, Michigan 14 (Rose Bowl)
*2005—USC 55, Oklahoma 19 (Orange Bowl, BCS Championship Game)
*2006–Texas 41, USC 38 (BCS Champ. Game) (Rose Bowl)
*2007–USC 32, Michigan 18 (Rose Bowl)
*2008—USC 49, Illinois 17 (Rose Bowl)
*2009—USC 38, Penn State 24 (Rose Bowl)
*2009—USC 24, Boston College 13 (Emerald Bowl)
*2012—Georgia Tech 21, USC 7 (Sun Bowl)
*2013—USC 45, Fresno State 20 (Las Vegas Bowl)
*2014—USC 45, Nebraska 42 (Holiday Bowl)
*2015 —Wisconsin 23, USC 21 (Holiday Bowl)
*2017–USC 52, Penn State 49 (Rose Bowl)
LAST BOWL GAME
*WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored touchdowns 3 different ways in the second quarter and No. 19 Iowa tallied the game’s final 21 points as the Hawkeyes defeated No. 22 USC in the 2019 SDCCU Holiday Bowl, 49- 24, before 50,123 fans under the lights in San Diego and an FS1 national audience. It was USC’s most decisive bowl loss since the 1948 Rose Bowl (a 49-0 Michigan win). It snapped USC’s 6-game winning streak over Iowa. Troy’s 24 points equaled the most allowed by Iowa in 2019. It was the teams’ first meeting since the 2003 Orange Bowl (following the 2002 season). The teams traded touchdowns on the game’s first 4 possessions. After WR Tyrone Tracy Jr. took an end-around for a 23- yard score on the opening drive, USC responded with QB Kedon Slovis’ 4-yard TD toss to WR Drake London late in the first quarter. SmithMarsette then had a 6-yard scoring run early in the second quarter, but USC countered with Slovis’ 16-yard scoring pass to TB Vavae Malepeai. Smith-Marsette then took the ensuing kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown and he then caught a 12-yard TD pass from QB Nate Stanley late in the half. USC got a 32-yard field goal from PK Chase McGrath at the halftime gun to trail 28-17 (the Trojans’ 17 points were the most allowed in any half by Iowa in 2019). On the opening drive of the second half, USC closed to 4 points on TB Stephen Carr’s 2-yard run. USC PK Michael Brown then recovered his own onside kick at midfield, but Slovis was knocked out of the game with an elbow strain on a sack 2 plays later and USC’s momentum stalled. The Trojans managed just 81 total yards on 8 possessions the rest of the game and got into the red zone just once (but missed a field goal). Iowa scored on its next drive, with RB Tyler Goodson getting a 1-yard TD run. Then, after the Hawkeyes recovered a bad center snap over QB Matt Fink’s head deep in USC territory early in the fourth quarter, Stanley found WR Brandon Smith for a 6-yard score. LB Nick Niemann returned a Fink interception 25 yards late in the game to close the scoring. Slovis completed 22-of-30 passes for 260 yards before the injury. He ended his freshman year hitting 71.9% of his passes, breaking the Pac-12 completion percentage season records for freshmen (minimum 100 attempts, held by Oregon’s Marcus Mariota) and any player (minimum 300 attempts, held by Stanford’s Andrew Luck), as well as the USC season mark (held by Cody Kessler). Fink went 12-of-18 for 74 yards subbing for Slovis. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown had 9 catches for 163 yards (both game highs), while WRs Tyler Vaughns (54 yards) and Michael Pittman Jr. (53 yards) each added 6 receptions. S Talanoa Hufanga had a game-high 14 tackles (2 for losses) and a forced fumble, while ILB Palaie Gaoteote added 8 tackles. For Iowa, Stanley completed 18-of-27 passes for 213 yards (he was 11-of-12 for 130 yards in the first half), TE Sam LaPorta had 6 catches for 44 yards, Smith-Marsette (the game’s Offensive MVP) had 203 all-purpose yards (142 on 3 kick returns, 46 on 2 catches and 15 on 2 rushes) and Goodson ran for 48 yards on 18 carries. DE A.J. Epenesa, who had 2.5 sacks, was the game’s Defensive MVP. USC had 356 total yards (just 22 rushing), while Iowa had 328 total yards. The Hawkeyes converted 8-of-13 third downs, didn’t have a turnover (USC had 3) , got 4 sacks and held the ball for 33:24.
TULANE’S BOWL HISTORY
*Tulane has a 6-8 all-time bowl record.
*1931—USC 21, Tulane 12 (Rose Bowl)
*1934—Tulane 20, Temple 14 (Sugar Bowl)
*1939—Texas A&M 14, Tulane 13 (Sugar Bowl)
*1970—Tulane 17, Colorado 3 (Liberty Bowl)
*1973—Houston 47, Tulane 7 (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)
*1979—Penn State 9, Tulane 6 (Liberty Bowl)
*1980—Arkansas 34, Tulane 15 (Hall of Fame Bowl)
*1987—Washington 24, Tulane 12 (Independence Bowl)
*1998—Tulane 41, BYU 27 (Liberty Bowl)
*2002—Tulane 36, Hawaii 28 (Hawaii Bowl)
*2013—Louisiana Lafayette 24, Tulane 21 (New Orleans Bowl)
*2018—Tulane 41, Louisiana Lafayette 24 (Cure Bowl)
*2019—Tulane 30, Southern Miss 13 (Armed Forces Bowl)
*2020—Nevada 38, Tulane 27 (Potato Bowl)
HE13MAN
*USC QB Caleb Williams was announced as the recipient of the 88th Heisman Memorial Trophy on Saturday, Dec. 10, live at the Lincoln Center in New York City. He is USC’s seventh official winner of college football’s most prestigious award.
*Williams joins an impressive fraternity of Trojan greats who have earned this award before him: Mike Garrett (1965), O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinart (2004) and Reggie Bush (2005, later vacated).
*Williams tallied 544 first place votes and 2,031 total points. He surpassed quarterback Max Duggan of Texas Christian (1,420 points), quarterback C.J. Stroud of Ohio State (539 points) and quarterback Stetson Bennett of Georgia (349 points).
ALL-AMERICANS
*USC Heisman winning QB Caleb Williams, DL Tuli Tuipulotu, OL Andrew Vorhees, OL Brett Neilon and DB Calen Bullock have all been named First Team All-Americans.
*These five first teamers are the most in a single season since 2007 when USC also had five First Team All-Americans.
*With the additions of these five Trojans, USC now has 175 First Team All-Americans.
*Williams and Tuipulotu are unanimous First Team All-Americans. Players become unanimous All-Americans by earning first team from all five officially recognized teams: FWAA, Walter Camp, AFCA, AP and Sporting News.
*With the addition of Williams and Tuipulotu, USC now has 29 total unanimous All-Americans.
*The last Trojan to be a unanimous All-American was Marqise Lee in 2012.
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
*USC redshirt senior DL Nick Figueroa has been named a 2022 First Team Academic All-American for his outstanding academic and athletic performance.
*Figueroa is the 42nd Trojan to ever win this honor and the 23rd USC football player since the program originated in 1952.
*In 2021, Figueroa earned placement on the Academic All-America Second Team.
*Earning his bachelor’s degree in real estate development at USC in the spring of 2021 with a 3.76 GPA, Figueroa has now finished his master’s in finance. The native of San Bernardino, Calif. graduated Magna Cum Laude from USC’s Price School of Public Policy, where he was a two-time David X Marks Scholar Athlete (2020 and 2021) and a Stevens Scholar.
*A veteran leader on the Trojan defense, the scholar-athlete has tallied 67 career tackles, with 16.5 for loss and nine sacks, two pass deflections, one fumble recovery and a blocked kick in his career.
*Off the field, Figueroa served on USC’s Society 53 external affair committee, is a member of the Marshall Real Estate Finance Association (USC’s premiere undergraduate real estate organization) and is a Price Latino Student Association member.
ALL-PAC-12
*USC QB Caleb Williams was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, while DL Tuli Tuipulotu was honored as the Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year.
*Williams is USC’s 10th Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year selection, and Tuipulotu is Troy’s ninth Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
*Williams and Tuipulotu were also selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team as well as OL Andrew Vorhees, WR Jordan Addison and DB Mekhi Blackmon.
*Additionally, RB Travis Dye, OL Brett Neilon and DB Calen Bullock made the All-Pac-12 Second Team.
*USC’s All-Pac-12 honorable mention choices were: OL Justin Dedich, OL Jonah Monheim, ILB Shane Lee, WR Tahj Washington and DB Max Williams.
FULL GAME NOTES
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