Series: Stanford trails, 31-60-3 (.346)
At Stanford: Stanford trails, 10-34-2 (.239)
At USC: Stanford trails, 19-26-1 (.424)
Neural: Stanford leads, 2-0 (1.000)
First meeting: 1905 at Stanford - Stanford 16, USC 0
Last meeting: 2015 at Santa Clara - Stanford 41, USC 22
Last Stanford win: 2015 at Santa Clara - Stanford 41, USC 22
Last USC win: 2014 at Stanford - Stanford 10, USC 13
Longest Stanford win streak: 4 (2009-12)
Longest USC win streak: 12 (1958-69)
Largest Stanford victory: 55-21 (2009 at USC)
Largest USC victory: 49-0 (1977 at USC)
Series streak: Stanford - W2
• The 2016 meeting will be the 95th all-time between Stanford and USC. In a series that dates to 1905, the Trojans lead, 60-31-3.
• Stanford does not count the 1918 contest won by the Trojans in its series scores, as it was played as part of an unofficial schedule by the Student Army Training Corps Team.
• Since the AP poll debuted in 1936, Stanford and USC have met 78 times. In 52 of those games, at least one of the two teams have been ranked. The series has featured a ranked team every season since 2001.
• This will be third straight season -- and fourth time in five seasons -- that Stanford opens its conference slate against USC.
• Save for WWII, the Cardinal has played USC in Stanford Stadium in every even year since 1930.
• This game marks the seventh in 95 meetings that the rivals have met in September. However, four of the past five showdowns have been played in September.
• Seven of the past 10 meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
• Stanford had never scored more than 35 points in its first 86 meetings with USC, but eclipsed the 35-point mark in 2009 (55), 2010 (37), 2011 (56), 2015 (41, 41).
• Stanford assistant coach Tavita Pritchard engineered one of the biggest upsets in college football history on Oct. 6, 2007, against No. 2 USC in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Making his first career start, Pritchard threw a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to wide receiver Mark Bradford with 49 seconds remaining to lift the Cardinal to a 24-23 victory. The Trojans were favored by 41 points.
• ESPN's College GameDay was on hand for the 2013 meeting in Los Angeles, which was just the second time Stanford played the Trojans as a ranked BCS team. The loss was Stanford's third in as many games when ranked No. 4 by the BCS.
Last Matchup Against USC - Dec. 5, 2015
• Christian McCaffrey starred in a record setting night with 461 all-purpose yards in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium as Stanford advanced to the Rose Bowl for the third time in four years.
• McCaffrey ran for 207 yards, threw a touchdown pass, scored 2 touchdowns and broke Barry Sanders' single-season all-purpose yards record to lead Stanford to a 41-22 win.
• The only touchdown in the first half came on McCaffrey's trick play. Hogan pitched to Barry Sanders, who then flipped it to McCaffrey, who had lined up as a receiver. McCaffrey then threw to a wide-open Kevin Hogan for his second touchdown pass of the season.
• Hogan caught the touchdown pass from McCaffrey, threw one and ran for a third and Stanford's defensive stalwart Solomon Thomas scored on a 34-yard fumble return for the Cardinal.
• McCaffrey added 105 yards receiving and 149 return yards to give him a Stanford record 461 all-purpose yards for the game and 3,496 for the season. That broke Sanders' single-season record of 3,250 yards set in 1988.
It Happened Against USC
1970 - Before a crowd of 86,000 at Stanford Stadium, Stanford stunned fourth-ranked USC, 24-14, marking its first win over the Trojans since 1957. Jim Plunkett completed 19 of 31 passes for 275 yards and one touchdown and Stanford's defense turned back the Trojans twice on goal line stands.
1973 - Rod Garcia set a Stanford and Pac-10 record by booting a 59-yard field goal in the first quarter. However, Chris Limahelu's 34-yard field goal with 0:34 left lifted the eighth-ranked Trojans to a 27-26 victory at the Coliseum.
1975 - Mike Langford kicked a 37-yard game-winning field goal as time expired, lifting Stanford to a 13-10 win over ninth-ranked USC at the Coliseum.
1979 - After trailing at halftime, 21-0, Stanford rallied to score 14 points in the fourth quarter to tie top-ranked USC, 21-21, at the Coliseum. It was the only blemish on USC's record, as the Trojans would finish the season ranked second in both wire service polls behind national champion Alabama.
1982 - John Elway completed 27 of 41 passes for 239 yards and broke Jim Plunkett's NCAA record with his 26th career 200-yard passing game. Elway's record-setting performance was not enough, as USC came away with a 41-21 victory at Stanford Stadium.
1986 - Before a national television audience and a crowd of 73,500 at Stanford Stadium, linebacker Dave Wyman recorded a school-record 27 tackles (five solo). However, USC blanked the Cardinal, 10-0.
1990 - Jason Palumbis completed 30 of 45 passes for 360 yards, including three touchdowns passes. The Trojans forced three Cardinal fumbles and limited Glyn Milburn to just nine yards on nine carries in a 37-22 victory at Stanford Stadium. Palumbis' passing yardage is the highest total ever recorded by a Stanford quarterback against USC.
1991 - Stanford defeated USC, 24-21, at the Coliseum, marking the Cardinal's first victory over the Trojans since 1975.
1992 - Steve Stenstrom completed 23 of 39 passes for 273 yards and Stanford's defense limited 11th-ranked USC to 59 rushing yards in a 23-9 victory at Stanford Stadium.
1996 - Mike Mitchell ran for 147 yards on 22 carries to lead the Cardinal to a 24-20 come-from-behind victory over the Trojans at Stanford Stadium.
1997 - Troy Walters caught 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns despite a 45-21 Cardinal loss decision at the Coliseum. Walters also returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
2000 - After coming off the bench to replace an injured Randy Fasani, Chris Lewis threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jamien McCullum as time expired to give Stanford a thrilling 32-30 comeback victory over USC. Kerry Carter tied a single-game record with four rushing touchdowns and DeRonnie Pitts caught 13 passes for 176 yards.
2007 - Tavita Pritchard connected with Mark Bradford on a 10-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-goal play with 49 seconds remaining to lift Stanford to a 24-23 victory over second-ranked USC at the Coliseum. In his first career start, Pritchard engineered one of the biggest upsets in college football history against a USC unit favored by 41 points.
2009 - Toby Gerhart rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns to lead Stanford to a 55-21 victory over No. 11 USC at the Coliseum. The 55 points were the most ever scored against USC, as the Cardinal handed the Trojans their worst home loss since 1966.
2010 - Nate Whitaker kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to lift Stanford to a 37-35 victory over USC at Stanford Stadium.
2011 - In one of the most dramatic finishes in the long rivalry, sixth-ranked Stanford defeated No. 20 USC in triple-overtime, 56-48, before a sellout crowd of 93,607 at the Los Angeles Coliseum to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 16 games. Cardinal linebacker A.J. Tarpley sealed the victory by recovering a Curtis McNeal fumble in the end zone in the longest game in Stanford history. Andrew Luck hit 29 of 40 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran nine times for 36 yards.
2012 - Josh Nunes threw a go-ahead 37-yard touchdown to Zach Ertz, Stepfan Taylor ran for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns, and No. 21 Stanford upset second-ranked USC, 21-14, for its fourth straight win in the series. Nunes scampered 12 yards on a third-and-10 from midfield in the fourth and then delivered the strike to Ertz, who juked a defender and dove into the end zone to give Stanford a 21-14 lead. Taylor ran 59 yards while making four defenders on a nine-man defensive front miss and running for touchdown that tied the score 14-14 midway through the third quarter. The Cardinal outgained the Trojans 417 to 280 in total yards and held USC to only 26 yards rushing.
2013 - One week after downing No. 2 Oregon at Stanford Stadium and emerging into the national championship discussion, the Cardinal fell to USC, 20-17, at the Coliseum as Andre Heidari kicked a 47-yard field goal with 19 seconds to play. Stanford's season-low point total got a boost from Tyler Gaffney, who rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Stanford tied it at 17-17 with Gaffney's 18-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the third quarter, but couldn't score on six drives in the final 23 minutes. Cody Kessler passed for 288 yards as the Trojans earned their fifth win in six games under interim head coach Ed Orgeron.
2014 - Andre Heidari kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal with 2:30 remaining, J.R. Tavai forced a fumble to end the Cardinal's comeback bid and the 14th-ranked Trojans upended No. 13 Stanford, 13-10, in dramatic fashion at Stanford Stadium. Stanford outgained USC in total yards, 413-291, but was held to 10 points on nine drives inside the USC 35-yard line. Kevin Hogan completed 22 of 30 passes for 285 yards and put the Cardinal in position to come back before Tavai sprinted from his blindside and forced the fumble to seal USC's victory.
2015 - Stanford twice beat USC in 2015. In the regular season meeting, Kevin Hogan passed for 279 yards and two touchdowns, Remound Wright rushed for three more scores and Stanford opened Pac-12 play with a 41-31 victory over No. 6 USC, snapping the Trojans' two-game winning streak in the lively in-state rivalry. USC led in the second quarter, 21-10, but Stanford scored twice in the final 3:53 of the first half and never looked back. Christian McCaffrey did it all in a record-setting performance as Stanford advanced to a third Rose Bowl in four years with a win over USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game. McCaffrey ran for 207 yards and a score, threw a touchdown pass, caught another and broke Barry Sanders' single-season all-purpose yards record. Hogan caught the touchdown pass from McCaffrey, threw one and ran for a third and Solomon Thomas scored on a 34-yard fumble return for the Cardinal. McCaffrey added 105 yards receiving and 149 return yards to give him a Stanford record 461 all-purpose yards for the game and 3,496 for the season. That broke Sanders' single-season record of 3,250 yards set in 1988.