USC takes the belt, 28–14, at a neutral site over Michigan.
AP poll, week 16: Michigan No. 4 at USC No. 2 · No. 1 that week: Maryland. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
USC took the belt here, ending Michigan’s run of 68 days and 3 defenses (reign #257) and starting reign #258. It lasted 734 days and 25 defenses, until Texas took it on January 4, 2006.
For USC this was its 17th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 12 times before — and it took it back here.
It was the 4th of 4 belt games between the two; going in, USC led the belt series 3–0; all-time USC leads 4–0. Every meeting →
About this game
On January 1, 2004, USC defeated Michigan 28-14 at a neutral site in a postseason game. With this victory, USC claimed the College Football Belt from Michigan.
Written by Claude, strictly from this site’s own record of the game — the score and what it meant for the belt. CFBD doesn’t have a box score for games this old, so nothing here is invented beyond what’s verifiably on file.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 8:52 | Michigan | +0 yd | Wolverines 47 yard field goal attempt blocked, recovered by Garrett Rivas (MICH). |
| Q1 9:45 | Michigan | +0 yd | Wolverines fumble by John Navarre (MICH), recovered by Andy Mignery (MICH), advanced for no gain. |
| Q1 11:50 | Michigan | +0 yd | Wolverines fumble by John Navarre (MICH), recovered by John Navarre (MICH), advanced for no gain. |
| Q1 8:15 | USC | +25 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Keary Colbert (USC) for a 25 yard touchdown. |
| Q1 8:08 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q1 4:00 | USC | +36 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Reggie Bush (USC) for 36 yards. |
| Q2 13:35 | USC | +37 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Keary Colbert (USC) for 37 yards. |
| Q2 11:55 | USC | +39 yd | 39 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is no good. |
| Q2 5:53 | Michigan | +26 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass across the middle intercepted by Lofa Tatupu (USC). Returned for 26 yards. |
| Q2 5:00 | USC | +6 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to LenDale White (USC) for a 6 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 4:50 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q3 13:54 | USC | +47 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Keary Colbert (USC) for a 47 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 13:45 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q3 13:45 | USC | +23 yd | Kickoff returned by Steve Breaston (MICH) for 23 yards. |
| Q3 5:55 | Michigan | +6 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass across the middle complete to Tim Massaquoi (MICH) for a 6 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 5:49 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q3 5:49 | Michigan | +28 yd | Kickoff returned by Reggie Bush (USC) for 28 yards. |
| Q3 3:59 | USC | +15 yd | Mike Williams (USC) pass left side complete to Matt Leinart (USC) for a 15 yard touchdown. |
| Q3 3:44 | USC | +0 yd | Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good. |
| Q3 5:05 | USC | +27 yd | Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Mike Williams (USC) for 27 yards. |
| Q3 3:59 | USC | +0 yd | Trojans fumble by Brandon Hancock (USC), recovered by Brandon Hancock (USC), advanced for no gain. |
| Q3 3:44 | USC | +25 yd | Kickoff returned by Jeremy LeSueur (MICH) for 25 yards. |
| Q4 12:50 | Michigan | +24 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass left side complete to Braylon Edwards (MICH) for 24 yards. |
| Q4 11:15 | Michigan | +2 yd | Chris Perry (MICH) rushed right side for a 2 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 11:06 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q4 4:10 | USC | +0 yd | Trojans fumble by Matt Leinart (USC), recovered by Larry Stevens (MICH), returned for no gain. |
| Q4 2:50 | Michigan | +0 yd | Wolverines fumble by John Navarre (MICH), recovered by John Navarre (MICH), advanced for no gain. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 240010030) · This game in the downloadable dataset