The polls generally agree. I will use the AP poll because the BCS final poll was the one that resulted in the team selections.
USC TROJANS RECORD VS END OF YEAR RANKED TEAMS
Paul "Can't" Hackett
2000 - 0-3; lost to Oregon, Oregon St, Notre Dame
Let's Throw It At The Goal Line with the Super Bowl on the Line
2001 - 0-3; lost to Oregon, Stanford, Washington
2002 - 4-2; beat Auburn, Colorado, N Dame, Iowa; lost to Wazzu, K State
2003 - 2-0; beat Wazzu, Michigan
2004 - 4-0; beat Va Tech, Cal, Ariz St, Oklahoma
2005 - 3-1; beat Oregon, UCLA, N Dame; lost to Texas
2006 - 4-1; beat Arky, Cal, N Dame, Michigan; lost to Oregon St (also beat Nebraska, who fell out in final poll)
2007 - 3-1; #25 Oregon St, Arizona St, Illinois; lost to #23 Oregon
2008 - 3-1; beat Ohio St, Penn St, Oregon; lost to Oregon St
2009- 1-1; beat Ohio State; lost to Oregon
Overall record: 24-13
USC began the decade 0-6 against the good teams and then hit their stride, reeling off 11 wins in a row before losing to the national title game to Texas in the waning moments.
What separates USC from the teens Alabama or the 90s Florida State is that USC dropped THREE games to mediocre teams that really had no business on the field with USC (2003 Cal, 2006 UCLA, 2007 Stanford). Those other teams did not lose to such teams, particularly to 41-point underdogs like 2007 Stanford.
It will be interesting to see how Florida and LSU shake out; we already know Oklahoma blew a ton of big games.
USC TROJANS RECORD VS END OF YEAR RANKED TEAMS
Paul "Can't" Hackett
2000 - 0-3; lost to Oregon, Oregon St, Notre Dame
Let's Throw It At The Goal Line with the Super Bowl on the Line
2001 - 0-3; lost to Oregon, Stanford, Washington
2002 - 4-2; beat Auburn, Colorado, N Dame, Iowa; lost to Wazzu, K State
2003 - 2-0; beat Wazzu, Michigan
2004 - 4-0; beat Va Tech, Cal, Ariz St, Oklahoma
2005 - 3-1; beat Oregon, UCLA, N Dame; lost to Texas
2006 - 4-1; beat Arky, Cal, N Dame, Michigan; lost to Oregon St (also beat Nebraska, who fell out in final poll)
2007 - 3-1; #25 Oregon St, Arizona St, Illinois; lost to #23 Oregon
2008 - 3-1; beat Ohio St, Penn St, Oregon; lost to Oregon St
2009- 1-1; beat Ohio State; lost to Oregon
Overall record: 24-13
USC began the decade 0-6 against the good teams and then hit their stride, reeling off 11 wins in a row before losing to the national title game to Texas in the waning moments.
What separates USC from the teens Alabama or the 90s Florida State is that USC dropped THREE games to mediocre teams that really had no business on the field with USC (2003 Cal, 2006 UCLA, 2007 Stanford). Those other teams did not lose to such teams, particularly to 41-point underdogs like 2007 Stanford.
It will be interesting to see how Florida and LSU shake out; we already know Oklahoma blew a ton of big games.