USC Gives Middle Finger To NCAA, And NCAA Gives The Shocker To USC

I know I am a little behind on this, but I still wanted to get a little something out before I moved on this summer.

USC bitches!

Alright, so now that it is fully official, officially, that USC is full of cheaters, violators, blasphemers, and con-artists, most Irish fans have been pretty vocal in their own pleasure over the situation. In some small way, the fact that USC has been found guilty of violations during a period of USC dominance over Notre Dame, is a small comfort to some that have watched the Irish sink to low after low against its biggest rival.

Do not mark me down as one of those fans. I am happy that the cloud of uncertainty has been lifted and the light is shining brightly on SC to show just how wild that athletic department had become.However, this isn’t the best thing for the football rivalry between Notre Dame and Southern Cal.

The Biscuit over at Her Loyal Sons described it pretty well:

Overall, it just makes me a bit bummed out about a sport I love, and a rivalry that deserves more. It bums me out that Poodle Pete had to do this kind of stuff/let this kind of stuff happen to win. It bums me out that their AD didn’t give a damn about the program, and it bums me out that the kids there that have/had nothing to do with it get impacted just as much/more than the Coaches and Players that DID break the rules (over and over, and a lot). Yeah, just a bummer.

The fact that USC is now on probation with quite a few SERIOUS sanctions against it, makes this 2010 matchup one of the most important games in the last 30 years of the rivalry. Notre Dame has to win- in LA. This game will be a huge measuring stick for a program looking to get back in the national picture. Any win against a depleted USC team would be bittersweet (it’s always good to beat SC, but there are “better” wins).

Here are a few opinions about the 4 major sanctions against USC- in my eyes:

• The biggest hit has got to be the loss of scholarships. Only 15 new scholarships are allowed for the next 3 years. For a school that prides itself on recruiting, and has built itself as a football power based on its dominant recruiting- this is HUGE. They will still be able to get a lot of good players because they are still USC, but the depth in 2012 and 2013 just won’t be there. Plus, some of those kids that would have been SC bound will now find themselves at schools playing SC; UCLA, Stanford, Notre Dame, Oregon, etc.This is the big one.
• Bowl ban for two years. Again, this will hurt SC and it was the one that they feared the most. This will take money out of their pockets, but the biggest thing is that it makes their season basically worthless. No National Title hunt, no Pac-10 (whatever their name may be) title. This will not just affect recruiting, but it is another factor that may lead to a few transfers out of SC and to somewhere else.
• The 4 years of probation. This will be a HUGE test for Kiffin and his staff as they will still try and recruit the best kids available, but know they will have to be absolutely clean about it. The NCAA would probably come down even harder if there are a few recruiting violations like Kiffincakes had at Tennessee. However, if Kiffin can survive the next 3-4 years at SC, he could become very dangerous during this time frame and make him even more legally creative in recruiting.
• No non-USC personael on the sidelines. This school was a lot like a pro team for the Carroll era and they embraced the Hollywood lifestyle. It’s not a rule that will hurt them greatly, but it is one that will take away some of the luster in being recruited by Sc- and that ain’t good for them for the next 3 years.

So overall, these are major sanctions against the Trojans and ones that will certainly hurt them in recruiting, keeping depth, financially, and take them out of the spotlight- for now. I am glad that the official truth has come out, officially, but I’m not doing cartwheels either.

You have to wonder if USC would have been hit a little lighter if they (AD and the department) would have shown a little more humility in the process. (BTW- The Biscuit has been ALL over this and did an outstanding job. Cocktails my friend!) But, how can you expect them to do that, when they are still telling everyone to “fuck off,” after the fact?

Fucking Trojans. You just got the shocker.