USC Hires Andy Enfield of FGCU

Looks like the Eagle has left.

After taking Florida Gulf Coast to their first ever NCAA Tournament and getting them to the Sweet 16, coach Andy Enfield is leaving for smoother pavement. USC has hired Enfield for what source told Andy Katz of ESPN.com is to be a six year deal. Sources also say that Enfield's salary will be well over a million dollars per year. Enfield was only with the Eagles for two years as head coach with it being his first head coaching job.

Right after Enfield arguably puts FGCU on the map, he leaves the small smudge for Los Angeles. It's a shame really that this kind of thing has to happen. After hearing that coaches Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens were staying at their respective small programs, I was expecting that Enfield would do the same. Instead, he leaves for somewhere else.

Now he might do fine at USC with the fact he might've not had that great of recruiting class to begin with at FGCU, but he also had lesser competition to face on a regular basis. He also didn't have to recruit players TO a city and not away from it. Don't see a lot of a schools from large cities with great basketball programs anymore.

P.S. I wonder if the chants at that pep rally have changed to "F**K YOU ENFIELD!!!"

Irish Beat USC and Finish Season 12-0

Looks like the Irish are on the way to their first BCS National Title game. Pity they won't win it.

Notre Dame had one final test before guaranteeing their shot at Illegitimate history and that was to beat their rival USC. The Trojans have had a disappointing season and beating Notre Dame would've made up for a little of that. USC, however, and had to send out Max Wittek, a Freshman QB, instead of injured Matt Barkley and had to hire Lane Kiffin instead of a decent head coach. Wittek didn't do well and USC didn't get the lead. Wittek threw two picks as the Irish win it 22-13. Notre Dame's Theo Reddick scored their only TD but it worked as they managed to get 5 FGs along with it.

So Notre Dame finish the season 12-0 and as the #1 team in the country. Meanwhile, their opponent looks too tough as they likely have to play Alabama or Georgia depending on who wins the SEC title game (an actual legit title game). Still enjoy the moment Notre Dame fans. It's a big one and anything can happen in the BCS ti... sorry, I couldn't finish that joke of a sentence.

USC Seeing Cardinal Red

This season is the first season since the bowl ban that USC can now have a postseason. They didn't have a bowl game, necessarily, in mind but they might have to settle for one.

#2 USC went up against #21 Stanford with Matt Barkley giving it one more shot to beat the Cardinal. USC was 0-3 under Barkley vs. Stanford entering the game. Barkley's day did not go well. He threw 20/41 for 254 yards and 2 INTs, no TD passes. Stanford manages to tie the game at 14 after a failed trick play by USC. Then later, Zach Ertz makes a 37 yard TD reception with an amazing juke move to get the lead. USC tries to make a comeback late but are unable to convert a 4th and 40 (no joke). Stanford upsets Matt Barkley and USC one more time, 21-14.

Despite their being no Andrew Luck to bail the Cardinal out, the Trojans still can't beat them. Matt Barkley has to be bummed out that his only national title hopes might've been dashed by a consistent thorn in his side. At least he can get rid of it in the spring. As for what USC can still achieve this season, a BCS bowl game is still something to strive for and they might not even be out of the running for a BCS Title shot. Title games have been played by one loss, even two loss teams before. All you have to be is good the rest of the year and popular to vote for.

Silas Redd Leaves Penn State for USC

Of the outcomes from the scandal at Penn State came the opportunity for the players there to transfer without penalty to another school if they wanted to. The overall theme from the players, however, was not to abandon ship but to tough it out and remain together. However, not all stayed on this message and jumped ship anyway. On the edge of the ship was Lane Kiffin and USC calling for Silas Redd, the RB for Penn state. This last week has had USC recruiting Silas Redd for him to come play for them and Redd has decided to oblige. Redd will now play for the Trojans and can play immediately if he wanted to as opposed to sitting out one year like other student athletes that would transfer. He is one of five players who left the program at Penn State.

A big loss for Penn State on the field and the locker room. He will certainly be missed considering he ran for over 1,200 yards last season. Now this whole scandal has impacted the program and the players considerably and for that I don't blame Silas Redd for leaving. We don't know what Redd's motivations were when he came to Penn State and they could've changed or been affected by this scandal. For all we know, he's seeking to be at a place to get attention for a possible pro career and he no longer sees Penn State as a place to do that.

I do understand the message of unity from the players but we can't forget that everyone makes decisions for their best interests. Silas Redd is doing just what he thinks is best for him as are the players staying at Penn State.

USC Stripped of a Title

The NCAA has already come down very hard on USC in recent history because of their recruiting violations, especially with Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo. They have taken away scholarships, bowl appearances, and even wins during their seasons years ago. Most of this was, of course, applicable to college football. But the punishment was not done yet. Today, the BCS stripped USC of their 2004 BCS National Championship. They vacated the results of that game at the Orange Bowl as well as their participation in the following BCS Title game against Texas in which they lost. As a result, there will be no champion for 2004.

I'm honestly fine with punishing a program to bring them down a peg but taking away National Titles seems a little overblown. Don't get me wrong, USC broke the rules and in a way they shouldn't have the title but everyone still knows they won it. It's like everyone knows Pete Rose is a Hall of Fame player but is not in the Hall of Fame. I SAID "LIKE" THAT, IT'S NOT A PERFECT COMPARISON!!! Quite frankly I would actually like more sanctions on USC than they have now. Now I must admit I don't much like USC but with good reason, they cheat.

I still think college football needs to change their rules significantly but if a school breaks a rule that is currently in place, punish their future harshly, not their past. It may mean something to their so called prestige but not much more than that.

P.S. A major difference between this and Pete Rose was that Pete Rose was never thrown out of the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was just declared banned from baseball and ineligible for Hall of Fame entry forever (Not that Cooperstown wouldn't have thrown him out if he was in the Hall of Fame at the time).