On Friday morning, the NCAA announced its penalties against Michigan football for the Wolverines’ 2021-2023 sign stealing scandal. As we noted here following the ruling, USC fans have every right to be frustrated given that the Wolverines received a significantly lesser penalty than USC got in 2010 for a much smaller offense.
However, there is one aspect of the NCAA’s decision that should absolutely infuriate USC fans. Following Friday’s ruling, Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports published a particularly notable quote. According to Auerbach, the NCAA believed that Michigan’s offenses warranted enough of a violation for a postseason ban. “However,” the NCAA said, “the panel determined that a postseason ban would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff who are no longer associated with the Michigan football program.”
USC football fans should be furious
Any USC fan that reads this quote should be absolutely furious, because the Trojans received no such luxury from the NCAA back in 2010. The 2011 Trojans were unable to play in the Pac-12 Championship Game and a potential Rose Bowl due to NCAA sanctions regarding Reggie Bush receiving improper benefits while he was at USC.
Middle school
Many of the players on that team were in middle school when Bush was playing for the Trojans.
Scholarships
Further, USC was stripped of 30 scholarships between the 2012, 2013, and 2014 recruiting classes. In other words, kids who were between the ages of eight and 11 when Bush allegedly received a limousine ride to the 2004 Heisman Trophy presentation ceremony had the ability to play football for the Trojans taken away from them.
Lots of irony
The especially ironic part is that Michigan’s violations are much more recent than USC’s were at the time of the Trojans’ sentencing. By 2010, not a single USC…
Source link : https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2025/08/17/ncaa-quote-reveals-michigan-usc-football-different-standards/85696749007/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-08-17 15:54:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
