FanPost

USC Football Program will be Virtually Non-existent for Next Two Years



So to put it bluntly, the s#*t hit the fan for the University of Southern California athletic program today. The USC Athletic Department was slammed with a boatload of sanctions affecting the football, mens basketball and women's tennis programs. I haven't done a huge amount of research on this, but I have to think the majority of the reason why Pete Carroll is back in the NFL is not only because he got a great offer to become HC of the Seahawks, but he had to find some way to disassociate himself with the gloomy situation awaiting the school. As Niner fans and football fans in general, the sanctions hitting the football team alone are extremely damaging. I was just curious to know what you guys think will come of all this. How does this benefit the local schools (Cal, Stanford)? The Pac-10 as a whole? Maybe it hurts them? I'm not saying this is a good way for it to happen, but for a team like Cal that is in the mix every season, the immediate impact to me is that Cal and perhaps Stanford may now have a decent chance of being in the BCS next season. It may also likely help Oregon's and other teams' chances of being there, although Oregon probably didn't really need this to happen to be in BCS contention. Also, in Carroll's case, is he back in the NFL because he has a legitimate chance of being a successful HC? Or was he just lucky enough to find himself an opportunity to bail out of an impeding disatrous situation? Part of me wants to say he found a way to bail on his program. But between two of his last three years as a HC in the NFL and his career at USC, I'd say barring the rules violations, he's got a chance at being reasonably successful in his second go round. By the way, if you look at Carroll's Wikipedia page, you'd see something that had me going for a few seconds. Let's just say I thought, "How could they have gone to The National Championship in 2005 when they were 0-13?" The Wiki people, as Hawaiian's say, do things pretty Wiki-wiki! Anyway guys, I don't really have a lot against Pete Carroll. But I think as Niner fans, when we play the Seahawks this season, we should root with a chip on our shoulders as much as Taylor Mays will likely be playing with a chip on his. I'd rather not have Pete feel all that comfortable with his career move!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.