2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Washington
In a day where half of the week's top-10 teams were defeated, USC escaped becoming the sixth in a messy, mistake-prone 27–24 victory in a wet, windy game in Seattle. Although USC had a 460–190 edge in total yards, their errors helped the Huskies significantly: They committed three turnovers and 16 penalties—their most in more than two seasons—for 161 yards, missed a field goal and had a punt blocked. A disappointed Pete Carroll noted "We just couldn't do more things wrong in the game [. . .] I thought Washington was there for it. They were there to take it. All they needed was one more chance."


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Washington
USC quarterback John David Booty completed 20 of 37 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown but had two interceptions, one of which was returned 54 yards for a touchdown tying the game at 14–14 in the second quarter. The Huskies gained momentum early in the fourth quarter when they came to within 24–17 and forced USC to punt; however, on the return Terrell Thomas stripped the ball from Anthony Russo for a fumble and recovered the ball at the Huskies' 43 yard line, setting up David Buehler's 33-yard field goal with 3:01 remaining. The Huskies did not give up, blocked a USC punt with 1:15 left and scored on quarterback Jake Locker's one-yard run to pull to within three with 34 seconds left. On the ensuing onside kick, Thomas was able to recover the ball for USC, ending the game.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Washington
Locker displayed the dual passing/running threat Carroll had expressed concern about, but also showed his youth with erratic passing, finishing 12-for-27 with 83 yards passing and one interception, plus another 50 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. USC did have positive showings in the running game, with Stafon Johnson running for 122 yards and a touchdown and Chauncey Washington also adding 106 yards and a score. In the end, Carroll and the Trojans described the game as less a victory than an escape, a game where USC's raw athleticism took advantage of Washington's youth.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Washington
The Trojans suffered numerous injuries during the game: starting freshman center Kristofer O'Dowd hurt his kneecap and guard Chilo Rachal sprained his knee on the same play in the first quarter; they were replaced by senior center Matt Spanos, who had just been cleared for play after tearing a triceps before the season, and reserve guard Alatini Malu. Starting cornerback Shareece Wright, in his first start after replacing the injured Cary Harris, sustained a pulled hamstring muscle and was replaced by Mozique McCurtis. Tailback Stafon Johnson suffered a foot injury and fellow tailback C.J. Gable dressed but did not play because of a groin injury suffered just before the trip to Washington.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Washington
The game drew comparisons to USC's 33–31 loss to Oregon State the previous season. As a result of the close finish, USC lost the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll, falling to No. 2 with 1,591 points and 32 first-place votes to LSU's 1,593 points and 33 first-place votes; however, the Trojans remained No. 1 in the Coaches Poll, keeping a more substantial lead: 1,483 points and 45 first-place votes to LSU's 1,454 points and 14 first-place votes.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
USC continued Pac-10 play by hosting the struggling Stanford Cardinal, under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh. In a major upset, USC stumbled at home to the 41 point underdog, losing 24–23.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Harbaugh made headlines prior to the season by claiming 2007 would be Carroll's last year with USC before departing to the NFL, drawing a terse rebuke from Carroll; Harbaugh later called the 2007 Trojans one of the best teams in history at the Pac-10 Media Day, reiterating the position in the week before their game. However, there were no hard feelings between the coaches. The two kept in cordial phone contact and Carroll made light of Harbaugh's comments several times during the season.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The Stanford starting quarterback, redshirt senior T. C. Ostrander, suffered a seizure on the afternoon of September 30, one day after their game against Arizona State; he was released from Stanford Hospital after a few hours, but as a precautionary measure he was held out of the game against USC. The starting quarterback position fell to Tavita Pritchard, a redshirt sophomore with three passes in his college career. Stanford was also without two other key starters: defensive lineman Ekom Udofia (ankle) and offensive lineman Allen Smith (knee).


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
On October 3 it was announced that USC running back C.J. Gable, who was averaging a team-best 11 yards a carry, would undergo season-ending abdominal surgery to correct a nagging sports hernia that had limited his ability since the previous season; because he had only played in the first three games, he would seek a medical redshirt season. Gable's fellow running back, Stafon Johnson, was also held out of the game due to a foot bruise suffered the previous week.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Stanford was the last team to beat USC at the Coliseum, doing so on September 29, 2001 under Tyrone Willingham, against then-first year coach Carroll. By game week, the line for the game favored the Trojans by 39.5 points, and reached 41 points by gametime. The loss ended multiple USC streaks, including a five-game win streak against Stanford and a 35-game home winning streak. For sportsbooks, the loss to a 41-point underdog marked the biggest upset in their history.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
There were a few positive efforts for the Trojans: Tight end Fred Davis caught five passes for a career-best 152 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown; and nose tackle Sedrick Ellis had three sacks. However, there were many more errors and substandard performances: quarterback John David Booty, who broke a bone in the middle finger of his throwing hand in the first half, had four passes intercepted in the second half.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The offensive line had been suffering since losing two starters in one play during the previous week's game at Washington, but the effect was severe against Stanford; the offensive line gave up four sacks, one more than the Trojans had surrendered all season, and USC gained only 95 yards rushing. Key receiver Patrick Turner dropped several passes, the defense gave up 17 points in the fourth quarter and USC had an extra-point attempt blocked, a point which became a crucial difference.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Like their previous game against Washington, USC out-gained Stanford by 224 yards (459 to 235) but made many crucial turnovers and penalties. In the press conference following the game, Coach Carroll summarized his concerns: "It's real clear that we have fallen out of line with our philosophy that has guided this program for years; we're turning the ball over too much."


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Opinions in the sports press ranged from proclaiming the end of the USC's era of dominance in college football to calling the loss a major, but not fatal set-back to any hopes for a Trojans run at the national championship. The Trojans fell to No. 10 in the AP Poll; however, USC only fell to No. 7 in both the Coaches Poll and Harris Poll, both of which are the human components for determining who the BCS chooses for the National Championship Game. As a result, USC remained in outside title contention with upcoming games against consensus-No. 2 California and top-10 Oregon. The upset landed the Trojans in ESPN.com's Bottom 10.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
In an interview the following month, Carroll assessed the mistakes that led to the loss as his own:


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
We really blew it against Stanford. We screwed it up because we played a guy that was hurt. I made a mistake on that. That was me. ... If anything really was a factor, it was my cockiness that there was no way we could lose a game. It didn't matter — we could keep running our offense, keep working on stuff, and they would never beat us. ... Broken hand? What was I thinking? I'm the one that screwed it up. He's a warrior. He's the one telling me "I can play."


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
That's what he should be telling me. ... I missed a big one. It cost us a game that really cost us the flavor of this season. We've been tainted ever since, for obvious reasons. We gave away a game to a team that's won two or three games. Amazing. But it's awesome for football, it's awesome for Stanford and all that. Great for those guys. Sucks to be us in that regard. We screwed it up.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
At the end of the regular season, Sports Illustrated chose Stanford's upset of USC as the second "Biggest Upset of 2007" after Division I FCS Appalachian State's upset of No. 5 Michigan.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
After the previous week's upset loss to Stanford, the Trojans hosted the Arizona Wildcats, led by head coach Mike Stoops, aiming to correct mistakes and demonstrate that they were still in contention for the Pac-10 title and to remain an outside candidate for the national title game. Matters were complicated when it was announced that starting quarterback John David Booty would not start due to a broken middle finger on his throwing hand, suffered during the previous week's loss.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
As a result, redshirt sophomore Mark Sanchez made his first start for the Trojans; previously he had only played during garbage time. The Trojans also remained without offensive linemen Chilo Rachal and Kris O'Dowd, as well as leading rusher Stafon Johnson, who remained idle for a second week after bruising his left foot during the game against Washington. The Trojans entered the game a 21-point favorite.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
The Trojans again showed inconsistency for most of the game before coming alive in the fourth quarter and pulling away to a 20–13 victory. USC started out well, going ahead 10–0 in the second quarter after running back Chauncey Washington's 18-yard touchdown run and David Buehler's 27-yard field goal. However, the offense began to sputter; the Trojans amassed only 12 total yards in the second quarter and 50 in the third. Part of the offense's problems were turnovers; Sanchez threw two interceptions in the second quarter, allowing Arizona to tie the game going into halftime.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
The Wildcats kicked another field goal early in the third quarter to go up 13–10, raising speculation that USC was going to be upset for the second consecutive week. The momentum of the game quickly changed in the fourth quarter after freshman running back Joe McKnight, touted as the next great Trojans tailback but yet to meet expectations, made a 45-yard punt return that Sanchez followed up on the next play with a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Fred Davis. After a defensive stop, Arizona punter Keenyn Crier kicked an 83-yard punt to the Trojans one-yard line.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
The Trojans pushed forward with fullback Stanley Havili before McKnight again made a big play, running 59 yards and setting up what would be a Trojans field goal. The USC defense then forced an Arizona turn-over on downs to preserve the victory. Sanchez recovered from his poor first half performance with a strong performance in the second, where he completed 11 of 15 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown while later making a key 10-yard scramble on third and seven late in the fourth quarter.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
The injuries that had plagued USC throughout the season continued as All-American tackle Sam Baker left the game because of a hamstring strain and freshman guard Zack Heberer, already substituting for an injured Chilo Rachal, suffered a shoulder bruise. On the defense, linebacker Rey Maualuga suffered a hip injury and safety Kevin Ellison broke his nose. An uncommon number of injuries, especially along the offensive line, depleted reserve players and forced Trojans to reach out to the general student population in order to find students with previous lineman experience to help on the scout team's offensive line; however, none were officially added to the roster.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
In light of the Trojans close victory, USC dropped in both major polls, falling to No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll, tied with previously No. 2 California, which had just lost an upset to Oregon State. The Trojans debuted at No. 14 in the season's first Bowl Championship Series standings, used to determine which two teams play in the BCS National Championship Game.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
USC visited inter-sectional rival Notre Dame for their 79th annual game for possession of the Jeweled Shillelagh. Pre -season demand for tickets was among the highest in Notre Dame history as USC made its first visit back to Notre Dame Stadium since the notable 2005 "Bush Push" game; demand remained high although, going into the season, the Fighting Irish were unranked.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
Notre Dame had the worst start to their season in program history, opening 0–5 (the previous record was 0–3) and headed into their game with USC at 1–6. With significant problems at most positions, Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis made several changes at quarterback: Starting the opener with sophomore Demetrius Jones, he chose to start heralded freshman Jimmy Clausen for games two through seven; during which time Jones transferred from the program.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
After Clausen also showed trouble at the position, Weis elected to go with junior Evan Sharpley as the starter for the USC game; Sharpley had backed up Brady Quinn the previous season. In response to controversy over the length of the grass in Notre Dame Stadium during the 2005 game, where USC kickoff returner Desmond Reed suffered torn right knee ligaments and nerve damage while trying to turn on the field, the Fighting Irish cut the grass significantly shorter. Notre Dame entered the game ranked last in total offense (190.9 yards a game) and rushing (32.1 yards a game), and next to last in scoring (11.4 points); their offensive line had given up 34 sacks.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
With starting quarterback John David Booty still recovering from a broken finger on his throwing hand, USC elected to start Mark Sanchez for the second straight week. On the Thursday night before the game, the Trojans charter flight experienced severe turbulence on approach to South Bend Regional Airport during a lightning storm; their aircraft dropped and threw several passengers (players, coaches and their spouses) from their seats and hit their heads on the ceiling during an initial approach that was aborted before the plane circled and landed safely.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
Breaking with tradition, the Fighting Irish announced in June that they would be wearing their alternative green jerseys instead of blue against USC; Weis noted that it was in honor of the 1977 Irish team that switched to green jerseys before defeating the Trojans en route to a national championship (Weis was a student at Notre Dame at the time). Previously, the Irish did not let the public know when they would be wearing their green jerseys.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
The Trojans dominated the game, shutting out Notre Dame 38–0, USC's largest margin of victory in the series. Quarterback Mark Sanchez made significant improvements over the previous week, completing 21 of 38 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions. There were several highlight plays: Tight end Fred Davis made a one-handed touchdown catch in the first quarter, wide receiver Vidal Hazelton made a 48-yard touchdown run after evading several Irish defenders, and freshman running back Joe McKnight made a 51-yard fourth quarter run for his first touchdown.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
The USC defense stifled the Irish offense: allowing only 165 yards to the Trojans' 462 yards, making five sacks, and keeping the Irish from rushing for a first down until the fourth quarter. There were several special teams miscues: The Irish blocked a USC punt, the Trojans blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt and the Irish had a fumbled punt return that was recovered by USC. The Trojans had several key players return from injuries and make significant contributions, including linebacker Brian Cushing and running back Stafon Johnson.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
After two weeks of moving down in the rankings, the Trojans moved up to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, No. 9 in the AP Poll (tied with Florida) and No. 12 in the BCS standings.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
With the Ducks as three-point favorites, the Trojans entered a Pac-10 game as underdogs for the first time since November 17, 2001; the game was the first between top-10 teams in the 41-year history of Oregon's Autzen Stadium. The match-up was framed as a battle between Oregon's highly productive offense and USC's defense.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Trojans were affected by the massive wildfires affecting Southern California that week; air quality during outdoor practices in Los Angeles dropped significantly, and Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez' father, a fire captain with the Orange County Fire Authority, was on the front line fighting the blazes. With John David Booty still recovering from a broken finger, Sanchez was given the start for the third week in a row. The Trojans were also set to return from injury all-American offensive tackle Sam Baker and guard Chilo Rachal. Despite having won the previous three contests, the Trojans noted concerns about playing in the famously loud and raucous Autzen Stadium.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
Before a stadium-record crowd of 59,277, the Ducks defeated the Trojans 24–17 in a game decided in the final seconds. The Trojans made key mistakes and did not exploit several opportunities against the Ducks. After Oregon fumbled the opening kickoff, USC failed to score with the Ducks stopping running back Joe McKnight on a fourth-and-one play at the Oregon 12 yard line. Later in the first quarter, an apparent 65-yard touchdown run by McKnight was nullified by a holding penalty away from the play.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Trojans trailed 10–3 going into halftime, but tied the game in the third quarter on a Sanchez to Patrick Turner touchdown pass. However, on the next possession, fullback Stanley Havili fumbled the ball and Oregon recovered on the USC 16 yard line, leading to an Oregon touchdown. On USC's next series, Sanchez threw an interception. During the Trojans' following series, Oregon safety Matthew Harper intercepted a pass and returned it 27 yards to the Oregon 42. The Ducks took a 24–10 lead with 11:39 left as running back Jonathan Stewart scored his second touchdown.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Trojans rallied; Sanchez led an 85-yard, five-play drive that he capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver David Ausberry. The USC defense forced an Oregon three-and-out and starting at their 17; the Trojans then advanced to Oregon's 33 with 26 seconds left. However, on second down, Sanchez misread the defensive coverage and threw his second interception of the game to Harper with 11 seconds left in the game. After taking a knee to run out the clock on first down, USC used their final timeout to stop the clock. Unaware of the timeout, Oregon fans stormed the field before the game officially finished, and after being cleared away the Ducks took a second knee and ran out the clock, sealing the victory.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Trojans defense did slow down the Oregon offense, keeping them 212 yards below their season average, allowing the USC offense to out-gain the Ducks, 378 yards to 339. The Ducks' senior quarterback, Dennis Dixon, ran for 76 yards and a touchdown in 17 carries and completed 16 of 25 passes for 157 yards without an interception. However, the Oregon defense ultimately won the game for the Ducks. Sanchez threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns, but also had the two interceptions, including the game-ender.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
USC Offensive Coordinator Steve Sarkisian's decisions on several key plays were called into question by fans in the week following the game. Eugene's newspaper, The Register-Guard, recorded the crowd noise at 127.2 decibels, making it the loudest crowd for a college football game; 1.2 decibels louder than the 126 decibels made by 77,381 Clemson fans during a game in 2005.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The game was viewed as marking Oregon's rise to a national title contender and a break in USC's dominance of the Pac-10 conference. The game also marked the first season since 2002 that the Trojans were going into November no longer considered a national title contender. Despite losing the game, the Trojans were still regarded as a legitimate threat in the conference and were projected as a potential at-large team for the BCS bowl games. However, there were voices in the media that believed the loss signaled the "death" of the "Trojan Dynasty" that had reigned in college football since 2002.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Trojans fell to No. 13 in the AP Poll, No. 15 in the Coaches Poll, and No. 19 in the BCS standings.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
USC celebrated homecoming by hosting the Oregon State Beavers, coached by Mike Riley. In 2006, the unranked Beavers stunned the No. 3 Trojans in a 33–31 upset in Corvallis. The Beavers had not won at USC since 1960.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
Oregon State entered the game with the nation's best rushing defense, allowing only 54.5 yards rushing a game  and also recording a nation-leading 34 sacks. The Beaver defense ranked 13th nationally in total defense, surrendering 299.9 yards a game. Trojans quarterback John David Booty returned from injury to start; offensive lineman Sam Baker remained out after re-injuring a hamstring against the Ducks. Oregon State star running back Yvenson Bernard was initially expected to play despite a sprained shoulder, but did not. Former USC linebacker Richard Wood, who was chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame, was honored at halftime.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
In a strong defensive performance, the Trojans defeated the Beavers 24–3. The USC defense made nine sacks and intercepted a pass; they limited Oregon State to 176 total yards and a field goal off a Trojans fumble in the USC red zone. True freshman Everson Griffen had 3½ sacks, safety Kevin Ellison added two, end Lawrence Jackson had 1½ and nose tackle Sedrick Ellis and linebacker Brian Cushing had one each; cornerback Terrell Thomas made the interception.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
The Trojans offense had its second lowest total of the season, gaining 287 yards, but it rushed for 100 yards against the Beavers' tight rush defense, led by Chauncey Washington who gained 60 yards in 12 carries. Booty, returning from injury, could not find his rhythm but still completed 19 of 33 passes for 157 yards without an interception; the Trojans converted only five of 16 third downs. Both teams missed field goals in the first quarter, then exchanged field goals going into the second quarter.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
The Trojans then scored 21 unanswered points in less than eight minutes to close the half. Neither team scored in the second half. USC running back Stafon Johnson was allowed to play a few downs but was kept out for most of the game to allow his foot to heal fully.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
The Trojans rose slightly in the polls to No. 12 in the AP Poll, No. 15 in the Coaches Poll, and No. 17 in the BCS standings. The 2007 Holiday Bowl was mentioned as a possible destination for the Trojans. Holiday Bowl executive director Bruce Binkowski said they would be very interested in pitting the Trojans against the Texas Longhorns. The two teams last met in the 2006 Rose Bowl for the BCS National Championship.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
In the pre-season, the Trojans' game against California was named as one of the candidates for the 10 most important games of 2007; the Trojans national title hopes hinged on proving themselves against a veteran team led by head coach Jeff Tedford in California Memorial Stadium. Prior to the season, Cal star receiver DeSean Jackson, an early Heisman Trophy candidate, called out USC cornerback Terrell Thomas in ESPN The Magazine, stating that he would best the cornerback who contributed to limiting him to two catches in the 2006 match-up. After USC's loss to Stanford, the game was still referred to as the Pac-10 game of the year; however, after Cal's mid-season losses to Oregon State and UCLA and USC's loss to Oregon, the game took on less importance.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
On a rain-soaked evening in Strawberry Canyon, the Trojans gained a 24–17 victory over the No. 24 Golden Bears behind a career-best effort by running back Chauncey Washington. After seeing his early success against the Cal defense, USC began handing the ball almost exclusively to Washington who ran for 220 yards on 29 rushes. Due to the rain and Washington's success on the ground, Booty only attempted 20 passes for 129 yards in 11 completions with one touchdown and no interceptions; the Trojans offensive line did not give up a sack.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
USC returner Ronald Johnson returned four kicks for 102 yards, including one for 41 yards and another for 35, giving USC favorable field position. Cal running back Justin Forsett had an effective night, running for 164 yards in 31 carries. However, the Trojans defense had another solid effort, holding Cal to 14 points below its scoring average and forcing quarterback Nate Longshore into two interceptions and a sack. Cal's one-time Heisman Trophy candidate, wide receiver DeSean Jackson, was limited to five receptions for 64 yards and was kept from returning any kicks.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
The game turned to the Trojans favor during the fourth quarter, when the Trojans put together a 10 play, 96-yard drive behind Washington and capped by a three-yard touchdown run by Stafon Johnson. Cal received the ball back with 7:38 left, but the Trojans forced turnovers in the Bears' subsequent two drives; after Lawrence Jackson recovered a fumbled snap on the first drive, cornerback Terrell Thomas intercepted a Longshore pass at the USC 17 with 2:47 to play to seal the victory. As part of its Hall of Fame weekend, Cal wore throwback jerseys based on its 1975 team in honor of All-American quarterback Joe Roth; it was the third team to wear throwback jerseys in their game against the Trojans. Linebacker Keith Rivers suffered a high ankle sprain.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
After the victory and the subsequent bye week, the Trojans again rose slightly in the polls to No. 11 in the AP Poll, No. 11 in the BCS standings, and No. 12 in the Coaches Poll.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
In the pre-season, the game against veteran head coach Dennis Erickson's first squad at ASU was identified as a potential trap game for the Trojans. With No. 2 Oregon's loss during the bye week, Arizona State rose to No. 9 in the polls and the top of the Pac-10 standings while USC remained in contention for at least a share of the Pac-10 title if they could win out.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Scheduled for prime time television on Thanksgiving Day, it was the only major college game shown on the holiday evening time slot. It was Arizona State's first Thanksgiving Day game and USC's 20th, though its first since 1938. The game attracted a number of celebrities, including former USC Heisman-winners Marcus Allen and Matt Leinart, who was joined by Arizona Cardinals teammate Larry Fitzgerald, Heisman-winner Gino Torretta, Bob Davie and Charles Barkley; it also included a halftime performance by singer Little Richard. In honor of the holiday, the Sun Devils added a turkey leg to the end of Sparty's pitchfork painted at the center of the field.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Eleven years removed from their last Rose Bowl berth, Arizona State had made a quick turn-around under Erickson, returning to national prominence with a 9–1 record. Using an NFL-style offense under junior quarterback Rudy Carpenter, the Sun Devils put extra pressure on their offensive line, allowing in 43 sacks, the most in the Pac-10 Conference and second most in the nation. In order to relieve Carpenter, who had suffered injuries over the season in his throwing hand, Arizona State planned to also work in the running game behind Keegan Herring and Dimitri Nance. USC entered the game ranked first in the Pac-10 and third nationally in defense, giving up 267.9 yards per game. The Sun Devils had trailed in every Pac-10 conference game in the season up to that point.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Behind a strong performance by John David Booty, the Trojans defeated the Sun Devils, 44–24, in front of a sold-out Sun Devil Stadium. Under an even passing attack, Booty threw for 26 of 39 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He distributed the ball to eight different receivers, including four separate players for his touchdowns; Booty also rushed for a touchdown. Tight end Fred Davis made five receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown. David Buehler kicked three field goals.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
The Trojans defense made six sacks as the Sun Devils were shut down for most of the second half and held to 16 yards rushing; two of the Sun Devils' scores were from a 98-yard kick return for a touchdown and a score off a blocked punt in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Lawrence Jackson made four of USC's sacks, the most by a USC player since 1989, including one that split Carpenter's lip and caused him to throw his helmet towards the sideline in frustration; Jackson also finished with a school-record 5 ½ tackles for losses. Ronald Johnson had another strong game on special teams, returning the opening kickoff 49 yards.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Two days later Oregon lost to UCLA, leaving the Trojans in a tie for first place in the Pac-10 standings with Arizona State (winning the tiebreaker). USC's strong victory, along with several upsets during the week, led the Trojans to rise to No. 8 in the AP Poll, No. 8 in the BCS standings, and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
The Trojans ended the regular season by hosting the UCLA Bruins, led by head coach Karl Dorrell, in the 77th edition of their annual crosstown rivalry game for possession of the Victory Bell. In the 2006 season, the Bruins' 13–9 upset of the then-No. 2 Trojans in the final week of the regular season ended the Trojans' hopes for reaching the national championship game. With both teams ranked going into the season (USC first, UCLA 14th in the AP Poll), there was buzz in Los Angeles that both teams might reach their December 1 game undefeated.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
UCLA made it as high as 11th in both polls before suffering a 44–7 upset loss at unranked Utah in week 3 that knocked them out of the top 25.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
It was the 36th time that a Rose Bowl berth was on the line for one of the two teams in the game: A USC victory would guarantee them at least a share of the Pac-10 Conference title and a berth in the 2008 Rose Bowl Game; UCLA, despite entering the game 6–5 (5–3 in the Pac-10), also entered the game with a chance at the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth if they could defeat the Trojans and Arizona could beat Arizona State in a game later in the day.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
During the 2006 contest, UCLA Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker had the Bruins apply aggressive pressure to John David Booty, limiting the quarterback's ability to drive the passing game while holding the Trojans to 55 yards rushing and an average of only 1.9 yards per carry. USC entered the 2007 game averaging 186.6 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry, significantly higher than the 128 yards rushing per game in 2006. UCLA's season was marked by numerous injures, particularly at quarterback. Original starting quarterback Ben Olson injured his knee early in the season and missed over four games. Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan also suffered a knee injury but returned for two more games before suffering a collapsed lung against Arizona. As a result, the Bruins had resorted to playing walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson and converted-wide receiver Osaar Rasshan.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
In the week leading up to the game, a dispute between USC and the Coliseum Commission, the public managers of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, went public. USC threatened to move to the Rose Bowl (home of the UCLA Bruins since 1982) if an agreement could not be reached. In addition to honoring the outgoing seniors during their final game in the Coliseum, the Trojans also honored late players Drean Rucker and Mario Danelo, who would have both been members of the 2007 senior class.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
Rucker, a linebacker from Moreno Valley, drowned during the summer before his freshman year with USC (and was honored during the 2004 season) and Danelo died from a fatal fall immediately following the 2006 season; members of both families attended. The stadium also held a moment of silence for the passing of Trojans alumnus and donor Louis Galen. USC entered the game as a 20-point favorite.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
The Trojans defense dominated the Bruins in a 24–7 victory before a sold-out Coliseum crowd. The Trojans held the Bruins to a season-low 168 yards, sacking quarterback Patrick Cowan four times for 31 yards in losses and held the Bruins to 12 net rushing yards. USC forced four turnovers, recovering three UCLA fumbles and intercepting a pass. The Bruins did not convert any of its 11 third down situations. The Bruins sole score came in a drive in the closing minutes of the first half. USC gained 231 rushing yards and 437 overall. On the ground, running back Joe McKnight rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown, Stafon Johnson ran for 73 yards and senior Chauncey Washington gained 66 yards and scored a touchdown. Booty completed 21 of 36 passes for 206 yards with a touchdown and an interception.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
The victory assured USC a share of the Pac-10 title. Although Arizona State would defeat Arizona later in the night to become co-champions, the Trojans clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl by virtue of their victory over the Sun Devils the previous week. USC extended its streak of Pac-10 titles to six in a row, having already broken the record the previous season with five. Dorrell was fired by UCLA the following Monday. USC's victory, coupled with another week of upsets, led the Trojans to rise to No. 6 in the AP Poll, No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, and No. 7 in the BCS standings.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
The Trojans ended the 2007 season by participating in the 2008 Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day in the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California; it was the Trojans' fourth Rose Bowl game and sixth BCS Bowl in six years. Although it traditionally hosts the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences, the 2007 Big Ten Champion, Ohio State, was ranked No. 1 in the final BCS poll and instead participated in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
The rules governing BCS bowl selections allowed the Rose Bowl to select a BCS "at-large" team from the top 14 teams ranked in the BCS Standings that have at least nine wins. Keeping with its traditional bowl ties, the Rose Bowl selected the No. 13-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini (9–3), under third-year head coach Ron Zook.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
The Illini entered the Rose Bowl after a Cinderella season where they won nine games, including an upset victory over at-the-time No. 1 Ohio State, after winning a total of four games the previous two seasons. It was Illinois' first bowl game since winning the 2001 Big Ten Championship and playing in the 2002 Sugar Bowl.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
The Illini offense was led by sophomore quarterback "Juice" Williams, who in the regular season passed for 13 touchdowns and ran for seven, junior running back Rashard Mendenhall, who averaged 127 yards rushing per game and scored 18 touchdowns, and freshman receiver Arrelious Benn, who caught 49 passes and had 158 yards in 32 carries. For taking Illinois to the Rose Bowl a year after going 2–10, Zook won both national and Big Ten coach of the year honors. The Illini entered the game 13.5 point underdogs, the biggest of any of the season's 32 bowl games. It was USC's 31st appearance in "The Granddaddy of Them All", having won in 22 of its previous appearances and leading in both categories by a significant margin.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
The Trojans routed the Illini 49–17 before a sold-out Rose Bowl crowd. USC set a Rose Bowl-record of 633 offensive yards and tied the record for points scored. John David Booty completed 25 of 37 passes for 255 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Seven different Trojans rushed the ball, led by running back Joe McKnight who had 125 rushing yards and touchdown (McKnight totaled 206 yards for the game). Tight end Fred Davis led the receivers with seven receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
Mendenhall led the Illini, rushing 17 times for 155 yards and one touchdown, with 214 yards overall. Williams had 245 yards passing, completing 21 of 35 passes with two interceptions and was sacked five times. The second Trojans touchdown was a trick play thrown by walk-on receiver-quarterback Garrett Green, who caught a ball thrown backward by Booty and then threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to running back Desmond Reed, who backflipped into the endzone, resulting in an excessive celebration penalty. The fourth quarter included a touchdown by sixth-year senior and one-time starter Hershel Dennis, his first score since 2004, leading to a bench-clearing celebration that resulted in USC receiving another excessive celebration penalty.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
USC's 32-point victory was the largest margin of victory in the Rose Bowl since 1984, when UCLA defeated Illinois 45–9. The lopsided score amplified existing criticism of the Tournament of Roses for scheduling the lower-ranked Fighting Illini as the at-large team. Booty was selected as the Rose Bowl Offensive MVP, and set a Rose Bowl record with seven career touchdowns. USC linebacker Rey Maualuga was selected as the Defensive MVP with three sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. It was USC's fifth victory in six consecutive appearances in a BCS Bowl.


2007 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Rose Bowl
USC ended the season as No. 2 in the final Coaches' Poll and No. 3 in the final AP Poll with one first-place vote.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, Comments
The 2007 USC Trojans entered the season picked as the unanimous No. 1 team, with expectations of playing in the BCS National Title Game. After the loss to 41-point underdog Stanford the team's opportunities for national success came into serious question, and following the loss to Oregon there were questions as to whether USC would even win the Pacific-10 Conference. The Trojans regrouped and salvaged their season, winning a share of the conference and the Rose Bowl, and by the end of the season were said to be playing the best football of anyone in the country. Injuries to key players, particularly quarterback John David Booty's broken finger during the Stanford game, had a significant impact over the season, leading to questions of how USC would have fared if injuries had not taken their toll.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, Comments
USC finished the season ranked No. 2 in the Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the AP Poll, trading the respective No. 3 and No. 2 spots with Georgia, another team that finished with a strong 11–2 record and a dominating performance in its BCS Bowl game. The teams finished close to each other in the final polls: In the Coaches Poll, USC received 1380 votes to Georgia's 1370; and in the AP Poll Georgia received 1515 to USC's 1500. USC received one first-place vote in the final AP Poll.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, Comments
With LSU's dominating win over Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game, college football had its first two-loss national champion, and with teams like USC and Georgia locked out of playing LSU or Ohio State, the season served as another example for those advocating for some form of Football Bowl Subdivision playoff.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, Comments
The Trojans accomplished two feats: USC became the first team to win six straight Pac-10 titles and became the first team in major college football to achieve six straight 11-win seasons. In addition, USC set a record by playing in a BCS Bowl for the sixth consecutive season.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, Comments
Immediately after the 2007–08 bowl season, in early looks at the 2008 season, USC was ranked as the pre-season No. 4 (Sports Illustrated) and No. 5 (ESPN.com) due to key player departures mitigated by the overall talent level. Sports Illustrated soon revised its ranking to No. 3 after nearly all draft-eligible juniors decided to remain with the program instead of entering the NFL Draft.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
Of all the Trojans' draft-eligible juniors, only offensive guard Chilo Rachal declared himself available for the 2008 NFL Draft. Twelve USC players, eleven seniors and a junior, were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, the most of any school in 2008: the seniors were offensive tackle Sam Baker, quarterback John David Booty, tight end Fred Davis, nose tackle Sedrick Ellis, defensive end Lawrence Jackson, offensive tackle Drew Radovich, linebacker Keith Rivers, center Matt Spanos, cornerback Terrell Thomas, running back Chauncey Washington, linebacker Thomas Williams, and the junior was offensive guard Rachal.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
USC did well in the 2008 draft; ten players were taken overall, the most of any school, and a school-record seven players were selected in the first two rounds, beating the previous record of five (1968 and 2006) and the most in the first round.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
The first round selections were Ellis (seventh, New Orleans Saints), Rivers (ninth, Cincinnati Bengals), Baker (21st, Atlanta Falcons) and Jackson (28th, Seattle Seahawks); the second round picks were Rachal (39th, San Francisco 49ers), Davis (48th, Washington Redskins) and Thomas (63rd, New York Giants); the fifth round selections were Booty (137th, Minnesota Vikings) and Williams (155th, Jacksonville Jaguars); in the seventh round Washington was selected 213th by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Radovich signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings; Spanos signed with the Miami Dolphins.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
One year later, eleven more players were selected in the 2009 NFL Draft, again leading all universities in the number of players drafted into the NFL that season.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
The first round selections were Mark Sanchez (fifth, New York Jets), Brian Cushing (15th, Houston Texans) and Clay Matthews (26th, Green Bay Packers); the second round picks were Rey Maualuga (38th, Cincinnati Bengals) and Fili Moala (56th, Indianapolis Colts); in the third round was Patrick Turner (87th, Miami Dolphins); in the fourth round were Kaluka Maiava (104th, Cleveland Browns) and Kyle Moore (117th, Tampa Bay Buccaneers); in the fifth round was David Buehler (172nd, Dallas Cowboys); and in the sixth round Cary Harris (183rd, Buffalo Bills) and Kevin Ellison (189th, San Diego Chargers).


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
During the 2010 NFL Draft, USC had seven more players from the 2007 team drafted into the NFL, though none in the first round. The second round picks were Taylor Mays (49th, San Francisco 49ers) and Charles Brown (64th, New Orleans Saints); in the third round were Damien Williams (77th, Tennessee Titans) and Kevin Thomas (97th, Indianapolis Colts); in the fourth round were Everson Griffen (100th, Minnesota Vikings) and Joe McKnight (112th, New York Jets); and in the sixth round Anthony McCoy (185th, Seattle Seahawks).


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
At the 2011 NFL Draft, USC tied for the most players drafted from any university into the NFL that year with nine. Of those, six were on the 2007 team, though none of those particular players were in the first round. Shareece Wright was selected in the third round (89th, San Diego Chargers); in the sixth round were Ronald Johnson (182nd, San Francisco 49ers) and Allen Bradford (187th, Tampa Bay Buccaneers); and in three consecutive picks in the seventh round were Stanley Havili (240th, Philadelphia Eagles), David Ausberry (241st, Oakland Raiders) and Malcolm Smith (242nd, Seattle Seahawks). Jordan Cameron, who had tried to transfer onto the team but forced to wait a year at a junior college before enrolling, was drafted in the fourth round (102nd, Cleveland Browns). Finally, at the 2012 NFL Draft, Rhett Ellison was taken in the fourth round (128th, Minnesota Vikings).


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, Awards
Senior Fred Davis became the first Trojan to win the John Mackey Award, awarded to the nation's top tight end. Five Trojans were selected to the various 2007 College Football All-America Teams. In addition to Fred Davis, tackle Sam Baker earned his third-straight spot on an All-American team. On the defense, tackle Sedrick Ellis, linebacker Keith Rivers, and safety Taylor Mays all earned All-American honors. Ellis was named the Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year by league coaches, and selected to the All-Conference first team defense along with defensive end Lawrence Jackson, linebackers Rivers and Rey Maualuga, and cornerback Kevin Ellison. The All-Conference first team offense included Davis, Baker, and offensive lineman Chilo Rachal.


2007 USC Trojans football team, After the season, Awards
The Trojans had nine players invited to participate in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama: Baker, quarterback John David Booty, Davis, Ellis, Jackson, offensive linemen Drew Radovich, Rivers, cornerback Terrell Thomas and running back Chauncey Washington. All nine players were placed on the North team, which was coached by Lane Kiffin, who had coached for the Trojans between 2001 and 2006 before becoming the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. The nine players sent by USC were the second-most ever invited from one team in a single season, one less than the 10 players by Alabama in 1987 and tied with the nine players sent by Auburn in 1988, though the earlier selection rules favored the two locally based schools.


2007 USG Sheetrock 400
The 2007 USG Sheetrock 400 was the 19th race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. It took place during daytime on July 15, 2007, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois with the broadcast airing on TNT.


2007 USG Sheetrock 400, Qualifying
Unlike the previous week at Daytona, qualifying was complete for this race. Casey Mears won the pole position with a lap of 182.556 miles per hour. Michael Waltrip qualified for only his fourth race of the season. Chad Chaffin once again filled in at BAM Racing and again qualified for the race.


2007 USG Sheetrock 400, Race
Tony Stewart won for the first time in 2007 and for the 30th time in his career. He also led the most laps in the competition, 108 out of 267. His margin of victory over second-place Matt Kenseth was 1.727 seconds. The rest of the top five drivers, in order, were Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, and Clint Bowyer.


2007 USG Sheetrock 400, Race
Jimmie Johnson led the second-most laps (82), but encountered tire trouble toward the end and wound up in 37th place.


2007 USG Sheetrock 400, Race
Jeff Gordon (9th) extended his points lead over Denny Hamlin (17th) to 303 points. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. led Ryan Newman by 39 points for 12th place and the final spot in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. After this race, seven races remained until the "playoff" field was set.


2007 USL W-League season
The Washington Freedom finished the season as national champions, beating the Atlanta Silverbacks Women 3-1 in the W-League Championship game in Rochester, New York on 7 August 2007.


2007 USL W-League season
Ottawa Fury Women finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 11 out of their 12 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +38 goal difference.


2007 USL W-League season, Changes from 2006 season, Name changes
Two teams changed their names:  The Long Island Lady Riders changed their name to the Long Island Rough Riders, and the San Diego Lady Gauchos changed their name to the San Diego Sunwaves.


2007 USL W-League season, Standings
Blue indicates division title clinchedGreen indicates playoff berth clinchedOrange indicates bye into the W-League semifinals as hosts.


2007 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
Four teams qualify from the Central Conference, six from the Eastern Conference, and two from the Western Conference.


2007 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
The Division Winners in the Central Conference will play the second place team of the other division. In the Eastern Conference, the second and third place team in each division will play, with the winner of that match playing the top team in the other division. Finally, the two winners of the latter matches will play for the Eastern Conference championship. The top two teams in the Western Conference will play each other.


2007 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
The Rochester Raging Rhinos automatically qualify for the W-League Semifinals as hosts. They will play the highest-ranked Conference Champion in their semifinal, with the other two Conference Champions will play in the other.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The 2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team represented University of Santo Tomas in the 70th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2007-08 began on July 7, 2007 and the host school for the season  was also UST.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The Tigers, the Season 69 champions, ended the double-round eliminations in joint fourth place with the FEU Tamaraws with eight wins and six losses. They then won over FEU in the playoff for the fourth and final semifinal slot. UST held the Tamaraws to a season-low of 6 points in the second quarter. They were eliminated by the Ateneo Blue Eagles in a knockout game of the first round of the stepladder semifinals for the right to face the second-seeded De La Salle Green Archers in the second round.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
UST suffered back-to-back losses at the start of the season but recovered by winning four of their next five games to finish the first round at third place with a 4–3 record.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
Two of their games went into overtime. The first was an 86–90 first round loss to La Salle who had rejoined the league after serving a one-year suspension in Season 69 for fielding ineligible players in the past three years. Their other overtime game was also against La Salle who they got back at in the second round with an 81–73 win. They have defeated the Green Archers for the first time since  the 1999 finals where the Tigers lost in a three-game series with Game One also going into overtime.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
Jervy Cruz was named Most valuable player of the season. He topped the statistical points tally with 75.9 at the end of the  second round of eliminations on top of 11 double-doubles that included two playoff games. The last UST player to win the MVP was Chris Cantonjos in Season 58. Cruz was third in the league in scoring with an average of 16.7 points per game behind the 21.3 average of Adamson's Patrick Cabahug and the 17.6 points per game of NU Bulldogs' Edwin Asoro. He led the league in rebounds with a 15.4 per game average.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
Francis Allera was chosen Player of the Week by the UAAP Press Corps for the duration of July 19–22, while Khasim Mirza received the citation twice on the week of August 2–5 and August 23–26.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Ineligibility issues
Jojo Duncil, Season 69 Finals MVP, has announced to the team of his decision to turn professional and forego his last playing year in the UAAP.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Ineligibility issues
It was revealed on July 2, 2007 during the press conference for the upcoming UAAP Season 70 by Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) director Fr. Ermito de Sagon that Duncil's age eligibility was being questioned by other member schools after it was discovered that Duncil had two NSO certificates that showed varying data. One certificate had 1983 as Duncil's year of birth while another had shown that he was born in 1982.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Ineligibility issues
According to Fr. de Sagon of the host school for the season, the team has decided to exclude him from the roster to avoid future games being put in protest which can only cause distraction to the rest of the team. De Sagon added that Duncil, being the rector's nephew is undoubtedly only 24 years old and is eligible to play this season.


2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, UAAP Season 70 results
Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format. All games were aired on Studio 23.


2007 UTEP Miners football team
The 2007 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Mike Price. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso. UTEP averaged 36,569 fans per game, ranking 64th nationally.


2007 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Texas Tech defeated the University of Texas at El Paso, 45-31. Texas Tech got on the scoreboard first when Kobey Lewis rushed up the middle for a one-yard touchdown with Alex Trlica making the point after.


2007 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
UTEP answered with an eight-yard pass from Trevor Vittatoe to Jeff Moturi for a touchdown. The Miners successfully made the PAT to tie the game. The next score also came from UTEP, giving them the lead on a 41-yard-pass from Vittatoe to Joe West, followed by a point after. UTEP scored a third time before the end of the first quarter. UTEP running back Marcus Thomas, who sat out the previous game because of a suspension, scored on a one-yard-run. Another successfully PAT followed. This gave the Miners a 21-7 lead going into the second quarter.


2007 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
In the second quarter, the Red Raiders scored first on a pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree. The Miner's Thomas made another touchdown, bringing the score to 28-14, UTEP, after the successful PAT. Texas Tech scored a field goal as the first half wound to a close.


2007 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
In the third quarter, the Red Raiders scored twice. First on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Harrell to Crabtree. Then Harrell threw for another touchdown. Both scores were followed by successful extra points by Alex Trlica. The Miners added three points with a field goal, closing out the quarter with a 31-point tie.


2007 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Texas Tech defense held UTEP scoreless in the game's final quarter while the offense added 14. Harrell passed to Grant Walker down the middle for an eight-yard touchdown. The successful PAT made it Texas Tech 38, UTEP 31. On the final score, running back Shannon Woods rushed up the middle for a two-yard-touchdown. Texas Tech made the PAT to close the game out with a 45-31 lead.


2007 UW1
2007 UW1 is a sub-kilometer asteroid that is a near-Earth object of the Aten group.


2007 UW1, Orbit
The orbit of 2007 UW1 has been established with more than a 6-year observation arc. It will pass within 0.001 AU (150,000 km; 93,000 mi) of Earth on 19 October 2129. For comparison, the distance to the Moon is about 0.0026 AU (384,400 km).


2007 Ukrainian Amateur Cup
The 2007 Ukrainian Amateur Cup  was the twelfth annual season of Ukraine's football knockout competition for amateur football teams. The competition started on 8 August 2007 and concluded on 21 October 2007.


2007 Ukrainian Amateur Cup, Competition schedule
This year Nikopol, Laris Kalynivka, KONFERMAT Khmelnytskyi, and Torpedo Mykolaiv started their participation from the 1/16 finals. The games has never taken place as well as one of the games between Nizhyn and FC Yednist-2 Plysky.


2007 Ukrainian Cup Final
The 2007 Ukrainian Cup Final was a football match that took place at the Olympic NSC on 27 May 2007. The match was the 16th Ukrainian Cup Final and it was contested by Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv. The Olympic stadium is the traditional arena for the Cup final.


2007 Ukrainian Cup Final, Road to Kyiv
All 16 Ukrainian Premier League clubs do not have to go through qualification to get into the competition, so Dynamo and Shakhtar both qualified for the competition automatically.


2007 Ukrainian Cup Final, Previous encounters
Prior to the 2007 Cup Final, Dynamo and Shakhtar had met three times in previous Ukrainian Cup finals. Dynamo had defeated Shakhtar two times, since losing their very first meeting. In both of those meetings Dynamo was victorious 2–1. Shakhtar's best performance against Dynamo was back in the 2002 final, when the Miners were able to down the legendary Dynamo team in extra time 3–2. It was the first meeting between the team managers in this competition.


2007 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
Following are the results of the Ukrainian Football Amateur League 2007 season. Participation was restricted to the regional (Oblast) champions and/or the most regarded team by the respective regional association.


2007 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
This season competition consisted of three stages. The first stage was organized in regional principal and was played in two rounds where each team could play another at its home ground. The second stage was played in three different places to identify the best six (Luzhany, Plysky, and Illichivsk). The games were organized in one round. The two best out of each group advanced to the semifinals where teams were split into two groups. The semifinals and the final were played in Illichivsk. The winners of the groups advanced to the finals and runners-up matched up in the game for the third place.


2007 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Second stage, Group 2
FC Yednist-2 Plysky - FC Lokomotyv Kupyansk 2:0All participants of the group advanced farther.


2007 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Final
The game took place in  Illichivsk, Odesa Oblast. September 29, 2007.


2007 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Final
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2007 Ukrainian Super Cup
The 2007 Ukrainian Super Cup became the fourth edition of Ukrainian Super Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Ukrainian Top League and Ukrainian Cup competitions. Dynamo Kyiv had won both competitions.


2007 Ukrainian Super Cup
The match was played at the Central Stadium "Chornomorets", Odessa, on 10 July 2007, and contested by league winner Dynamo Kyiv and cup runner-up Shakhtar Donetsk. Dynamo won it 4–2 on penalties.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine took place on 30 September 2007. The date of the election was determined following agreement between the President Viktor Yushchenko, the Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Oleksandr Moroz on 27 May 2007, in an attempt to resolve the political crisis in Ukraine triggered by the 2 April 2007 presidential decree on dissolution of Ukraine's parliament.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election
The 450 seats were divided among all parties that achieved a minimum 3% nationwide vote tally. The number of seats that are allocated to each party, above the 3% participation rate quota, is calculated using the Hamilton method of apportionment.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election
In the election, an alliance of two electoral blocs associated with the Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc (BYuT) and Our Ukraine-Peoples Self Defence (OU-PSD) obtained a narrow majority  leaving their main rival, the Party of Regions (PoR) in opposition.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Political crisis
Following the 2006 parliamentary elections, there was an ongoing power struggle between the President and the parliamentary majority, which resulted in the dissolution of parliament. The majority in the parliament, known as Coalition of National Unity, was formed by Party of Regions, Communist Party, and Socialist Party). It was opposed by Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Political crisis
Early in 2007, several members of the opposition indicated their support to the ruling coalition. If sufficient numbers of members of parliament supported the government, the Coalition of National Unity could have secured a two-thirds majority, empowering the parliament to override the president's right of veto and enabling the parliament to initiate limited constitutional changes.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Political crisis
On 2 April 2007, Yushchenko decreed the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Political crisis
The authority of the president to dismiss the parliament was challenged in the Constitutional Court, however following the president's intervention in the operation of the Constitutional Court the court has not ruled on the constitutionality of the president's decree.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Political crisis
The election was originally scheduled to be held on 27 May 2007 and later postponed to 24 June 2007. On 27 May 2007 an agreement was signed by President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and Parliamentary Speaker Oleksandr Moroz, scheduling the elections to be held on 30 September 2007.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Political crisis
The President's previous decrees were revoked and a new decree based on the provisions of Article 82 and Article 90 of Ukraine's Constitution was issued in its place in August 2007 following the resignation of over 150 members of the opposition parties.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results
The first polling places to open were at the Ukrainian embassies in Australia and Japan. Election districts were open from 7:00AM until 10:00PM local time. According to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine 63.22% of registered voters cast ballots. This easily exceeded the 50% participation required by Ukrainian law to make the election valid.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results
Five parties received the required election threshold of 3% of the total vote and entered the Verkhovna Rada: Party of Regions (PoR),Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT), Our Ukraine-Peoples Self Defence (OU-PSD), the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) and the Bloc Lytvyn (BL). The Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU) secured only 2.86% of the vote and as such did not win any seats in the new parliament. Had the Socialist Party received an additional 0.14% of the vote the overall results would have been more or less the same as the previous Ukrainian parliamentary election in 2006 with the addition of Bloc Lytvyn representatives.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Election results by parties and blocs
There were 20 parties and blocs registered on the  voting ballot. One more electoral bloc PORA-Reforms and Order was participating in early election procedures but was subsequently removed by CVK as result of court decision. Number 17 assigned initially to this bloc was removed from the ballot paper.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Format of ruling coalition
Following the announcement of preliminary election results, the parties expressed their position on forming the coalition. The Party of Regions announced itself a winner of the election and stated that it started negotiations on forming a ruling coalition. The party did not express the desire to be in opposition. Tymoshenko's Bloc advocated a coalition with Our Ukraine and possibly Lytvyn's Bloc. Yulia Tymoshenko was strongly against any coalition with the Party of Regions or the Communists. She stated that her Bloc would be in opposition should such a coalition be formed.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Format of ruling coalition
President Yushchenko has expressed the need for a better relationship between coalition and opposition. This should be achieved by providing the opposition with posts in the parliament and the government. Lytvyn's Bloc received proposals from all top parties on forming a coalition. Leaders of the Bloc stated that their decision will be made at the party's assembly. Oleksandr Moroz, the leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, acknowledged his defeat on 4 October 2007 and supported Tymoshenko's bid for premiership.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Format of ruling coalition
Yulia Tymoshenko, following the formation of a coalition between the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc was subsequently elected prime-minister on 18 December 2007. Her candidacy was supported by the vote of 226 deputies.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Format of ruling coalition
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is competent on the condition that no less than two-thirds of its constitutional composition has been elected. This means that if any one of the two largest parties resign en masse, the parliament would lose its authority and fresh elections would be required.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Election results compared with the previous Ukrainian parliamentary election
In 2006, 27% of the registered vote represented support for minor parties that received less than the 3% statutory representation threshold. In 2007 the number of voters that supported minor parties that received less than the 3% statutory threshold (Including the Socialist Party of Ukraine the support of 2.86%) was only 7%.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Election results compared with the previous Ukrainian parliamentary election
The 20% difference shows a consolidation of voter's support towards major political parties. This fact needs to be taken into consideration when making any assessment as to the positive swing recorded for Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko, Party of Regions, The Communist Party of Ukraine and Bloc Lytvyn. The Our Ukraine bloc merged with the new party "People's Self-Defence" but only recorded a marginal gain in the overall percentage of the vote representing a reduction of 236964 votes in comparison with the 2006 data.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Election results compared with the previous Ukrainian parliamentary election
Further review of the regional vote shows a consolidation of the vote by Yulia Tymoshenko in regions in which her party already maintained strong support. Apart from the Socialist Party of Ukraine and a marginal gain by Our Ukraine all major political parties recorded an increase in the overall percentage the voter support when comparing the 2006 to 2007 results.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Results, Election results compared with the previous Ukrainian parliamentary election
The other fact that needs to also be considered is that in 2006 the participation rate was 67% and in 2007 the participation rate dropped down to 62%.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, International observers
3354 international observers were officially registered to monitor the conduct of the election.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, International observers
Representatives of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Fair Election organization registered officials with the Central Elections Committee. The OSCE closely worked with Ukrainian officials in the design, administration, and conduct of the election.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, International observers
Observers declared that elections generally met international standards for democratic elections. However they noted:


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Registered parties and blocs
Number in parentheses is the number of candidates included on the party list. Parties or blocs that obtained 3% or more of the vote are in bold.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Parliamentary factions in parliament after elections
After the election various factions where formed in parliament. It was possible for 15 or more deputies to form a parliamentary faction (a lawmaker could join only one faction; the chairman and his two assistants could not head factions of deputies). hence not all parties represented in the Verkhovna Rada had their own faction. Factions are colored raspberry.


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Parliamentary factions in parliament after elections, Faction changes after 2007 election
Numerous MPs were removed from their original faction after the 2007 election; several left their (original) faction to join another faction in October 2010. From 2006 till October 2010 this was not allowed because of the (so-called) "imperative mandate".


2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Parliamentary factions in parliament after elections, Faction changes after 2007 election
In November 2010 the Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko faction was officially renamed “Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko-Batkivschyna”. and the Bloc of Lytvyn faction was renamed People's Party faction. On February 16, 2011 a new parliamentary faction "Reforms for the Future" was created. The parliament elected in the following election on 28 October 2012 was appointed and started its tasks six weeks after the elections on 12 December 2012. The parliament elected in 2007 convened on 6 December 2012 for the last time.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis
The political crisis in Ukraine lasted from April to June 2007 was part of political stand off between coalition and opposition factions of Verkhovna Rada that led to the unscheduled 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election. It started on 2 April 2007 as a culmination of long lasting crisis and degradation of the parliamentary coalition when the President of Ukraine (Viktor Yushchenko) attempted to dissolve the parliament.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis
The president signed a presidential decree based on several articles of the Constitution of Ukraine ordering early parliamentary elections in Ukraine to be held on 27 May 2007, though they were later postponed to 24 June 2007. He also ordered the government of Ukraine to finance the appointed elections. The Parliament and the government of Yanukovych called this decree unconstitutional and prevented fund allocation for elections. An appeal against the President's decree was lodged in Ukraine's Constitutional Court, which was considering the appeal. The Constitutional Court was expected to conclude its public hearing on Wednesday, 25 April 2007, following the presentation of the Government and Parliament's submission. The Court would then retire to consider their ruling.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis
Viktor Yushchenko suspended the decree and postponed date of the election in order to have approved legislation on elections, the opposition, and the operation of Parliament.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
Leading up to the dissolution of parliament was the eight-month power struggle between the president and the parliament. Ongoing power struggles between the Coalition of National Unity and the opposition supported by the president Viktor Yushchenko frequently resulted in the opposition boycotting the parliament's plenary sessions.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
Prior to the President's 2 April decree dismissing Ukraine's Parliament, 11 members of the opposition supported the governing Coalition of National Unity (formerly the Anti- Crisis Coalition). The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, claimed that the right of individual members of a parliamentary faction to support the governing coalition was contrary to the provisions of Ukraine's Constitution.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
Article 83 clause six, in what is commonly referred to as the Imperative mandate stated "According to election results and on the basis of a common ground achieved between various political positions, a coalition of parliamentary factions shall be formed in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to include a majority of People’s Deputies of Ukraine within the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine".


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
The "Imperative mandate" provision of Ukraine's Constitution came under strong criticism by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as being undemocratic. The Parliamentary Assembly in its Explanatory memorandum dated 17 April 2007 had emphasized


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
Although Ukraine understandably has its own historic reasons to avoid the accumulation of power into the hands of one political force, it should nevertheless consider in the course of future constitutional amendments whether it would not be better for the country to switch to a full parliamentary system with proper checks and balances and guarantees of parliamentary opposition and competition.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
The week before the president's initial decree, on 2 April, dismissing Ukraine's Parliament, thousands of supporters of the opposition gathered in Kyiv, calling on the President dissolve the parliament. A similar number of supporters of Verkhovna Rada Governing majority also gathered in Kyiv supporting Ukraine's parliament.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
On 2 April, the President, Viktor Yushchenko, following a meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and Speaker of the Parliament Oleksandr Moroz, signed the first decree dismissing Ukraine's Parliament sparking another political and constitutional crisis in Ukraine.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
At 11 PM the President, in a televised speech to the nation, announced his decree dismissing the parliament and ordering early parliamentary elections to be initially held on 27 May. The Rada, passed a motion declaring the decree unconstitutional, in defiance of the president's decree continued to function, issued orders preventing funds allocation for elections, and canceled the order assigning election commission members. The cabinet, supporting the parliament, refused to allocate funds for the new election.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
On 3 April 2007, in light of impending political unrest, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Francis Martin O'Donnell following an earlier call to deepen democracy and liberalize the economy, exceptionally issued an advisory statement of principles on behalf of the Country Team (followed by a visit by former Estonian President Arnold Rüütel on 23 April).


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
The legality and authority of the President's determination to dismiss Ukraine's previous parliament became the subject of a challenge in Ukraine's Constitutional Court.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
On 30 April 2007, on the eve of the Court's ruling on the legality of the President's decrees, Viktor Yushcheko intervened in the operation and independence of Ukraine's Constitutional Court by dismissing three Constitutional Court judges. The President's actions were later determined by Ukrainian courts of have been illegal and one of the judges dismissed has been reinstated; the other two judges resigned. Following the President's intervention the Constitutional Court has not ruled on the legality of the previous parliament's dismissal.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
In a separate issue, some politicians have claimed that identification cards for voting changed hands, as many deputies do not attend parliament in violation of Article 84 of the Constitution.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
The Central Election Commission has estimated direct costs of the elections to be at about 340 million UAH ($67 million, £34 million). Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the parliamentary opposition, commented on the issue of costs:


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of parliament and new elections
If the mafia is allowed to continue ruling the country, Ukraine will lose tens of billions of dollars, because Ukraine is being robbed today.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
In April 2007 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine started examining an inquiry submitted by a group of 53 members of parliament who question the constitutional legitimacy of the parliament's dissolution. This inquiry is based on interpretation that the President had no authority under Ukraine's constitution to dissolve parliament under the conditions listed in Article 90 of the Constitution of Ukraine. which is the only article in Ukraine's Constitution that empowers the President to dismiss Ukraine's Parliament. Instead, the decree mentions Articles 5, 69, 77, 83, 102, and 106.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 4 April, Ivan Dombrovskyy, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, filed for resignation, stating that he is under pressure. However, the judges rejected it.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 5 April, Yanukovych has announced that during telephone conversation asked the Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer to mediate in the dispute. There was no immediate response from Gusenbauer's office, and Austrian diplomats were surprised by the news about his help request.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 6 April, the Alliance of National Unity tried to compromise by dismissing the individuals from opposition fractions who had joined them and ratifying a parliamentary law banning individual membership in coalitions.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Four members of Central Election Commission - Yuriy Donchenko, Ihor Kachur, Bronislav Raykovskyy, and Oleksandr Chupakhin (reportedly affiliated with the Anti- Crisis Coalition) took sickness leave - thus effectively blocked work of commission as there is no quorum.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
As of 6 April in Constitutional Court, there are constitutional legitimacy questions from the President on an order of the Cabinet Ministers supporting the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) and from 102 deputies on changes done to constitution in 2004.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 7 April, Feodosiya city court has canceled own order from 5 April that originally disallowed to start elections. Vladimir Kolesnichenko, a spokesperson for the Party of Regions stated that this court ruling is a fake and that the elections are still banned.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 9 April, the Ukrainian  parliament passed a declaration, stating:


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Via his entourage and the political circles he relies on, the President of Ukraine interferes with the activities of legislators, brings pressure on judges of Constitutional Court and other courts, since in the legal dimension he does not have any chance to defend his unconstitutional decree.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Furthermore, parliament called upon the heads of European states, governments, and parliaments to send its representatives to mediate the political crisis.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Ukraine's parliament on 9 April, raising the stakes in the country's ongoing political confrontation, stated that it would only support early parliamentary elections if a presidential vote would be held at the same time.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 10 April, a Luhansk municipal courts' ruling, dated 6 April, banning all preparations for the election was publicly announced. The ruling was a response to an inquiry, submitted by Vladimir Ivanov, a Party of Regions member of parliament. Reportedly, this ruling was canceled. Ivanov has attempted to use labor laws in order to keep his deputy mandate:


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
I have concluded the employment contract for fixed term, and the President’s decree leaves me and my colleagues without work. This is roughest violation of the labor laws.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Five Constitutional Court judges (Dmytro Lelak, Volodymyr Kampo, Viktor Shyshkin, Petro Stetsyuk, Yaroslava Machuzhak), three of whom were appointed under the presidential quota, refused to participate in review of president order unless they will be given protection by law enforcement. They noted that "certain political forces, acting through their representatives, publicly apply rude pressure on the individual judges and on the Constitutional Court as a whole."


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 12–13 April, both Yanukovych and Yushchenko agreed to abide by the Court's ruling, regardless of its verdict. Furthermore, Yanukovych stated he might agree to parliamentary elections, if the other parties would also agree to participate, even if the Court rules in favor of the Rada.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
On 17 April, Ukraine's Constitutional Court, with all 18 judges in attendance, decided to study the appeal against the President's decree non-stop until a final ruling is passed. 11 out of 18 Judges passed this decision.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko described a Constitutional Court decision to review the President's decree dissolving parliament as "a farce," and urged the president to recall the judges appointed on his quota.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
The Court has yet to make its decision on the appeal, and was scheduled to announce it on 27 April.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych address Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly stating that the coalition of the majority in Ukraine biggest concern is not that of elections, but the choice between whether Ukraine will be a state ruled by law and all of the emerging problems will be resolved in courts, or on the streets.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis
Although 17 April was the deadline under established law to submit documents to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine for the registration of party lists, no political force had done so.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
On 19 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held an emergency session to consider issues related to Ukraine's current political crisis. The Assembly passed a resolution calling on all parties to disputation to respect the decision of Ukraine's Constitutional Court whilst criticizing Ukraine's Constitution Imperative mandate provisions.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly rapporteurs on Ukraine - Hanne Severinsen and Renate Wohlwend commented:


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The ruling of Ukraine’s Constitutional Court in the current crisis, if delivered, should be accepted as binding by all sides, the Parliamentary Assembly said in a resolution adopted on 19 April at the end of an urgent debate attended by Ukraine’s Parliamentary Speaker Oleksandr Moroz. However, the Assembly also warned that pressure in any form on the judges of the Court was intolerable, and should be investigated and criminally prosecuted.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The "imperative mandate" provision of Ukraine's Constitution came under strong criticism by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as being undemocratic. The Parliamentary Assembly in its Explanatory memorandum had emphasized


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Although Ukraine understandably has its own historic reasons to avoid the accumulation of power into the hands of one political force, it should nevertheless consider in the course of future constitutional amendments whether it would not be better for the country to switch to a full parliamentary system with proper checks and balances and guarantees of parliamentary opposition and competition.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Opposition Members First Resignations
On 20 April, leaders of Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko and Bloc Our Ukraine declared that about 150 deputy members of Our Ukraine and Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko had resigned from Ukraine's parliament, as result it claimed that the parliament will be no longer was able to operate constitutionally per Article 82. Their resignations had been submitted to Vikor Yushchenko, then Ukraine's president, who accepted their resignation.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Opposition Members First Resignations
Dmytro Vydrin from the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT), declared that he had not written an application on abdication, as nobody had not made this request. According to him, "there are three reasons" why he did not give his mandate, reports Delo. "At first, nobody addressed to me with my proposal. Nobody phoned me and told me to write down this application. So how could I write it?" declared the deputy.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Opposition Members First Resignations
Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Poland's former President, believed that Ukraine must find a political compromise and solution to the political crisis facing Ukraine. When asked who is to blame he responded:


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Opposition Members First Resignations
Unfortunately, the time after the Orange Revolution was wasted away. President Yushchenko, [the former] Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, advisers like Petro Poroshenko are all to blame. They should have helped building a strong orange bloc, for the sake of modernization and Westernization of Ukraine.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Political crisis, Opposition Members First Resignations
On 25 April, Viktor Yushchenko announced that he has rescheduled the early parliamentary elections to 24 June. On 30 April, the Ukrainian parliament passed a motion calling for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on 9 December 2007. After negotiations on 4 May, Yanukovych and Yushchenko finally agreed to hold elections in autumn (without specifying a date).


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
The authority of the President to dismiss Ukraine's parliament was challenged in Ukraine's Constitutional Court amidst concern that the President's actions were unconstitutional in that he had exceeded his authority to dismiss Ukraine's parliament.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
An appeal against each of the president's decrees was lodged in the Constitutional Court.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
On 19 April the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution in consideration of a report titled Functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine. (Items 13 and 14)  stated:


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
The Assembly deplores the fact that the judicial system of Ukraine has been systematically misused by other branches of power and that top officials do not execute the courts' decisions, which is a sign of erosion of this crucial democratic institution. An independent and impartial judiciary is a precondition for the existence of a democratic society governed by the rule of law. Hence the urgent necessity to carry out comprehensive judicial reform, including through amendments to the constitution.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
The Assembly reiterates that the authority of the sole body responsible for constitutional justice – the Constitutional Court of Ukraine – should be guaranteed and respected. Any form of pressure on the judges is intolerable and should be investigated and criminally prosecuted. On the other hand, it is regrettable that in the eight months of its new full composition, the Constitutional Court has failed to produce judgments, thus failing to fulfill its constitutional role and to contribute to resolving the crisis in its earlier stages, which undermines the credibility of the court. There is an urgent need for all pending judgments, and in particular the judgment concerning the constitutionality of the Presidential Decree of 2 April 2007, to be delivered. If delivered, the latter should be accepted as binding by all sides.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
The associated explanatory report under the sub-heading of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - Resolution 1549 (2007) Functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine expressed concern that


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
"Several local courts have made decisions to suspend the Presidential Decree only to then withdraw them, allegedly under pressure from the presidential secretariat." (item 67)


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
This is a worrying tendency of legal nihilism that should not be tolerated. It is as clear as day that in a state governed by the rule of law judicial mistakes should be corrected through appeal procedures and not through threats or disciplinary sanctions


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
On 30 April, on the eve of the Constitutional Court's ruling on the legality of the president's decree dismissing Ukraine's parliament, President Yushchenko, in defiance of the PACE resolution of 19 April intervened in the operation of Ukraine's Constitutional Court by summarily dismissing two Constitutional Court Judges, Syuzanna Stanik and Valeriy Pshenychnyy, for allegations of "oath treason." His move was later overturned by the Constitutional Court and the judges were returned by a temporary restraining order issued by the court.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
On 16 May,Viktor Yushchenko, for a second time, issued another decree dismissing the two Constitutional Court Judges Syuzanna Stanik and Valeriy Pshenychnyy.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
On 17 May, the Constitutional Court Chairman Ivan Dombrovskyy resigned and Valeriy Pshenychnyy was appointed chairman in replacement.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
On 23 May, The Constitutional Court of Ukraine acted to prevent the president's undue influence on the court system. The court's ruling was made after Viktor Yushchenko unduly sought to influence the court by illegally dismissing two Constitutional Court judges Valeriy Pshenychnyy and Syuzanna Stanik for allegations of "oath treason."


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
Pursuant to Article 149 of Ukraine's ConstitutionJudges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine are subject to the guarantees of independence and immunity and to the grounds for dismissal from office envisaged by Article 126, and the requirements concerning incompatibility as determined in Article 127, paragraph two of Ukraine's Constitution


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
On 20 July Susanna Stanik won an appeal against the President in the Shevchenko district court of Kyiv. The Court ruled the President's actions illegal and reinstated Ms Stanik's entitlement as a member of Ukraine's Constitutional Court. According to the ruling, the President is obliged to cancel his decree on discharge of Mrs. Stanik." The other two judges who were also illegally dismissed had previously tendered their resignations and as such were not subject to the courts order.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
Following the president's intervention the Constitutional Court still has not ruled on the question of legality of the president's actions.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
Stepan Havrysh, the President's appointee to the Constitutional Court, in prejudgment of the court's decision and without authorization from the Court itself, commented in an interview published on 24 July


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
I cannot imagine myself as the Constitutional Court in condition in which three political leaders signed a political/legal agreement on holding early elections, which also stipulates the constitutional basis for holding the elections... How the court can agree to consider such a petition under such conditions.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
Oleksandr Lavrynovych, Ukrainian Minister for Justice, in an interview published on 3 August is quoted as saying


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
According to the standards of the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine, these elections should have been recognized invalid already today. But we understand that we speak about the State and about what will happen further in this country. As we've understood, political agreements substitute for the law, ... The situation has been led to the limit, where there are no possibilities to follow all legal norms.


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Constitutional Court
On 25 March 2008 Ukraine's Supreme Administrative Court ruled the President's dismissal of Suzanna Stanik as a Constitutional Court judge illegal. Ms Stanik's position has been reinstated. The decision is final and not subject to further appeal


2007 Ukrainian political crisis, Dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and Prosecutor General, Prosecutor General
On 24 May, Yushchenko fired the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Svyatoslav Piskun, who was appointed by Yushchenko himself on 26 April, after Piskun refused to resign his place in the Verkhovna Rada as was required by the Ukrainian law, so as to not hold two positions at the same time.