In the Pac-12 of yesteryear, USC was the crown jewel, winning 39 titles—19 more than the team (Washington) with the second-most championships.
Now, in the Big Ten, it appears the Trojans are eager to chase that feeling.
USC plans to play former Pac-12 rivals out of conference starting in 2027, according to a Wednesday afternoon report from Ryan Kartje of The Los Angeles Times. That has not happened since the Trojans left the Pac-12 along with nine other teams following the 2023 season.
After the cessation of its long-running series against Notre Dame, USC has few non-conference games scheduled for the years to come—just three beyond 2026, in fact, against UNLV, Nevada and Fresno State. To fill out those available slots, the Trojans will apparently be looking to some old foes.
In `26, the Trojans—looking to build on a 9–4 season—will meet San Jose State, Fresno State and Louisiana in non-conference play.
USC’s history against its old Pac-12 foes
Here, in tabular form, is a snapshot of the Trojans’ series against eight ex-conference rivals. Oregon, UCLA and Washington—Big Ten teams USC regularly plays—are not included. The table shows the start and end of each series, the Trojans’ all-time record in the series, and a notable meeting between the two constituent teams.
| OPPONENT | SERIES STARTED IN... | SERIES ENDED IN... | USC’S All-TIME RECORD | NOTABLE MEETING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1916 | 2023 | 39-8 | No. 18 USC 14, No. 9 Arizona 7 (1992) |
| Arizona State | 1978 | 2023 | 26-14 | No. 1 USC 38, No. 14 Arizona State 28 (2005) |
| California | 1915 | 2023 | 73-32-5 | No. 1 USC 23, No. 7 California 17 (2004) |
| Colorado | 1927 | 2023 | 17-0 | No. 17 USC 40, No. 18 Colorado 3 (2002) |
| Oregon State | 1914 | 2022 | 64-12-4 | No. 1 USC 17, No. 13 Oregon State 13 (1968) |
| Stanford | 1905 | 2023 | 66-34-3 | No. 7 Stanford 27, No. 6 USC 20 (1951) |
| Utah | 1915 | 2023 | 13-10 | No. 12 Utah 47, No. 4 USC 24 (2022, Pac-12 championship) |
| Washington State | 1921 | 2022 | 63-10-4 | No. 3 USC 43, No. 6 Washington State 16 (2003) |
Of these eight series, the two most essential to the Trojans’ football history were those against the Golden Bears and Cardinal. USC’s series with California was traditionally referred to as the Weekender, due to USC students’ habit of turning the trip north to Berkeley into a Bay Area weekend. Nearby Stanford was long a thorn in the Trojans’ side, pulling era-defining upsets of USC in 1933 and 2007.
The Beavers could make the same claim—unranked Oregon State teams beat No. 1 Trojans teams in both 1967 and 2008. In contemporary times, the Trojans and Utes fought frequently for custody of the Pac-12 South Division, and Utah’s `22 victory in the conference championships probably cost USC a trip to the College Football Playoff.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USC Reportedly Has a Plan to Keep Some Old Pac-12 Rivalries Alive.
