[1][2] In January 2008, immediately after the bowl season, USC was ranked at #4 by Sports Illustrated online and #5 by ESPN.com; the general opinion was that while the Trojans were facing key player departures, the losses were mitigated by the overall talent level of the program.

[3][4] Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com soon revised their rankings to #3 and #4, respectively, after nearly all draft-eligible juniors decided to remain with the program instead of entering the NFL draft.

[11] By the end of spring practice, the USC coaching staff announced that Sanchez would be the designated starting quarterback going into fall camp.

Trainers were able to immediately put the kneecap back into place, but the injury sidelined Sanchez and threw his availability for the season opener at Virginia (and beyond) into question.

As a result, Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp began alternating repetitions with the first team offense and competing for the possible starting spot.

[28][29][30] After missing nearly three weeks, Sanchez was cleared to play in the opener on the final day of fall camp; Corp was selected as his back-up.

[31][32] The biggest issue facing the team entering the season was how the rebuilt offensive line would perform, though it had improved over the course of fall camp.

[33][34] Sanchez, Cushing, offensive lineman Jeff Byers, and senior safety Kevin Ellison were elected team captains by their teammates.

[36] All seven experts polled by Sports Illustrated picked USC to win their conference, with three forecasting them in the Championship Game with one selecting them to prevail.

[44][45] A former freshman basketball player from Brigham Young University, Cameron attempted to transfer before the 2007 season to also play football as a wide receiver.

Pac-10 conference honorable mention offensive linemen Drew Radovich and Matt Spanos, tailback Chauncey Washington, and linebacker Thomas Williams also departed.

[49] His replacement was former UCLA quarterback Rick Neuheisel, who held previous head coach positions at both Colorado and Washington where he led teams to overall successful records but his departures coincided with NCAA investigations at both universities.

While with Trojans from 2001 to 2004, Chow led the offense to the 2003 and 2004 national championships and saw quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart win the Heisman Trophy.

[56] Wide receiver Center Offensive guard Offensive tackle Tight end Quarterback Tailback Fullback Defensive tackle Defensive end Punter Cornerback Linebacker Safety Long snapper Place kicker Nearly the entire USC coaching staff returned from the 2007 season, with the only change being a different Graduate Assistant working with the secondary.

[58] Virginia went 9–4 in 2007, but off-season losses to both the NFL and unexpected issues left the Cavaliers ranked fifth-out-of-six teams in the ACC's Coastal Division in the preseason.

[63] After a bye week, the Trojans hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference under head coach Jim Tressel.

[65][66] A historic rivalry existed between the two teams: Between 1968 and 1984, they met six times in the Rose Bowl and determined the eventual National Champion in three of those contests.

[67][68] The teams had not faced one another since September 29, 1990, when Todd Marinovich led the Trojans to a 35–26 victory in Ohio Stadium in a game that was called because of a thunderstorm with 2 minutes 36 seconds to play.

[69][72][73] The game was also viewed as a possible Heisman Trophy showdown, primarily between Ohio State's running back Chris "Beanie" Wells and USC's Sanchez.

[76] The Trojans had particular concerns about Pryor, who had many of capabilities that made previous athletic scrambling quarterbacks, such as Dennis Dixon, Jake Locker and Vince Young, difficult for the defense to contain.

[77][78] The Buckeyes came in with a strong defense, led by All-American and Butkus Award-winning linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.

[79] Both linebacking corps, highlighted by the Buckeyes' Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman as well as the Trojans' Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, were considered the best in the country.

[80][81][82] One of the major storylines entering the game surrounded the health of Ohio State's star running back, Beanie Wells.

Early during the week of the game he was cleared to play against the Trojans; however by the Thursday his presence assessed as doubtful after he experienced soreness in his foot one day after returning to practice.

[85] The game received heightened attention in national sports news when USC alumnus and starting quarterback for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, Carson Palmer told a radio show "I cannot stand the Buckeyes and having to live in Ohio and hear those people talk about their team, it drives me absolutely nuts [.

[73] [102] Before the season this game garnered interest in seeing how new Bruins' coach Rick Neuheisel would do in his battle to gain supremacy in Los Angeles.

However, after the win over UCLA and Oregon State's loss the same day, the Trojans became the Pac-10 Champions for the seventh straight year and qualified for the Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 2009.