USC Football Bowl History: Record, Results and Appearances

USC has played 60 postseason games and won 38 of them on the field, 37 by the NCAA’s count, which does not include the 2004 Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma that was vacated in 2010. Thirty four of the sixty were Rose Bowls and USC won 25 of those, both records for any program in any bowl by a wide margin. The Trojans’ bowl winning percentage is the best of any school with more than fifteen appearances.

Every USC Bowl Game

Listed by season. Gold rows are claimed national championship seasons. The red row is the vacated 2004 championship game.

The Rose Bowl

USC has played the Rose Bowl 34 times and won 25, both records for any school in any bowl, and Howard Jones went 5 and 0 there. The Trojans are 6 and 2 against Michigan and 4 and 3 against Ohio State in Pasadena, with the two schools accounting for fifteen of the 34 games. The 1962 game, a 42 to 37 win over Wisconsin, was the highest scoring Rose Bowl for decades; the 2016 game, 52 to 49 over Penn State on a last second field goal, passed it. Our conference championships page covers the titles that sent USC there.

The Vacated Orange Bowl

USC beat Oklahoma 55 to 19 in the 2004 BCS championship game, the largest margin in any BCS title game, with Matt Leinart throwing five touchdowns. The NCAA vacated the result in 2010 as part of the Reggie Bush sanctions, and the BCS withdrew the championship in 2011. It appears on this list because it was played; it does not appear in the NCAA’s count. Our national championships page covers the vacated title.

2005: Texas

The 2005 Rose Bowl between USC and Texas, both unbeaten, is regularly named the best college football game ever played. Vince Young ran for the winning touchdown on fourth and five with nineteen seconds left to win 41 to 38, ending USC’s 34 game winning streak and the bid for a third straight title. Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart played their last college games. Our Texas national championships page has the other side.

The Riley Years

Lincoln Riley is 2 and 2 in bowls at USC: a 46 to 45 Cotton Bowl loss to Tulane in 2022 that undid an 11 win season, Holiday and Las Vegas Bowl wins, and a 30 to 27 overtime loss to TCU in the 2025 Alamo Bowl, the program’s first appearance in that game. USC has not played in a Rose Bowl since the 2016 season or a New Year’s Six game since 2022.

The Bottom Line

USC is 38 and 22 across 60 postseason games on the field, 37 and 22 by the NCAA’s count, with 34 Rose Bowls and 25 Rose Bowl wins, both records. The 2004 Orange Bowl was vacated, the 2005 Rose Bowl against Texas is the game everyone remembers, and the Trojans have not been to Pasadena in nine seasons. Our page on most bowl appearances shows where USC ranks.