UCLA's arch-enemy should be USC. To be honest, USC is the only school which can reasonably be presented as the arch-enemy of the school in Westwood. Yet, ESPN decided to be a little different and offer a twist. USC's former coach, more than the Trojans themselves, is the Bruins' No. 1 arch-enemy. Paolo Uggetti wrote this about Pete Carroll as the shadow UCLA could not escape (except for that one time):
"Before Carroll became the head coach at USC, UCLA had stitched together the most dominant run in the history of the rivalry, winning eight games in a row. Once Carroll began patrolling the sideline at the Coliseum, everything changed. USC's dominance under him did not discriminate between rivals and nonrivals -- the Trojans beat pretty much everyone and with authority. But in nine games against the Bruins, Carroll led USC to an 8-1 record and outscored UCLA a whopping 329-121 in the eight wins. It was a complete turning of the tide that put USC back in front in the rivalry and made Carroll public enemy No. 1 in Westwood."
For historical perspective, it's true that John McKay and John Robinson also won a lot of games for USC against UCLA. However, UCLA had great teams in McKay's time and then beat Robinson in the 1990s when the Trojans struggled as a program. Pete Carroll, certainly in modern times, was the No. 1 UCLA-slayer.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: ESPN doesn't view USC as UCLA's main enemy; it's actually a person
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