Ranking USC's Top Rivals As of Right Now

With Notre Dame and UCLA hitting rough patches the past few years, I went researching to find USC's biggest rivals as of right now?

I considered results in the past five years, and how these results impacted the Trojans' seasons. Also playing a role is how good it feels to win a game against a certain opponent, because we all know, the bigger the rival, the sweetest the victory tastes.

Honorable Mention - Texas Longhorns

The Trojans played the 'Horns only once in the past five years—the infamous '06 Rose Bowl—but No. 10 and Co. did enough damage to earn a spot in the list.

What if Youg did not score with mere seconds left and the Trojans went on to win the game? That is an "if" big enough to land Texas on the list.

The 2005 USC squad is still considered one of the best teams ever and they didn't even win the title, imagine if they had.

No. 5 - Oregon Ducks

Given that many people consider the Ducks one of the best teams in the Pac-10 year in and year out, it is surprising to see that Pete Carroll's crew hasn't had much trouble with the plentifuly-uniformed Ducks.

Except for their loss in 2007 (17-24 at Autzen Stadium) the Trojans have beat them 45-13, 35-10 and 44-10 in 2005, '06 and '08.

And it must be pointed out that the 2007 loss was with an inexperienced Mark Sanchez playing against a Dennis Dixon-led Ducks team that was on the fast track to reach the National Title game.

The Ducks are a pesky bunch, and it's always fun to see what kind of eye-sore uniform they will throw out there, but for the sake of being a worthy rival, they stay at No. 5.

No. 4 - Washington Huskies

Ah, now I've got your attention. Either that or you are bending over in laughter in how ridiculous this sounds. I can wait until you finish.

Done? Good, now listen up. Think putting the poor little Huskies in here is ridiculous? Let's go by the numbers first shall we?

In 2006 and 2007, the Trojans played two very tough games against the Huskies (scores: 26-20 in '06 and 27-24 in '07). In the '07 game, the Trojans lost 3 Offensive Lineman to injuries during a game played in a rainy night against a pesky Husky squad that almost pulled off the upset.

And then there's Steve.

Sarkisian, that is. The new Husky head coach and former USC OC will be a former coordinator now on the same conference, and we all know where that can go. If not beating the Trojans, you know at some point there will be a couple war of words, always healthy to maintain a rivalry.

No. 3 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Yes, the Golden Domers haven't beaten SC in what seems like ages, but they are still one of the most enjoyable teams to beat, and that counts big points.

A rivalry usually consists of two teams battling it out to see which one is best, and considering that the Irish haven't put up a fight lately, the luster has certainly worn off.

But still, USC-Notre Dame is a match-up worth seeing regardless and with rivalries this big, you never know what will happen

No. 2 - UCLA

The cross town rivals can never be written off (see 9-13, 2006) and the addition of Rick Neuheisel certainly has added fuel to this fire.

Early on in his tenure, Neuheisel took out a full page ad on the LA Times with his picture proclaiming the "End of the LA Monopoly." It didn't really work in his first year - granted he had no Quarterabck - but expect UCLA to compete in the future.

The Bruins are still years away talent-wise for competing with the Trojans, but that doesn't mean they should be overlooked, every time they meet the games are close and highly entertaining.

No. 1 - Oregon State Beavers

C'mon, you had to see this coming, right?

With two losses in a row at Reser Stadium—both which took the Trojans out of the National Championship race—the Beavers are firmly atop the list and it will take a whole lot of hell raising by either Notre Dame and UCLA to knock OSU off the top.

Last year's loss was the most embarrassing for sure. With a defense that produced five NFL draftees and was called one of the best in the nation, Jacquizz Rogers surely did a number on them.

The score may say 27-21, but whoever watched that game surely knows it felt all game long as if it was a much bigger deficit.

As of right now the Oregon State Beavers have the "honor" of being USC's biggest rival.