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TROJAN WAR
This was most assuredly not part of the plan
The NCAA leaves a smoking crater where the Southern Cal football program used to be. It's not the death penalty, but it's the kind of ruling that can set back a program for years -- ask Alabama.
A two-year bowl ban and a loss of more than 20 football scholarships are among the sanctions that the NCAA has dealt USC, a source with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday. ...
Limited recruiting contacts, probation and forfeiture of victories are also among the penalties regarded as possibly in play.
So glad you now have your dream job, Lane.
This couldn't come at a worse time for Southern Cal, gearing up for the possible birth of the Pac-16. That league should begin play in ... that's right, two years. Then again, it might just be an eight-team division that the Trojans have to win. (More on that in a moment.) In any case, Kiffin might end up being what Mike Shula was for the Tide: A nice guy with ties to the school who ends up taking the fall for the lean years.
20(BIG)12: THE END OF THE WORLD
The Great Conference Realignment Begins: Nebraska to the Big Ten and the Fallout
My thoughts on what happens now that the die has been cast for the Big XII.
As the Conference Expansion World Turns
Year2's thoughts as the news developed.
SEC might still be in the mix for Texas A&M
The Aggies might have an extra card up their sleeve heading into Thursday's Save the Big XII Telethon with Texas.
A source confirmed to SI.com late Wednesday that emissaries from the SEC initiated discussions with Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne months ago, and while the SEC is just one of several potential options for the Aggies, it remains an option heading into Thursday's meeting between Texas A&M and Texas officials.
Grain of salt. It's not hard to see this as a bargaining chip as the Pac-16 begins to lay the groundwork for the conference. But A&M is one of the few schools from the Big XII wreckage, aside from Texas, that would make sense in the SEC. (HT: Mountain West Connection) Chip Brown says it's to appease Gene Stallings, who is a board member at the school.
Pac-16 becomes megalomaniacal before existing
Apparently giddy with the likelihood of their dream becoming a reality, the visionaries behind the Pac-16 have given into delusion.
The coach said it's possible the Pac-16 would push for two automatic bids to the BCS, one for each division champion. That potential bonanza could open the possibility of the two division champs from one league playing for the national title, and it would eliminate the need for a conference championship game.
"The Pac-10 doesn't believe in a championship game," the coach said. "And coaches in the Big 12 don't like it anyway."
Good luck getting the SEC, ACC, Big Ten / Twelve / Sixteen / Eleventy-Billion, Big East and Mountain West to go along with that one. First of all, how do you determine a conference champion if you have divisions but don't have a championship game. And as Jeremy asks, in what sense are you a conference at all?
OTHER NEWS
Surgery for Mallett
Ryan Mallett underwent surgery to replace a screw in his left foot. Expected to be back in the fall, etc.
SEC-record 11 Auburn players drafted by MLB
It's actually a tie with Ole Miss and Georgia's 2009 losses. And that turned out well for the Dawgs, didn't it?
Auburn's entire starting outfield was drafted, as was SEC Player of the Year and All-SEC first baseman Hunter Morris, starting pitchers Grant Dayton and Cole Nelson and closer Austin Hubbard. ...
Some of the 11 could return to Auburn next season.
The Tigers better hope some of them come back. The program actually has some momentum now and would be well-advised not to lose it.
South Carolina's Paulk gets sixth year of eligibility
The extra year for the oft-injured MLB will be in 2011.
Burglary is fine, but marijuana possession is way out of line
Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli is off the team.