One win. That’s all that separates Sam Darnold from etching his name into USC football lore in a way that no Trojan quarterback ever has.
When the Seattle Seahawks host the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field, the former USC signal-caller won’t just be playing for a trip to Super Bowl LX. He’ll be carrying the weight of a programme’s peculiar omission from pro football’s grandest stage.
Sam Darnold Stands on the Verge of USC Trojans History
For all of USC’s storied quarterback history, from Matt Leinart to Carson Palmer, Mark Sanchez to Matt Barkley, not a single Trojan passer has ever started in a Super Bowl.
It’s a stunning gap in the legacy of a school that has produced Heisman Trophy winners, national champions, and enough NFL draft capital to fill a war chest. The closest any USC quarterback came was Palmer’s NFC Championship appearance with the Arizona Cardinals during the 2015 season — one game short.
Darnold has the opportunity to change all of that on Sunday.
The journey from Los Angeles to Seattle hasn’t been linear for Darnold. After being selected third overall by the New York Jets in 2018, ahead of Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Rosen, his NFL career appeared destined for the draft bust pile.
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Three frustrating seasons in New York were followed by two forgettable years in Carolina and a stint as Brock Purdy’s backup in San Francisco.
Yet those who watched Darnold at USC knew the talent was always there. In two seasons as the Trojans’ starter from 2016-17, he compiled 7,229 passing yards, 57 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions while leading USC to a Pac-12 championship and a legendary Rose Bowl victory.
That 52-49 win over Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl remains one of the greatest individual performances in the game’s history. Darnold completed 33 of 53 passes for 453 yards and five touchdowns, setting Rose Bowl records for passing touchdowns and total yards (473).
He broke Vince Young’s total offense record — a particularly sweet piece of history given Young’s role in one of USC’s most painful defeats. Darnold engineered an 80-yard game-tying drive with under two minutes remaining, showcasing the clutch playmaking ability that has resurfaced in Seattle.
Among the 2018 quarterback class, Darnold is the only one still alive in the Super Bowl hunt. Allen’s Bills fell to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship. Jackson’s Ravens were eliminated in the Divisional Round. Mayfield’s Buccaneers didn’t make the postseason.
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The quarterback most dismissed as a bust is now the last one standing.
Should Darnold defeat the Rams on Sunday, he won’t just reach his first Super Bowl; he’ll become the first USC quarterback in the school’s 138-year football history to start in the biggest game in American sports.
For Darnold, Sunday represents a chance to validate a career that seemed headed for oblivion. For USC, it’s an opportunity to finally close a chapter that has remained frustratingly unwritten.
The NFC Championship kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Somewhere, perhaps, Leinart, Palmer, and Sanchez will be watching, hoping the kid who broke Vince Young’s Rose Bowl record can do what none of them ever could.
