The College Football Apocalypse Is Upon Us

Two months ago, we theorized what the New World Order of college football would look like here. Today, that reality is much closer than anyone ever expected with the events of the past week. With expansion talk accelerating at a rapid pace around the country, and the walls of Troy coming down in Los Angeles, this is one of the biggest weeks in college football history. Let's take a look at each story and it's ramifications.

*The Hammer Comes Down on USC

-Wow. I don't know if anybody expected this. A 2 year bowl ban, the loss of 20 scholarships, and the likely removal of their 2004 national championship. The penalties handed down by the NCAA are the biggest in recent memory to be handed down to a national program - at least since 1993 and Auburn went 11-0 with a postseason and TV ban. But, USC, the darling of ESPN and Hollywood, looks like it might have to start over. Everyone was so enamored with how cool USC was and turned a blind eye to what was going on behind the scenes. I'm sure Colin Cowherd will brush it off, but I can't see how a program can keep the wagons rolling with a legendary head coach leaving for the NFL, a 2 year ban, and the loss of that many scholarships.

Obviously, this hurts USC going forward - no chance at a national title the next two seasons, and Lane Kiffin won't be able to handle the loss of 20 scholarships well. But, even more damaging is the stain left on the USC brand and the Pete Carroll Era. Carroll now looks like a coach on the Calipari level that left when the going got tough and leaves a wasteland behind him. Carroll's reputation gets flushed in this because he ran to the pros before he could clean up the mess he created. (By the way, I think I called that in January) The USC of the 2000s was the A-list program, contained the supposed greatest team of all-time, won 3 Heisman Trophies, and what was 2 National Championships - but now looks like just 1.

Clearly, there were major violations here and the NCAA is in the business of making an example out of USC with these penalties. It's going to be an interesting two years to see how Lane Kiffin deals with this adversity. Now with the Pac 10 looking like it's going to 16 teams and adding the Texas and Oklahoma juggernauts, USC's time at the top may be over.

*Nebraska Hits The Red Button

-Tom Osborne and Nebraska made the decision that dissolved the Big 12. Nebraska leaving the Big 12 for the Big 10 is the move that starts all of the other dominoes falling. It's somewhat sad to see the Big 8/Big 12 tradition go poof, but it is a fantastic move for the Cornhuskers. Yes, the Big 10 Network and all the extra money is nice, but Nebraska is a perfect fit for the Big 10 as far as football tradition in the Midwest. The folks in Lincoln will fit right in with the ones in Columbus, Ann Arbor, Madison, and Iowa City. Going to the New Big 10 opens doors to Nebraska for new rivalries and gives them a chance to continue to rebuild the program in a conference that lacks the depth of other major players. Give credit to Osborne and Nebraska, in this situation universities need to be proactive instead of reactive, and Nebraska leaving for the Big 10 does just that.

*The Pac 10 Annexes The Big 12

-Being proactive is just what new Pac 10 commissioner Larry Scott is doing. Today, Colorado appears to be the first school to move west from the Big 12 to the Pac 10. Basically, the Big 12 South now becomes the Pac 10 East - with Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State joining Colorado in going west. The Pac 10 might emerge as the big winner in all of the reshuffling because of the additions of Oklahoma and most importantly Texas. Texas (maybe even more so than Notre Dame) is the prized recruit in the apocalypse. The Pac 10 instantly becomes a rival to the SEC for best football conference in the nation, and they become the first league to reach the 16 Team Superconference plateau.

*Remaining Questions

What About Missouri? - Missouri looks more and more likely to be the school that's left without a dance partner. All along, Mizzou was thought to be joining Nebraska in going to the Big 10, but the vibes coming out recently make it seem like that is becoming less likely. Perhaps the Big 10 doesn't want stuck with 13 teams at the moment and they'll come in later... or it's time for Tiger fans to start to worry. With no Big 12, the Big 10 is clearly the best fit for Missouri, but they may be stranded with Kansas, Kansas St., Iowa St., and Baylor as the Big 12's casualties. Hello Mountain West?

Does Notre Dame Get In? - Notre Dame has held out with CFB independence for so long, and has found it very fruitful... but now might be the time to get in. Notre Dame does not want to be left out of the party if 4-5 Megaconferences bolt from the NCAA and leave ND and NBC with games against Army and Syracuse. The Big 10 and the rest of college football might force the hand of the Irish to join the league that has sought them for so long. But, now, the pressure might shift from the conference to Notre Dame to make their move.

Who Makes The Next Move? - Assuming the Nebraska and Pac 10 moves happen, the next move may be the most crucial. Does the Big 10 try to reach 16? Does the Mountain West try to shoehorn themselves in by getting Boise, Kansas, and Mizzou? Do the Eastern schools finally get in on the action with the SEC or the ACC poaching from the Big East to begin its downfall? The college football apocalypse is now upon us folks, get ready for a wild ride and a vastly different and possibly soon to be irrelevant NCAA.

When The Going Gets Tough, Pete Carroll Gets Going...

Everybody has an opinion on Pete Carroll's shocking move back to the NFL. It appears that unless Carroll pulls a Billy Donovan, then he will be named the Seahawks HC as soon as tomorrow. He leaves behind one of the great college football dynasties of all-time, but his lightning quick departure brings more questions than answers. Is this just a case of Carroll addressing unfinished business in the pros, or is he leaving Troy as it comes tumbling down? Here's Brother Yohey's take...

If it indeed happens that Pete Carroll has left USC for the Seahawks job, then Pete has lost any sliver of respect he had in my eyes. Why leave now, after building a college empire at USC? Something just doesn't sit right about the abruptness and timing of this move. Well, he appears to be fleeing the oncoming tidal wave of NCAA sanctions and punishment for his football program. The 300k Reggie Bush scandal is slowly coming to bear for USC, the revelations of Joe McKnight's use of a Land Rover, and Dwayne Jarrett getting free rent from the Leinarts should put the program under some serious sanctions. Pete obviously was not man enough to work under conditions he no doubtedly helped come to fruition. Noticing the speed with which John Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky in the midst of looming scandals, Pete couldn't resist.

There will be many in the LA area who will need to go through The Stages of Grief to help them get through these times (especially with ho-hum Mike Riley in line). However, those in the LA area can't see the forest through the trees. Pete Carroll has shown himself to be a petty man - a bully who could pick on the smaller children on the playground, but when someone stood up to him and returned the favor, he ran home with tears streaming down his face. Sure, Pete can run the score up on all the teams they play during the football season (UCLA this past year), but when someone does it to him (Jim Harbaugh's Stanford team) he cries foul. (Ed. note: see our article about that situation here)

One has to wonder if Pete was contemplating this move going into this past season when he named Matt Barkley, a true freshman, his starting QB over. With hindsight being 20/20, Carroll put himself in a win-win situation. If they were successful and made a BCS bowl he knew he would have a few years of great success with Barkley at the helm. If they had a down year (as they had this year, going 9-4 with a visit to the Emerald Bowl) then he could use an excuse that he had a freshman QB, or jump ship to the NFL as on and off-field troubles arose. The allegations and scandals, coupled with the disappointing year, make it all too easy for Pete Carroll to flee to Seattle.

Much like Nero fled his empire when it was falling apart, Carroll has fled Troy as the walls were closing in. Way to be a stand up man and screw all the people who believed in you and looked up to you. You have to wonder if the retrospectives on Pete Carroll's USC empire will be as rosy if heavy sanctions are enforced and victories and trophies are ultimately stripped away. Pete, your true colors are showing clearly. You never bled cardinal and gold - only yellow, and the streak is running down your back as you travel up the coast.

Quick Hits: Pete Carroll Is A Hypocrite

Time for our newest debut feature at RSS: Quick Hits. Quick Hits will give us a chance to give our thoughts on a subject in the world of sports that we might not otherwise cover throughout the week. It'll be a short article analyzing a person, game, moment, or anything else. Quick Hits can be inspired by a moment of greatness, stupidity, questions that need asked, analysis you won't find anywhere else, or in this case, a football coach who is a major-league chach bag.

Pete Carroll is a hypocrite. You would have thought the sky was falling when Jim Harbaugh and Stanford went for 2 against poor, defenseless USC two weeks ago. Pete Carroll asked Harbaugh "what's the deal" at midfield and was generally angry and upset that he got showed up. A lot of people might say that running up the score brings shame and disrespect to the game. Others would argue that it's the defense's job to play defense and that you can score however many points you want, this is a capitalist society after all.

But, whichever side of the debate you fall on, don't be a hypocrite. If you're going to be incredulous against a fellow coach for running it up, don't pull this junk in your next game. Up 14, in the last minute, Carroll pulled this stunt after UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel called a timeout. It wasn't that big of a deal, except we almost had the 2009 LA Riots...

Carroll said that it was a "great frickin call" to embarrass UCLA like that. And, I have no problem with USC throwing it deep after Neuheisel called the needless timeout. However, this is the same guy that whined when another coach did the same thing two weeks earlier. I hope Neuheisel asked Teflon Pete "what's the deal" at midfield. I hope every opponent takes every chance to run up the score against USC in the future, just so Carroll can be further exposed as the hypocrite he is. By the way, for all of the USC players jumping up and down on the sidelines... you've had a crappy year, you're not going to a BCS game, UCLA sucks... get over yourselves. USC's behavior makes the entire program look childish and petulant. Pete Carroll, you might be the biggest hypocrite in sports this year. Enjoy the Holiday Bowl.