As college football fans across the country know, rivalries are the backbone of what makes the sport so amazing. USC fans experience this firsthand, as the Trojans have two of the most storied rivalries in the sport: one with fellow blue blood Notre Dame, and another with crosstown foe UCLA.
On Monday, Scott Dochterman of The Athletic released his ranking of the top 100 rivalries in college football. Both of the Trojans’ two biggest rivalries made the top 15—USC-Notre Dame was ranked No. 5, and USC-UCLA fell at No. 15.
“As a transcontinental, nonconference series, USC-Notre Dame is unique among great rivalries,” Dochterman wrote. “It features the third-most ranked matchups (35) and is tied for second with 18 top-10 clashes.”
In addition, two of the Trojans’ former Pac-12 rivalry games were featured later down on the list. USC-Stanford came in at No. 62, while USC-Cal ranked No. 68.
Sadly, one effect of conference realignment was that the latter two rivalries have been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Now, USC-Notre Dame appears to be in danger of suffering the same fate. Hopefully, for the sake of all college football fans, the Trojans and Irish will be able to reach an agreement to extend the series, and we will not lose a top-five rivalry in the sport.
