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USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff—Mike Garrett in focus
The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 20 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we look at USC Heisman Trophy running back Mike Garrett. Position: Running back Years played at USC: 1962-1965 Career highlights: An undersized running back at 5'9', Garrett originally wanted to play football for UCLA. However, the Bruins did not offer him because of his size, and Garrett picked the Trojans instead. Garrett is widely credited with helping establish USC's legacy as 'Tailback U'. As a senior in 1965, he became the first Trojan in nearly 40 years to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. That year, he also became USC's first Heisman Trophy winner, setting the stage for seven more Trojans (and counting) to win college football's most prestigious individual honor. After USC: Garrett was selected by both the Los Angeles Rams in the 1966 NFL Draft and the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1966 AFL Draft (during this era, the NFL and the AFL had to compete for players). He chose the AFL, and went on to play seven years in the league with Kansas City and the San Diego Chargers (the AFL and NFL merged in 1970). Garrett was named first-team all-AFL twice, and won Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs. He is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Honor. From 1993 through 2010, Garrett served as USC's athletic director. His tenure as AD featured numerous controversies, including infamously firing legendary head football coach John Robinson over answering machine. However, Garrett is best known for being the athletic director who hired Pete Carroll, who would go on to become a USC legend himself—leading the Trojans to two national championships.
USA Today
30-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff—O.J. Simpson in focus
The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 32 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we look at one of the most controversial figures in American history, USC Heisman Trophy running back O.J. Simpson. Position: Running back Years played at USC: 1967-1968 Career highlights: After playing two years at the junior college level, Simpson arrived at USC in 1967. It did not take him very long to make an impact. In his first season, with the Trojans, Simpson led the country in rushing, and was named a Unanimous All-American. His iconic 64-yard touchdown run propelled USC to a 21-20 victory over UCLA en route to winning the national championship. The following season, Simpson once again led the country in rushing, and was once again named a Unanimous All-American. He was also awarded the Heisman Trophy, becoming the second Trojans to win the award, following Mike Garrett three years prior. Simpson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973. After USC: The Buffalo Bills selected Simpson with the first overall pick in the 1969 NFL Draft. He would go on to have a Hall of Fame career that featured five first-team All-Pro honors, four times leading the league in rushing, and becoming the first player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Of course, Simpson is best known for what happened after his playing career came to an end. From the alleged murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, to the Ford Bronco chase, to the highly-publicized criminal trial that ended in his extremely controversial acquittal, to his being found liable for their deaths in the civil trial, to his arrest for burglary in Las Vegas more than a decade later, books could be (and have been) written about Simpson and one of the wildest sagas that we have ever seen from a celebrity. Simpson passed away from cancer last year at the age of 76. USC did not issue a statement following his death.
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN ranks top 25 college football plays since 2000: Which Clemson moments made list?
ESPN ranks top 25 college football plays since 2000: Which Clemson moments made list? After being named Clemson Tigers head coach on a full-time basis in December 2008, Dabo Swinney ushered in not only an era of college football excellence, he created a dynasty. That dynasty produced six straight ACC titles and subsequent trips to the College Football Playoff, four appearances in the national championship game, and two national titles. Both of those national championships were won against the Swinney's alma mater, the Alabama Crimson Tide, where Swinney was a walk-on receiver in 1989 and played for legendary coach -- and Bear Bryant protégé -- Gene Stallings. Under Swinney, Clemson has had no shortage of moments over the past 17 seasons -- and counting -- that Tigers fans can describe in lurid detail from the snap of the ball right up to the final whistle. Only one of those plays made ESPN's list of the top 25 college football plays from the first quarter of the 21st century, though. The play? The one known as 'Orange Crush.' Hunter Renfrow's title-winning catch named a top ESPN college football play from past 25 years ESPN ranked Hunter Renfrow's game-winning touchdown catch with one second remaining against Alabama in the 2017 College Football Playoff Championship at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa as the sport's 13th best play since 2000. The Tigers won their first national championship since the 1981 season with a 35-31 victory over Nick Saban's Crimson Tide. Renfrow finished the night with a game-high 10 catches for 92 yards. Deshaun Watson threw for 420 yards and three touchdowns on 36-of-56 passing, and the Tigers snapped a 26-game Alabama winning streak. ESPN's Andrea Adelson described Renfrow's game-winning catch this way: The play forever known as "Orange Crush" delivered Clemson its second national title in school history in the 2017 national championship game and the first under coach Dabo Swinney. In an epic back-and-forth game, Alabama had scored to go ahead 31-28 with 2:07 left. Plenty of time remaining for the Tigers' offense. Quarterback Deshaun Watson marched them down the field, reaching the 2-yard line with six seconds left. Watson found Hunter Renfrow in the end zone for the winning score -- thanks, in part, to a rub route Artavis Scott ran to give Renfrow just enough space to get open. Clemson scored with one second left to win 35-31." Renfrow's catch ranked ahead of the "Bush Push" featuring USC Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart in the Trojans' last-second win over Notre Dame in South Bend in 2005, as well as LSU's "Blue Grass Miracle" against Kentucky 14 years earlier on Nov. 9, 2022 in Lexington. Should more Clemson highlights have made ESPN's list? The Tigers' game-winning drive against Ohio State in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl to secure Clemson's fourth national championship game appearance in five years is one that certainly comes to mind. Trevor Lawrence's 34-yard dump pass to Travis Etiennne with 1:34 to play in Arizona put the Tigers ahead for good in a 29-23 thriller over the Buckeyes to snap a 19-game Ohio State winning streak. Or how about 11 months earlier in the Bay Area during 'Clemson-Alabama IV?' The Tigers pummeled the Crimson Tide at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara with a dominant 44-16 victory behind a stellar night from Lawrence (347 passing yards, three touchdowns). The play that started it all? Cornerback A.J. Terrell's 44-yard interception return for a touchdown after picking off Tua Tagovailoa on Alabama's first drive for a 7-0 Tigers lead less than two minutes into the game. Clemson's rout of Alabama made the Tigers the first team in modern college football history to finish 15-0. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
