USC Football: 10 Teams USC Loves to Beat

Before we embark on this slideshow listing the 10 teams USC loves to beat, a clarification of the title is in order.

USC loves to beat everybody.

Period.

However, there are teams the Trojans love to beat more than other teams and this piece will endeavor to identify those rivals of the men of Troy.

Most of these foes are fellow Pac-12 teams, but a couple aren't.

And yes, of course, one of those not in the conference is Notre Dame.

So let's get started on this list of teams the Trojans simply love to beat...

No. 10: Arizona State

I can hear Trojans fans now.

Arizona State? Are you freaking crazy? The Trojans own Arizona State!

And they would be right. The Trojans do own the Sun Devils.

In fact, over the last 10 years, USC is 10-0 against the team from Tempe.

But this year, the Sun Devils are going to be very good.

So good that they are the favorite to win the new Pac-12's South Division.

You know, the division that USC resides in.

Led by a dominant defense and an experienced offense, Dennis Erickson's team is ready for a big year.

And if the Trojans want to win their division in this inaugural season for the newly-aligned conference, the road to do so goes through Arizona State.

Make no mistake about it, the Trojans would love to win this game.

No. 9: California

Here is another rivalry that has been decidedly one sided over the last 10 years.

The Trojans have dominated Jeff Tedford's Bears over the last decade, going 9-1 in that span.

But this is a long-time rivalry and one that Coach Tedford has been on the wrong end of far too often (at least in his estimation).

This year, Tedford hopes to reverse the trend that has seen his Bears lose the last seven in a row.

Of course, the Trojans plan on continuing his misery, and there is one other dynamic going on.

As is the case with all conference foes, USC loves to beat Cal.

No. 8: Utah

As rivalries go, this one doesn't have much history.

But there was one time the Trojans played Utah in the last 10 years, though. And it didn't go USC's way.

In Pete Carroll's first year, the Trojans took it on the chin from the Utes 10-6 in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl.

But that is not why they have been included in this list.

No, the reason Utah has cracked this top 10 is because they have been very successful over the last few seasons.

And because they are now part of the Trojans' South Division in the Pac-12.

So in this first season of the Pac-12, the Trojans would love to welcome them to big-boy football with a resounding beatdown.

And continue that tradition for years to come.

No. 7: Any Team from the SEC

With the exception of Notre Dame, which will be featured later in this list, and the slide offered here, this piece is comprised entirely of USC's Pac-12 rivals.

However, with a firm finger on the pulse of Trojans fans, this ranking must include the entirety of the vaunted South Eastern Conference.

As anyone who follows college football knows, the banter that was exchanged between fans of the Trojans during the peak of their amazing run a few years ago and (fill in the name of whatever SEC team here) was lively at best and downright venomous at worst.

Though fans of Florida and LSU come to mind for pegging the obnoxious meter for this writer, other followers of teams in the conference can be equally as annoying.

Then there are the SEC "honks."

You know, those intrepid fanatics who just extol the virtues of their beloved conference.

Of course, they stand on pretty firm ground while doing it. There is no arguing with success.

But that is not what this slide is about.

And to be certain, Trojans fans can be obnoxious, too.

This, too, is beside the point.

What isn't beside the point is that the Trojans own a 4-0 record against the SEC since 2001, and they would love to add to that whenever the opportunity presents itself.

No. 6: Oregon State

The Beavers make this list for a couple of reasons.

One, Oregon State has beaten the Trojans in three of the last five years.

To be sure, Corvallis has been a chamber of horrors for USC dating all the way back to 1967 when Dee Andros' Beavers beat the OJ Simpson-led Trojans 3-0 in the driving rain.

But there is another reason as well.

Mike Riley, Oregon State's head coach, has a long history connected to USC.

Riley served as an assistant coach for the Trojans back in the day and did a fine job.

But even that isn't the reason why USC considers him a nemesis.

The other reason why the Trojans place an added emphasis on beating the Beavers is because Riley turned down their overtures to become their head coach.

And not once, but twice.

And for this reason, as well as the others, the Trojans love to beat Oregon State.

No. 5: Washington

The Huskies have always been a thorn in USC's side.

But never more so than the last two years, when former Trojans assistant coach Steve Sarkisian took over the head coaching job at Washington.

For USC, having a former coach of their team lead his charges to upset wins was, and is, galling.

Sarkisian pulled off both wins with an overall inferior club as compared to USC, and this too sticks like an oversized bone in the Trojans' craw.

Of course, some guy named Jake Locker had a large hand in those victories and now he is gone.

However, Sarkisian remains and that is reason enough for the Trojans to love beating those Dawgs.

No. 4: Stanford

The placement of Stanford this high on the list is a product of a longtime rivalry coupled with some unique circumstances.

Of course, one of those circumstances no longer applies now that former Cardinal head coach Jim Harbaugh has moved across town to coach the NFL 49ers.

However, the bitter feelings remain for the Trojans.

Like when the Cardinal, 41-point underdogs, upset the Trojans not so long ago in the Coliseum.

And the fact that they have beaten USC three out of the last four years.

Now the Cardinal has new reasons to want to beat the Trojans.

This past recruiting season, USC stole a couple of Cardinal verbal commits at the last moment, and both of these guys, running back Amir Carlisle and linebacker Anthony Sarao, are expected to contribute mightily for the men of Troy in years to come.

The Trojans don't care about all of that.

They just want to taste victory against Stanford.

And when they do, it will be sweet.

No. 3: Oregon

Make no mistake about it, the Oregon Ducks have replaced USC as the "powers that be" in the new Pac-12.

After their appearance in the national championship game in 2010 and their overall dominance over the last couple of years in general, the Ducks have earned their preeminent place as a national power.

Along the way, Chip Kelly's charges have also managed to kick the Trojans' proverbial asses the last two years.

For USC, nothing would be sweeter than to beat the Ducks in 2011 as they matriculate their way to a Pac-12 Southern Division title.

If they were to accomplish these two things, it would create much angst for the NCAA, whose suspect punishment of the Trojans has been deemed unfair by many.

And boy, would the Trojans love that.

So would their fans.

No. 2: UCLA

For the Trojans, only two programs reside at the top of the programs USC most loves to beat, and an argument can be made for either of the teams occupying the top spot.

For this writer, however, despite the significance of the cross-town rivalry, UCLA comes in a close second to the Trojans' top rival (bet you can guess who that is, eh?).

Part of this is due to the Trojans 45-28-7 record against the Bruins.

Because of USC's favorable record against UCLA, the bitterness associated with losing against a particular team over the long run is not as evident as it is with the No.1 team featured on this list.

Be that as it may, do not think for a minute that the Trojans don't love to beat their powder blue-and-gold counterparts from Westwood.

Of course they do.

Very, very much as a matter of fact.

No. 1: Notre Dame

From the moment that Howard Jones' and Knute Rockne's wives got together to bless the creation of this rivalry, it has been chock full of special moments.

Whether it has been Joe Montana leading the Fighting Irish to victory over the Trojans or Anthony Davis and his one-man wrecking crew breaking Notre Dame's heart, this series has been one great game after another.

In fact, five of the 10 most-watched college football games in history feature these two legendary programs.

However, this is also a rivalry that the Trojans need to play "catch up" to balance.

With last year's 20-16 win at the Coliseum, the Irish now lead 43-33-5 over the years.

USC doesn't like to be on the short end of historic rivalries.

And for this reason, Notre Dame makes this list as No. 1 on the all-time teams they love to beat.

Conclusion

As stated before, the Trojans love to beat whoever is in front of them on the field of play.

And coming off of two disappointing seasons, the need to ring up "W's" has never been more important,

To that end, and at Lane Kiffin's urging, USC will look at all of the opponents with a single-minded purpose, and that is to win every game.

However, try as they might to not get up for one team more than another, human nature and athletic competitiveness will focus their efforts differently for certain opponents.

Although a win over Washington State counts the same as one over Oregon, every Trojan will tell you that it is inherently different.

This list attempted to reflect the teams that the Trojans love to beat.

It may change in terms of the order, but not in the desire that USC hopes to bring to the field of play every Saturday.

In a crucial season in which the Trojans must succeed, they would love to beat every team featured here (with the exception of Oregon State, which is not on the schedule).

That would do the Trojans well.

And if the NCAA cooperates, they can then cap the season off by beating one of those SEC teams featured in slide No. 7 in a BCS bowl game.

And for Kiffin and the Trojans, nothing would beat that.