A Lack of Institutional Control

So the NCAA is taking the investigations into O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush and combining them, leading to the possibility of the dreaded \"lack of institutional control\" ruling. The worst possible punishment for that is the Death Penalty, and we saw what that did to SMU. That will probably never happen again because of the devastating effect it had upon Southern Methodist, but there is another, MUCH more likely possibility, which is that USC would have to vacate basketball and football wins from the years Bush and Mayo played at USC and the years during which USC was recruiting them. For those of you keeping score, in football that means the 2003 and 2004 years as well as 2005.

What that means is that USC would have to vacate its win over Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl and forfeit its AP National Championship...leaving the default champion that 2003 LSU squad that I think was one of the best in history. USC would also have to forfeit its 2005 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, and thus forfeit the 2004 National Title. Who would benefit there? Probably the last team to run through the SEC undefeated, the '04 Auburn Tigers.

Is that SEC dominance or what?

1998: Tennessee
2003: LSU
2004: Auburn
2006: Florida
2007: LSU
2008: Florida

That would mean that in the BCS era, 6 of 11 national championship teams were from the SEC. We all knew we were dominant, but now that my long-held supposition that USC was cheating is close to being a fact, it makes us even more so. No split in 2003, and a default championship going where it SHOULD have gone in the first place -- to an undefeated SEC school, whether they beat the Citadel or the Elite Republican Guard -- is just unbelievable dominance, especially in the recent past. Five of the last six national titles would have gone to the SEC, the only exception being Texas' very deserved national title in 2005.

The tagline to that old Vince Dooley video 25 Years of Georgia Football rings truer today than it ever has: \"The Southeastern Conference -- the toughest conference in the land.\"

As much as I would like to see this happen, I feel that it won't. I hope I'm wrong, but as we all know; the NCAA is in love with USC and would never take a MNC title away from them. USC is the \"Golden Child\" of college football. Lets hope I'm wrong.

Burn them. Let Pete Carrol talk his slimy @$$ out of this one. I can't stand that whinny little punk.

I've had to point this out to Oklahoma fans before, since they think that USC should have to forfeit the Fiesta Bowl and that would give them an MNC by default (eyes rolling mode on)... the NCAA can make USC forfeit the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl wins, but they can't make the AP change its vote for the MNC, or make the BCS committee take the trophy back. Those are private organizations that are not sanctioned by the NCAA.

I agree with fire_dawg, USC are sacro-sanct darlings of the NCAA and the national media. (doing my best Foghorn Leghorn imitation) I would be shocked, shocked, I say, if anything were to come of this!

I might also point out that, though it pains me to say it, Oklahoma very much deserved their MNC in 2000. If the SEC is the best football conference, the Big 12 is #2.

No matter what anyone says, southern California is not a great place to be in college at, especially if you could choose anywhere you want to go. Mainly because if you are broke out there you wont get any girls and isnt that the whole point of college?

I have always maintained that they have been paying the big stars that come from poor families, this had proved it even though bush denies it to this day.

I hope all this controversy and Coach Carroll's arrogance and attitude with his players will take some of the luster and sheen off that recruiting train. It takes great talent to get to the top but it takes great talent and character to stay there! GATA Dawgs!!!