Where Does UCLA-USC Rivalry Rank in CFB?

Scott Dochterman of The Athletic released a composite ranking of the top 100 rivalries in all of college football, and the UCLA-USC rivalry is among the top in history.

Dochterman ranked the battle of Los Angeles as the 14th-best rivalry in college football. The full top-25 is listed below:

1. Michigan-Ohio State
2. Auburn-Alabama
3. Oklahoma-Texas
4. Army-Navy
5. USC-Notre Dame
6. Nebraska-Oklahoma
7. Miami (FL)-Florida State
8. Ohio State-Penn State
9. Florida-Florida State
10. Minnesota-Wisconsin
11. Alabama-Tennessee
12. Georgia-Florida
13. Alabama-LSU
14. UCLA-USC
15. Texas-Texas A&M
16. Michigan-Michigan State
17. Auburn-Georgia
18. Michigan-Notre Dame
19. Kansas-Missouri
20. Harvard-Yale
21. Washington-Oregon
22. Iowa-Wisconsin
23. Ole Miss-Mississippi State
24. Clemson-South Carolina
25. Oklahoma-Oklahoma State

Here's what Dochterman had to say about the budding, cross-town rivalry:

"The battle of Los Angeles sometimes gets overlooked on rivalry weekend, but it not only harbors the same intensity of other key rivalries, it also brings out the stars.

"USC leads the series comfortably in overall games won, but when these foes go head-to-head as ranked foes, it’s an even matchup. They’ve faced off 27 times as ranked opponents with the ledger tied 13-13-1. The teams have split the 11 meetings when only UCLA is ranked 6-5, while USC holds a 17-7-2 advantage when it’s the only team ranked.

"By rivalry standards, this series arrived fashionably late. The teams played only twice before 1936 but have played every fall since, including in various iterations of the Pac-12 and now in the Big Ten.

"If there’s such a thing as a perfect jersey game, it’s when these teams compete in either the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl. Both wear their home jerseys, which previously netted penalties on the visiting team for not wearing white.

"Biggest game: No. 1 UCLA faced No. 4 USC with the Rose Bowl on the line in 1967, and two players made strong cases for the Heisman. UCLA QB Gary Beban, who won the award, threw for 301 yards and led the Bruins to a six-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Three snaps later, 1968 Heisman winner O.J. Simpson took a handoff and raced 64 yards for a TD in a 21-20 Trojans win."

The next matchup between the two will be on the final game of the 2025 season on Nov. 29 at the Coliseum. Depending on how things shape up in the Big Ten this season, this game could have serious postseason (or even bowl game bid) implicaitons.

With UCLA projected to win 5.3 games this season and USC projected to win 8.3 according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) rankings in the Big Ten Conference ahead of next season, this season finale could be the difference in the Trojans potentially making a postseason bid and the Bruins missing a bowl game for the second consecutive year.