Throwback Thursday: USC vs. Colorado, A History

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

No. 23 USC and Colorado will meet on Saturday for only the eighth time.

The series has been one-sided with the Trojans winning in all the previous meetings thus far.

After a home-and-home series played in 2000 and 2002, the Trojans and Buffaloes didn’t meat again until 2011, when they were members of the same conference.

The Trojans average 32.9 points and the Buffaloes average a lowly 6.7 points in the series.

In their last two meetings, the Trojans erupted for 42 points in 2011, and 50 points in 2012.  They were led by Matt Barkley, who totaled a combined 616 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in both games.

Barkely threw six touchdowns in each game, which is a Trojan school-record.

By going 19 of 20 in 2012, he also broke Rick Neuheisel’s conference record for completion percentage in a game with a minimum of 20 pass attempts.

Robert Woods also had a record-breaking performance in 2012 with four touchdown receptions, which set a single-game school record.

With eight receptions in the game, Woods surpassed Dwayne Jarrett on USC’s career receptions list.

Woods still sits atop USC’s record books for touchdowns in a single game, and career receptions list.

Evident by their low points per game average against the Trojans, the Buffaloes haven’t experienced similar offensive success.

Their high mark in points came in 2011, when they reached 17.

While the record-breaking performances in 2012 are impressive, the win pales in comparison to the game in 2002.

In just Pete Carroll’s second season with USC, the-then No. 16 Trojans made the trip to Boulder, Colo., and thoroughly dominated then No. 19 Buffaloes, 40-3.

Carson Palmer led the Trojans on three 80-yard scoring drives, and finished the game 22 of 30 for 244 passing yards.

Palmed racked up 151 passing yards in the first half as the Trojans took a 20-0 lead by halftime.

With a defense that was unable to stop the Trojan offense, the Buffaloes were putrid on offense themselves.  En route to their three points, they only managed to accumulate 61 yards of total offense on 48 plays.

The Trojans capped off the 2002 season with a 38-17 victory over Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

Series Recap:

• 2012: USC 50, Colorado 6
• 2011: USC 42, Colorado 17
• 2002: USC 40, Colorado 3
• 2000: USC 17, Colorado 14
• 1964: USC 21, Colorado 0
• 1963: USC 14, Colorado 0
• 1927: USC 46, Colorado 7