​USC has Notre Dame and UCLA as main rivals, but ESPN had a different idea. When creating a list of arch-enemies for various power conference teams in college football, ESPN came up with an answer which is not a school, but an organization: the NCAA. A lot of Trojan fans would nod in agreement.Paolo Uggetti wrote that “The Trojans count both UCLA and Notre Dame among their most bitter rivals, yet there is no more fraught relationship than the one they have had with the NCAA. Sixteen years later, the sting surrounding the way the NCAA punished Reggie Bush and USC following an investigation into Bush receiving what it deemed improper gifts is a lingering part of the identity of Trojans fans and, to an extent, the program as a whole. As the sport has become as professionalized as it ever has been, the way Bush’s missteps and the heavy punishment USC received (bowl ban and vacating wins, including a national title) look in comparison has only served to reinforce USC fans’ belief that their team was unfairly punished.”Uggetti’s point rings true. The violations USC was punished for look like nickel-and-dime matters of very little weight and consequence all these years later. That point aside, enforcement of violations was hardly consistent across all schools. Penn State, for instance, committed wrongdoings which far exceeded USC’s in severity (the Jerry Sandusky scandal) but was not punished more severely. That’s just one of several examples one could come up with.Contact/Follow @TrojansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of USC Trojans news, notes and opinion.This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Notre Dame not playing USC this season reshapes one old question