2004 USC ranked as top five team of 21st century by The Athletic

USA Today

22-05-2025

2004 USC ranked as top five team of 21st century by The Athletic It is impossible to ignore the dominance of 2004 USC football in any historical assessment.
It is widely accepted among college football fans (outside of Auburn, Alabama, that is) that the 2004 USC Trojans were one of the greatest college football teams of the modern era. That team went wire-to-wire as No. 1 in the country, dominating Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game at the Orange Bowl to claim the school's 11th national championship.
Where does 2004 USC rank among the best teams of the 21st century? In a recent story, Stewart Mandel of The Athletic gave his top 25 college football teams of the past 25 years. Mandel had the 2004 Trojans at No. 5 on the list, behind only 2001 Miami, 2019 LSU, 2005 Texas, and 2020 Alabama.
"This remains the last team to go wire-to-wire at No. 1 in the AP poll," Mandel wrote about the Trojans. "[Matt] Leinart and [Reggie] Bush were the Trojans' undisputed stars, but defensive tackles [Shaun} Cody and Mike Patterson led a dominant defense that held foes to 82 rushing yards per game. USC endured scares, holding off Aaron Rodgers-led Cal on a goal-line stand, and surviving at Oregon State thanks to Bush's 65-yard punt return. But it capped the season by thumping 12-0 Oklahoma in one of the most lopsided national title games ever."
While certainly impressive, most USC fans likely believe that the Trojans should be higher on the list. While they did not play the toughest of schedules (it was a relatively weak year for the Pac-10 and Notre Dame), they largely dominated every opponent that they faced, including the famous 55-19 drubbing of Oklahoma in the national championship game.
In addition, the 2005 edition of USC came in at No. 13 on the list. Had that team defeated Texas in the Rose Bowl, it may very well have gone down as the greatest team of the century, if not all time. But thanks to Vince Young's infamous touchdown run in the final seconds, the Trojans came up one game short of a historic third consecutive national title.
Finally, the first team to miss the cut of the rankings was 2008 USC. One of the most underrated teams of all time, Pete Carroll's squad boasted arguably the best defense of the modern era. Although they went 11-1 with a dominant nonconference victory over Ohio State, an early season road loss at Oregon State kept the Trojans out of the national championship game. USC responded by hammering Penn State in the Rose Bowl to cap the program's fourth and final 12-win season under Carroll.