Defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Alabama takes on No. 20 ranked USC on Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. It’s the marquee matchup of Week 1 in the 2016 college football season.
It’s not often we have a regular-season matchup between schools from different conferences with so much prestige and football tradition.
So, which of these two schools has the better college football tradition? Let’s get the tale of the tape in five categories, then reach a verdict.
Notable Players: USC
The Trojans have 12 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, compared to Alabama’s eight. USC also has seven Heisman winners (including Reggie Bush, whose 2005 award since has been vacated), which is tied for the most from one school. Alabama, strangely enough, has just two Heisman winners — running backs Mark Ingram in 2009 and Derrick Henry last season.
Alabama has 50 players currently in the NFL, while USC has 47. However, the Trojans have sent almost 500 players to the NFL in their history; only Notre Dame has sent more.
Championships: Alabama
The Crimson Tide have 20 national titles (16 claimed, four unclaimed), three more than USC’s 17 (11 claimed and six unclaimed).
Those numbers might sound confusing, and that’s because before the BCS and the College Football Playoff, there were many seasons where multiple schools split national titles based on the results of different end-of-season polls. There wasn’t an actual national title game until 1998 when Tenneesee defeated Florida State in the first BCS national championship game.
Alabama also owns a better all-time win percentage (.718 to .700), 51 more wins (864 to 813) and more bowl game victories (36 to 33).
Mascot: USC
Alabama’s elephant mascot, named “Big Al,” is cool, but the Trojan and his horse are much cooler.
“Traveler,” the name of the majestic white horse who’s been USC’s mascot since 1961, always is accompanied by a Trojan warrior.
An actual animal is cooler than a man/woman dressed in an elephant costume. Sorry, ‘Bama fans.
Fight Song: USC
“Fight On,” composed in 1922 and used by American forces in World War II, is an iconic fight song and arguably the best in college football.
Atmosphere: Alabama
Alabama’s Bryant-Denney Stadium is a tougher place for opponents to play than USC’s Coliseum. A 2014 ESPN poll of 99 FBS coaches ranked Alabama tied for the sixth-toughest venue to win in. USC didn’t even make the cut at all. Coaches from the Power 5 conference in the same poll ranked Alabama tied for second with Clemson.
From the “Walk of Champions” to the intense tailgating, Alabama has a better, more hostile atmosphere than USC. Just visit Bryant-Denney Stadium for an Iron Bowl game and you’ll understand.
Verdict: USC
USC won three of our five categories, and its championship pedigree is close enough to Alabama’s to earn the Trojans a narrow victory.
Thumbnail photo via Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports Images
