USC defends the belt, 35–10, on the road at California.
AP poll, week 11: USC No. 1 at California unranked · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
USC came in 681 days into reign #258, which began with a win over Michigan, with 22 defenses already behind it; this was its 23rd defense. USC went on to defend it 2 more times before Texas took it on January 4, 2006, 734 days after the reign began.
For California this was its 17th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before.
It was the 6th of 6 belt games between the two; going in, USC led the belt series 5–0; all-time USC leads 6–0. Every meeting →
Recap
USC dominated California from start to finish to retain the College Football Belt with a convincing 35-10 victory in Berkeley. The Trojans struck quickly with LenDale White's 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then methodically built their lead through the second quarter with two more scoring drives, including a pair of short rushing touchdowns by Matt Leinart. White added another touchdown in the third quarter on a 6-yard run following a 50-yard reception, putting USC firmly in control. California managed only three scores—a field goal by Tom Schneider and a late fourth-quarter touchdown—while the Trojans' offense controlled the tempo with 22 minutes of possession and consistently moved the ball, with Leinart connecting on key passes like a 44-yard strike to Dwayne Jarrett to set up another score.
- LenDale White's early 1-yard touchdown run in Q1 set the tone for USC's offensive dominance
- Matt Leinart's two rushing touchdowns in Q2 (6 yards and 3 yards) extended USC's lead to 21-3 before halftime
- USC's control of time of possession (22:04 to 14:36) and 7-14 third-down conversion rate wore down California's defense
- California's six turnovers, including an interception of Leinart late in Q3, prevented any momentum from building
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 7:15 | USC | +1 yd | LenDale White rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 7:15 | USC | +0 yd | Mario Danelo extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 3:12 | California | +45 yd | Tom Schneider 45 yard field goal GOOD. |
| Q2 8:32 | USC | +6 yd | Matt Leinart rush for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 11:07 | USC | +20 yd | Matt Leinart pass complete to Patrick Turner for 20 yards to the Cal 36 for a 1ST down out-of-bounds. |
| Q2 8:32 | USC | +0 yd | Mario Danelo extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 8:27 | USC | +21 yd | Troy Van Blarcom kickoff for 62 yards returned by Marshawn Lynch for 21 yards to the Cal 24. |
| Q2 4:07 | USC | +44 yd | Matt Leinart pass complete to Dwayne Jarrett for 44 yards to the Cal 8 for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 3:01 | USC | +3 yd | Matt Leinart rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 3:01 | USC | +0 yd | Mario Danelo extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 2:41 | California | +27 yd | Joe Ayoob pass complete to Chris Manderino for 27 yards to the USC 47 for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 12:10 | USC | +50 yd | Matt Leinart pass complete to LenDale White for 50 yards to the Cal 6 for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 11:39 | USC | +6 yd | LenDale White rush for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q3 11:39 | USC | +0 yd | Mario Danelo extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 14:10 | USC | +21 yd | Reggie Bush rush for 21 yards to the USC 45 for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 10:22 | California | +21 yd | Joe Ayoob pass complete to Marshawn Lynch for 21 yards to the USC 32 for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 8:15 | California | +41 yd | Tom Schneider 41 yard field goal MISSED. |
| Q3 0:43 | USC | +32 yd | Matt Leinart pass intercepted by Harrison Smith at the Cal 15, returned for 32 yards to the Cal 47. |
| Q3 0:35 | California | +35 yd | Marshawn Lynch rush for 35 yards to the USC 18 out-of-bounds for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 7:43 | USC | +2 yd | LenDale White rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 7:36 | USC | +34 yd | Troy Van Blarcom kickoff for 61 yards returned by Marshawn Lynch for 34 yards to the Cal 38. |
| Q4 7:43 | USC | +0 yd | Mario Danelo extra point GOOD. |
| Q4 1:34 | California | +1 yd | Chris Manderino rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 1:34 | California | +0 yd | Tom Schneider extra point GOOD. |
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).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
California
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Ayoob | 9/19 | 98 | 5.2 | 0 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Steve Levy | 4/4 | 34 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 91.9 |
USC
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Leinart | 20/32 | 246 | 7.7 | 0 | 1 | 86.5 |
Rushing
California
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshawn Lynch | 13 | 87 | 6.7 | 0 | 35 |
| Steve Levy | 2 | 36 | 18.0 | 0 | 19 |
| Chris Manderino | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 1 | 9 |
| Justin Forsett | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 0 | 6 |
| Terrell Williams | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
| DeSean Jackson | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
| Joe Ayoob | 6 | 4 | 0.7 | 0 | 6 |
USC
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LenDale White | 16 | 90 | 5.6 | 3 | 15 |
| Reggie Bush | 17 | 82 | 4.8 | 0 | 20 |
| David Kirtman | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Chris McFoy | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Matt Leinart | 6 | 2 | 0.3 | 2 | 6 |
| Brandon Hancock | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dwayne Jarrett | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Woodert | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| John David Booty | 1 | -8 | -8.0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
California
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Manderino | 2 | 37 | 18.5 | 0 | 27 |
| Marshawn Lynch | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 0 | 22 |
| Craig Stevens | 3 | 26 | 8.7 | 0 | 11 |
| Eric Beegun | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 15 |
| Robert Jordan | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
| DeSean Jackson | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Lavelle Hawkins | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 4 |
USC
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwayne Jarrett | 5 | 69 | 13.8 | 0 | 44 |
| LenDale White | 3 | 61 | 20.3 | 0 | 49 |
| Steve Smith | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 11 |
| Patrick Turner | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 0 | 20 |
| David Kirtman | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | 17 |
| Fred Davis | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 | 16 |
| Chris McFoy | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Dominique Byrd | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Reggie Bush | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
Show more stats (4 more categories)
Interceptions
California
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Smith | 1 | 32 | 0 |
USC
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rey Maualuga | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Ryan Ting | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Collin Ashton | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Darnell Bing | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
California
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Schneider | 1/2 | 50.0 | 45 | 1/1 | 4 |
USC
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Danelo | 0/0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5/5 | 5 |
Punt Returns
California
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Mixon | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 8 | 0 |
USC
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reggie Bush | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Punting
California
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Lonie | 3 | 140 | 46.7 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
USC
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Malone | 4 | 142 | 35.5 | 0 | 0 | 42 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 253160025) · This game in the downloadable dataset