The Series

USC leads the series 11-9-1. The series started in 1937 and the teams last played in 1990. In 1990 USC won in Columbus, 35-26. OSU last won in 1974 in the Rose Bowl 42-21. Six of the games have been decided by a touchdown or less. OSU is 50-23-2 against the teams in the Pac-10, having faced all of the teams in the conference at least twice. OSU 2-4-1 in games played in Los Angeles. USC has won the last five games between the two teams.


In the 1974 Rose Bowl OSU trailed 21-14 in the third quarter, but scored the last 28 points. Archie Griffin lead the team with 149 yards, and won his second of a historical four consecutive Rose Bowl games that he started. The team finished the season 10-0-1 but finished second in the AP poll to undefeated Notre Dame. It has been argued that this was OSU's best all-time team, despite the lack of a National Title.

In the most recent matchup in 1990, the game was cut short with 2:36 left on the clock due to lightning and thunder. OSU was down 21-10 at halftime but came back and scored with 2:38 remaining in the game to put it at 35-26. The coaches had discussed the weather and Coach Cooper agreed with the head ref that if OSU didn't recover the on-side kick, the game would be over. USC recovered the kickoff and the game ended with USC winning.

(Thanks to "The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia" for the info and picture.)