The team was coached by Pete Carroll in his fourth year with the Trojans, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[6] Days before the game, the NCAA declared star Trojans wide receiver Mike Williams ineligible to play after a failed attempt to join the NFL early, creating concern over whether the defending 2003 National Champions were prepared to try for another title.

[7] This was the first time the two teams had competed in football;[7] and with the game held only three hours away from Virginia Tech, the crowd was dominated by Hokies fans.

[10] The Trojans dominated the Rams en route to a 49–0 shut out, led by running back LenDale White who ran for 123 yards on 14 carries, scoring three touchdowns.

[6] The game marked the return of USC Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow to the program where he spent 27 years as an assistant under former Coach LaVell Edwards.

[14] ESPN's College GameDay program visited the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first time[3] in anticipation of a game between highly ranked and undefeated teams: 7th-ranked California had given USC its only loss in the 2003 season, resulting in the Trojans sharing the 2003 National Championship.

[17] The Cal Golden Bears, led by Coach Jeff Tedford, were already ranked their highest since 1991 and looking to earn one of the biggest victories in program history.

[6] The game was tightly fought: Cal dominated the statistics, more than doubling USC's first downs (28–12) and total yards (424–205) while getting more plays (79–50) and possession time (37:11–22:49); Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a career performance, tying an NCAA single game record by completing his first 23 passes and guiding the Golden Bears to a first-and-goal at the Trojan 9-yard line with 1:47 to play.

[18] Beyond the 2004 season, the game marked a turning point in terms of crowd participation at the Coliseum, which thereafter garnered a reputation as a loud and difficult place to play for opposing teams.

[22] It was the second time the Trojans played before consecutive sellout crowds in the Coliseum, the first was in 1947 when the UCLA and Notre Dame rivalry games sold out, and the first against non-rival opponents.

[22] At halftime USC recognized the 1939 Trojans as National Champions based on their #1 ranking in the contemporary Dickinson System, with surviving members of the team in attendance.

[27] USC took the upper hand early on, taking a 14–0 lead before WSU's offense got on the field; by halftime, it was 35–0, as the Trojans had 289 yards and 16 first downs to the Cougars 54 and 4.

[28] Although the fog was thick enough at times to interfere with pass plays, USC tight end Dominique Byrd caught two touchdowns.

[29] LenDale White ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns while Matt Leinart passed for 280 yards and three more scores; the game guaranteed USC a spot in, at worst, the Rose Bowl[30] After two weeks off, the Trojans were visited by the rival Fighting Irish, led by Coach Tyrone Willingham, in the inter-sectional rivalry for the Jeweled Shillelagh.

[6] Matt Leinart passed for a career-high 400 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns Saturday, leading the top-ranked Trojans to a 41–10 victory and adding a highlight performance to his ultimately successful Heisman campaign.

[2] Despite low expectations, the Bruins were able to shut down Leinart and give the Trojans a close game that was not decided until the final minutes.

[34] Reggie Bush scored on a pair of touchdown runs and totaled a career-best 335 all-purpose yards and placekicker Ryan Killeen kicked a USC and Pac-10 Conference game record 5 field goals.

[42] Quarterback Matt Leinart was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding collegiate football player in the United States, with teammate Reggie Bush coming in 5th place.

Wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, offensive tackle Sam Baker and defensive end Lawrence Jackson were named to the Freshman All-American first team.

In addition to winning the Heisman Trophy, Matt Leinart also won the Walter Camp Award and was named the AP Player of the Year.

Making the second team where RB LenDale White, OT Sam Baker and S Darnell Bing, and honorable mentions to TE Dominique Byrd, TE Alex Holmes, WR Dwayne Jarrett, S Jason Leach, LB Dallas Sartz, DT Manuel Wright and CB Justin Wyatt.

Running backs coach Todd McNair was banned from off-campus recruiting for one year after the NCAA determined he'd known about Bush's dealings with the agents.