Former USC quarterback Sam Darnold led the Seattle Seahawks to win the program’s second Lombardi Trophy with a dominant 29-13 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday. It also marked a strong moment for the PFSN CFB Offense Impact Metric’s No. 4-ranked Trojans, who wrapped up the 2025 campaign with a 9-4 record.
Sam Darnold Makes USC History With Super Bowl Win After Tumultuous Journey
Darnold finished Sunday’s game, completing 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown. He revived his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings last season following stops with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers.
He stayed resilient for the Seahawks this season through the highs and lows, just as he did during his USC days. College football analyst J. D. Pickell weighed in on the discussion following the Seahawks’ win.
“People forget when Sam Darnold signed to USC, he wasn’t even the top quarterback commit they had,” Pickell said.
“Ricky Town was ranked ahead of him in the rankings when it came to how they were assessing the top two recruiting classes at USC. Sam Darnold wasn’t like the perceived guy; he’s kind of like an afterthought. Like, ‘hey, we got Ricky Town, but also we got this kid from San Clemente, pretty good, you know, we’ll obviously compete, but you know, like Ricky Town was the name that a lot of people got worked up over.
“Not saying Sam Darnold was chopped liver, but you get where I’m going with this. Goes to USC and that second season where he’s getting all the buzz and all the hype, and he’s going to be one of these guys, one of the top picks in the NFL draft, like the first half of the year he matched his interception total from the year before in the entire season.”
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Darnold played at USC from 2015-2017, posting a 20-4 record. He was one of two quarterbacks signed in the 2015 class, as former five-star Ricky Town enrolled early, while Darnold didn’t arrive until the summer.
USC initially overlooked Darnold, thinking Town would lead their quarterback room. However, he stayed persistent and impressed coaches with his elite caliber during fall camp. Town later transferred two weeks into camp, and Darnold redshirted his first season.
Darnold competed with Max Browne in 2016, who initially won the starting job but was replaced by Darnold three games into the season, and later led the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State.
Darnold led USC to a Pac-12 Championship and a New Year’s Six Bowl in the 2017 season. He was drafted by the New York Jets in 2018, and his journey became a story of resilience culminating in Sunday’s Super Bowl victory.
With the win over the Patriots, Darnold became the first USC quarterback to lead his team to a championship. He was one of four former Trojans playing for the Seahawks on Sunday, as defensive end Leonard Williams, linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, and defensive tackle Brandon Pili also represented USC.
