The team played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and was coached by Pete Carroll, who was in his ninth and final season at USC.

Though the Spartans outscored USC 3–0 in the 1st quarter of play, the Trojans quickly recovered, scoring 56 consecutive points for a 53-point victory.

However, Matt Barkley and the Trojans drove down the field to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to end the game.

The final score was USC 18, Ohio State 15, with the Buckeyes losing to the Trojans for the second straight year.

The Fighting Irish lived up to their name, staying with highly ranked USC through two quarters, only trailing by 6 points, 13–7.

Jimmy Clauson fired an incomplete pass and USC extended their winning streak over Notre Dame to 8.

Oregon State was the second Pac-10 Conference school to have beaten USC twice during the Pete Carroll era in 2006 and 2008 (Stanford was first with victories in 2001 and 2007 (and would do so again in 2009).

[7] For the second time in three weekends, Carroll suffered the worst loss of his USC tenure (the other being the Oregon game).

With the Trojans leading 21–7 after a touchdown with 1:30 in the fourth quarter, and having possession of the ball after UCLA turned it over on downs, Carroll instructed his quarterback to take a knee.

[14] USC beat UCLA for the 10th time in 11 years, but the late touchdown pass stirred passions in the crosstown rivalry and lead to a benches-clearing incident.

Arizona's defeat of the Trojans gave the Wildcats their first win over USC during the Pete Carroll era.

Arizona State is the only Pac-10 team to never beat the Trojans during Carroll's tenure.This marked the first time USC played in the Emerald Bowl.

On December 26, 2009, at AT&T Park in San Francisco California, attended by 40,121; the Trojans squared off against the Boston College Eagles from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

USC had won both games in the series, a 23–17 victory in Los Angeles in 1987 and a 34–7 win in Chestnut Hill in 1988.

Boston College was led by tailback Montel Harris, who rushed for 102 yards and also added a touchdown run.

[15] Lane Kiffin, formerly with the Trojans, Oakland Raiders, and Tennessee Volunteers, was hired as the new head coach.