University of Spoiled Children. University of Second Choice. University of Sucking C#*+. I'm sure people more clever than me (and closer to Pac-10 rivalries than me) have more.
My recollection is that USC does not have a college of engineering, but, of course, offers degrees in engineering. My recollection could be wrong.
It's true, the 90s were not especially kind to USC, but they have been the dominant program in Pac-10 football over the history of that once great conference ("of champions"). And can you imagine the level of slime that oozed around that program with Pete Carroll in charge (and returning SC to it's winning ways)? Oof. That was hard for Pac-10ers (12 by then, I suppose) and your average ND fan to take. Then add that stoopit freaking song their band plays ad naseum throughout their games. Grrrrrr. I suspect that if you were to poll Pac-10 fans you would find their level of disdain for USC is similar to that for Alabama in the South and Ohio State and Notre Dame in the midwest.
It's funny, not having spent a lot of time in Texas, I don't have a good sense for how people feel about it, but it's easy for me to imagine.