FanHouse Pac 10 Football

The Reggie Bush saga in Southern California is unraveling faster than a New England Patriots lead. The news out of Los Angeles is getting worse by the day. Recent news of audio tapes confirming that Bush and his family were "on the take" while still in college raises some very interesting questions.

Will Bush be stripped of his Heisman Trophy? Will USC lose its national championship? The likelihood of either happening is looking pretty good. The NCAA will certainly be pushed into action if these tapes are authenticated.

The results could be historic. What will the BCS do? If the NCAA takes away the Trojans victories from 2004, the BCS will have little option but to take back its championship. The same will hold true for the Associated Press. They will be left with two options. One would be to vacate the title and leave that way. The other would be to crown the second ranked team that season as its national champion.

That of course, is Auburn. Wouldn't it be ironic if Auburn, after being screwed by the BCS, ended up as national champions? There's no question that in hindsight, the 2004 squad would have given USC a run for its money and have had a good chance of winning (see Florida 2006).

Two months ago, I would have said this was a pipe dream. Today, I think it's very possible. Maybe we can get the BCS and AP to present the trophy during halftime of the Auburn-Alabama game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Too little too late you say? Not me, I'll take it. Finders keepers.

The news out of Portland, Oregon today is that ESPN is trying to broker a deal between Auburn and Oregon State to open the 2007 season in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Beavers Athletics Director Bob De Carolis told a Portland (OR.) newspaper that they were in talks with the network and Auburn about a possible game next season.

There has been no word on whether or not there would be a return trip involved. ESPN brokered a similar deal this season when Auburn faced Washington State in the season opener. Oregon State is coached by former Alabama alum Mike Riley. You may remember that Riley withdrew his name from consideration for the Alabama job before they hired former coach Mike Shula.

This looks to be a great match-up for Auburn and will help what is a pretty weak home schedule next season. Oregon State is 8-4 this year and handed USC their only loss of the season. They have already accepted a bid to play in the Sun Bowl on New Year's Eve.

Like the wildfires burning out West, former USC tailback Reggie Bush's troubles continue to spread. Yahoo Sports has uncovered more improper payments to the former Heisman Trophy winner. During an eight month investigation, the site found that the Bush family received more than $100,000 in payments from sports agents.

Back in April, it was revealed that the Bush family received $54,000 in free rent from an agent. Today, those numbers jumped again. This time the web site found that Bush and his family received round-trip airline tickets, free limousine transportation, new suits for his father and brother, money to fix up his car and several other high dollar items.

There's a very real chance that Bush might have to forfeit his Heisman Trophy if these allegations are proved true. More importantly, if the allegations are true and the NCAA finds that USC was aware of these activities (or had lack of institutional control), it could be forced to forfeit its national championship from 2004.

Does that mean that Auburn could be finally crowned national champions? It's certainly possible. It's not unusual for the NCAA to strip teams of their victories and championships.

Would this make up for the way Auburn was shafted in 2004? It would go a long way; but that time has passed and it certainly wouldn't give Auburn people that feeling of a true championship. Still, I'm sure most Tiger fans would take it.

If it were Alabama, they'd already be changing the banners in Bryant-Denny tonight to read 13 National Championships. This will be an interesting story as it plays out. It could become the biggest shakedown in NCAA history.

Link: Football Saturday In The South

Everyone was thinking it. Could Auburn live up to the expectations? Could they handle the season opening jitters? Not since 1990 had an Auburn team been ranked so high coming into a season.

As fans tailgated around Jordan-Hare Stadium yesteday, the subject always managed to come up. "Hey man, how have you been? Are these your kids? Really? Wow they've grown since I last saw them. Do you want a beer? Well what do you think? Can we handle it tonight? Can we get it done this time?"

That conversation took place thousands of times around campus Saturday afternoon.

The Auburn defense answered that question quickly, setting the tone with three sacks in Washington State's first three pass attempts. It looked like Stanley McClover and T.J. Jackson were still playing against the Tide. From there, Kenny Irons and John Vaughn took over, leading Auburn to a convincing 40-14 season opening win against Washingtion State.

Washington State coaches have been getting ready for Auburn on the field all summer. But for Cougar athletic department officials it has been all about getting them to Auburn. That odyssey starts Friday morning when Washington State embarks on a five hour flight from Pullman, Washington to Montgomery.

Cougars coach Bill Doba is not happy about possibly having to extend the trip because of a refueling stop in route. Once on the ground, Washington State will bus from Montgomery to Jordan-Hare Stadium for a brief walk through. Then it's back to Prattville for the night. Prattville? Impressive.

A big concern for the Cougars has been the heat and humidity they may encounter at game time. But as it stands now, that may not be a problem. Saturday's forecast calls for a high of 86 degrees with humidity at 69%. That's not exactly sweltering. With tropical storm Ernesto heading north, the rain chances are only 20%.

Still, Washington State is not taking any chances. They are encouraging their players to stay hydrated and drink at least a gallon of water a day. The players have been taking salt pills to also prepare for the heat. Regardless of the outcome, State will come away winners. They are guaranteed a $1.2 million pay day from Auburn and ESPN 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:45 CST and will broadcast by the Deuce.