Handful of Cal Players Remember Upset Victory Over USC in 2003

The year is 2003.

It’s triple overtime, and all Thomas DeCoud can do is pray. Kneeling at the 20-yard line, he sees it all unfold.

He watches USC’s Ryan Killeen miss a field goal, giving the ball to the Cal football team with the score tied 31-31. He watches placekicker Tyler Fredrickson, who has been blocked on his last two attempts, shoot a 38-yard field goal through the uprights.

And he savors the aftermath.

“We went crazy, we went nuts, and then that field goal too—everybody rushed the field and went ‘Ahh!’” says DeCoud, flailing his arms in celebratory fashion. “Everybody was on the edge, just waiting for that field goal to go through.”

While the Bears were on the verge of completing a 34-31 upset over the No. 3 Trojans at Memorial Stadium, DeCoud was about to embark on his freshman year as a redshirt for Cal.

Now it’s 2007.

DeCoud, a senior safety, is one of a small contingent of current Bears players who paced the sideline during the game that changed the complexion of the rivalry between a Pac-10 powerhouse and what used to be a conference doormat.

“It set the stage for us having big games later on in our career,” says Brandon Hampton. “I mean, you never know what a big game is like until you’re in one, but it set the stage. You remember. I saw what happened during the week. I saw what happened (that) Saturday.”

Hampton, a senior defensive back who redshirted the 2003 season, has mustered substantial animosity towards USC since that fateful September evening.

Especially as a Los Angeles native, Hampton feels the tensions run high every time he takes the field against the Trojans. There’s just something about them. And it can’t help Hampton’s mood that they’ve ousted Cal in three straight games.

“I didn’t like ’SC already, and it makes it worse because we beat them then and ever since I’ve been playing we haven’t beaten them,” says Hampton. “I really hate ’SC because it seems like every year we’re second best to ’SC. They’re cocky, they think they’re better than us—it’s just one of those things. When you think about it, you get pissed.”

Because the players’ emotions of the 2003 thriller are so strong, they’ve surfaced in practice this past week. And so have the memories.

It’s Wednesday night, and senior linebacker Justin Moye has just spoken with defensive coordinator Bob Gregory about the game.

He recalls standing on a bench, rallying fans by swirling a towel over his head. He remembers celebrating, jumping around with teammates as the student section poured onto the field.

The knots in his stomach and the pain in his throat couldn’t ruin the moment.

“It was the epitome of Cal football since I’ve been here,” says Moye. “It was the most unbelievable feeling having everybody storm the field, cheer, grab you and say how proud they were of you. And I was a redshirt, so I didn’t even dress up. People were like ‘Great game,’ but I didn’t even play.”

Moye and his current roommates—Craig Stevens, Sam DeSa, and Brian De La Puente—were all living together in Clark Kerr during their redshirt seasons. Adorning their wall is an aerial photo detailing Memorial Stadium on the day of the game, the reds and blues in the stands separate and distinct.

Much of that picture will be recreated tonight, but the dot that accounts for Moye won’t be on the sideline.

“That was the first big time game experience we had ever been a part of,” says Moye. “And it’s gonna be a special experience for all the seniors running out of that tunnel, only having one more shot against ’SC.”

Now all the players who were spectators at the victory four years ago, desperate to leave on a high note, have the chance to take down the Trojans.

“We have to get a win,” says Hampton. “Last year I felt the same way, but now I don’t have any more chances to beat ’SC. I really want to beat ’SC. So this is it for me. This is the final go-round.”

This is it for the rest of the 2003 redshirt freshmen.

This time, however, they won’t be praying. They’ll be playing.

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