The last time USC and TCU met in a bowl was a moment to forget

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USC football is struggling these days, but not nearly as badly as it did in the late 1990s under then-coach Paul Hackett. Just typing (or saying, or reading) that name elicits and cringe and a groan for any USC fan and anyone who cares about Trojan football. That was part of USC’s lost era in a decade, the 1990s, which largely slipped away from the program. Only the 1994 and (especially) 1995 seasons met the expected USC standard. Otherwise, the 1990s became a brutal decade of misery and mediocrity. The 1998 Sun Bowl against TCU is part of this story.

Paul Hackett coached three seasons at USC. The 1998 campaign was Hackett’s best. He won only eight games. That’s right — it all went downhill from there. The failure to beat TCU in El Paso — USC’s upcoming opponent in the 2025 Alamo Bowl — represented the beginning of a downhill slide from which Hackett never recovered. It took a guy named Pete Carroll to step in and clean up the mess. It also marked a part of USC’s unpleasant Sun Bowl history, which also includes the infamous 2012 disaster against Georgia Tech, which helped another USC coach named Lane Kiffin get fired one year later.

The 1998 Sun Bowl featured a young USC quarterback named Carson Palmer. The Trojans collected 280 passing yards but struggled to finish drives. Petros Papadakis caught a touchdown pass for USC.

The Trojans were soft under Hackett — softer than they are under Lincoln Riley. They allowed over 300 rushing yards to TCU and got blown out of the box 14-0 in the first quarter, forcing them to play catch-up the whole game. Hackett’s inadequacy as a head coach was underlined and affirmed in the fourth quarter when USC, trailing 28-16, kicked a field goal to make the score 28-19. The field goal did absolutely nothing for USC. The Trojans still trailed TCU by two scores. It was reflective of how lost the Trojans were under Hackett.

So, it could be a lot worse, USC fans. The program in 2025 is a lot better off than it was the last time USC faced TCU in a bowl game.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football Sun Bowl vs TCU in 1998 was part of Trojans’ lost era

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