On December 4 2002 2002 Heisman winner Carson Palmer
For four years, Carson Palmer and USC football struggled together. They simply could not live up to king-sized expectations. From 1998-2001, the Trojans were an inglorious 25-24, performing far beneath the program’s perennially lofty standards. With the exception of nine games missed with a broken collarbone during what would be a redshirt year, Palmer was a four-year starter during that time. After the 2001 season, his numbers were pedestrian: 39 career touchdown passes, 39 career interceptions. Then, in 2002, Carson Palmer led the breakthrough season that began the Trojans’ magnificent modern era. As a fifth-year senior, the 6-foot-5, strong-armed Palmer finally blossomed. It was his second year with head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow, and everything came together — for Palmer, and for the program. Palmer threw for 3,942 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. He led USC to an 11-2 season — its most wins since 1979 — that was capped by the school’s first-ever BCS bowl berth. But before Palmer could be named Orange Bowl MVP for his work against Iowa, he had to win the Heisman. He all but locked up the award by dismantling Notre Dame (425 passing yards and four touchdowns) on Thanksgiving weekend — but you couldn’t convince Palmer of that. He went to New York suspecting that someone else — Larry Johnson of Penn State, Brad Banks of Iowa, Willis McGahee or Ken Dorsey of Miami — would take the trophy. “My biggest memory is just the shock and surprise of actually winning it,” Palmer said. “I very clearly remember just sitting in the audience and almost a feeling of disbelief when I heard them call my name. I didn’t really think I’d win. There were a lot of great candidates, and since it’s kind of a New York deal, I wondered if there might be a little East Coast bias involved.” Instead, Carson Palmer validated his college career, became the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NFL draft and set USC on its path back to glory. Not a bad year’s work.
— Pat Forde
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