ESPN College Football

Ted Miller talks with USC athletic director Pat Haden about the importance of keeping the Rose Bowl in the postseason mix.

PHOENIX -- Pac-12 coaches and athletic directors generally expressed optimism over the expected move toward a four-team college football playoff in 2014, but there was plenty of caution as well as a smack of defiance during the conference's spring meetings at the posh Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

Some, such as Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and Washington State coach Mike Leach, don't think four teams is enough. Some worried about losing the bowl games, particularly the Pac-12's longstanding and storied connection to the Rose Bowl. And just about everyone was concerned about the selection process.

That defiance? It's rooted in the general belief that some other conferences excel at masterful scheduling (read: avoiding challenging competition) and massaging public perception (read: creating a consensus of superiority based significantly on subjective judgments).

If the Pac-12 and Big 12 play nine conference games, and the ACC, SEC and Big Ten play eight, then those conferences are playing by different standards that have myriad measurable effects. If one conference features a majority of teams playing at least one or two tough nonconference foes a year and another features a majority of teams playing four directional schools, then those conferences are playing by different standards that have myriad measurable effects.

Even if one of those conferences has won six consecutive national titles.

"You need some competitive equity within all of the conferences if you are going to do this thing," USC athletic director Pat Haden said. "But if you're going to have a conference, it seems to me you should be playing your conference opponents rather than non-conference opponents. In USC and Stanford's case we really have 10 conference games if you include Notre Dame, because we both have a long history of playing Notre Dame."

While the sentiment is strong among the coaches to reduce the Pac-12 conference schedule to eight games, sentiments mostly lean the other way among the athletic directors. The topic was discussed this week, but commissioner Larry Scott confirmed that there is no short-term plan to reduce the conference slate to eight games.

A big reason for that: There's a wait-and-see attitude on the details of the four-team playoff. While, based on media reports, there seems to be considerable momentum behind incorporating the bowls into the new system, there is little consensus on the selection process for the four participating teams.

That is where the coaches have a dog in this fight. They don't really care where they play, but they do want to know how they get there.

"I'd hate to go to just one little group or one committee that picks the teams," Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. "I think it's way too important. The more people you have involved, probably the better."

Oregon coach Chip Kelly pointed out that if there was a final four in place last fall, then Stanford would have been in and his Ducks would have been out, despite their decisive win in Palo Alto. The biggest reason for that? Oregon lost to LSU in the season-opener, giving it one more defeat than Stanford. If the Ducks had played San Jose State, they almost certainly would have finished fourth.

"There seems like there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered before anybody can say, 'Hey, that's a great idea,'" Kelly said.

Therein lies the caution. And the defiance. There was a clear undercurrent with Scott, the coaches and athletic directors that they didn't want to be pushed into anything, particularly when the Pac-12 (and Big Ten) are being asked to sacrifice something -- their tie to the Rose Bowl -- while other conferences aren't. There's a widespread perception that the BCS standings favored an SEC way of doing things, and played a role in that conference's recent dominance. So how does it help the Pac-12 if the new format still relies on a BCS-like evaluation?

There's a concern that if, say, Oregon and Alabama both finish 11-1 that the Crimson Tide would benefit from a "just because" edge, one based entirely on a subjective judgment of SEC superiority. Such a judgment could give the SEC a near-annual second team in a final four while knocking the Pac-12 -- and other major conferences -- out entirely.

"I think a lot of people are going to want the human element out of it, because it would be hard for humans to make those decisions and not be biased in some way," USC coach Lane Kiffin said.

Which is why some, such as Whittingham, favor an expanded playoff.

"From my perspective, you can take it out of the hands of voting and more to on-field performance," he said.

Said Leach, "I'd like to see it more than four. My suspicion is eventually there will be. Because, five years ago, if somebody had said this was going to happen, the room would have started laughing."

Meetings here were long, and there were plenty of other topics, from officiating, to bowls, to scheduling. But the back-and-forth on the potential new playoff scenarios was the centerpiece of the week, at least in terms of intrigue.

Change is coming. That's almost certain. But the process this summer of putting together a concrete plan among entities with competing agendas figures to be contentious.

Said Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, "I think there are still a lot of conversations to go."

Former USC and NFL superstar Junior Seau was found dead at his home Wednesday with a gunshot wound to the chest, a victim of an apparent suicide.

Stunning and sad. One of the great linebackers in the history of the game.

I talked to both USC AD Pat Haden and Trojans coach Lane Kiffin, who are both here in Phoenix for the Pac-12 spring meetings, but both didn't want to comment for the record until they had more information on the details. The school sent out statements from each not long ago.

Haden on Seau: "We are tremendously saddened to hear this news and our hearts go out to his family and children. Junior Seau was one of the greatest legends in USC football history. He will always be remembered by USC as the original No. 55."

Kiffin on Seau: "This is a very sad day. The USC football program and the entire Trojan Family extends our condolences to Junior's family. He was one of the greatest Trojans of all-time. Our team and fans were very fortunate to see him just a couple of weeks ago at our Spring Game at the Coliseum. He will be deeply missed."

USA Today has published its new database on athletic director's salaries, and UCLA's Dan Guerrero tops the Pac-12 list at $688,296.

From the article:

ADs average about $450,000 at the NCAA's top-tier schools, according to a USA TODAY analysis, rivaling the pay of many university presidents. But at least five ADs make more than $1 million, and since August 2010, at least 10 public schools have given their AD's pay raises of $75,000 or more.

Here are the Pac-12 ADs and their salaries.
Dan Guerrero, UCLA, $688,296
Scott Woodward, Washington, $553,000
Bob De Carolis, Oregon State, $540,356
Rob Mullens, Oregon, $500,000
*Greg Byrne, Arizona, $500,000
Sandy Barbour, California, $460,997
Bill Moos, Washington State, $455,000
Lisa Love, Arizona State, $448,000
Chris Hill, Utah, $400,000
Mike Bohn, Colorado, $253,500

*Byrne recently signed a new contract that included a raise from the $392,000 listed in the USA Today database.

USC's Pat Haden and Stanford's Bob Bowlsby both work at private schools that don't release salary information.

A day after conference expansion Armageddon was avoided with the Pac-12 taking a pass on Oklahoma and Texas, commissioner Larry Scott was in good cheer. And why not? Scott's conference still has the richest TV deal and is the most unified and stable in the nation.

"We could have expanded, but the deal didn't make any sense at the end of the day for us, especially given the position that we are in," Scott said. "There is a very high bar. It's hard to imagine very many scenarios for our conference to expand because the bar is so high."

And Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, were not able to clear that bar, a determination Scott made over the weekend, which he recommended to the Pac-12 presidents on Monday and Tuesday. Thus the statement from Scott's office Tuesday night that the conference would remain at 12 teams.

The decision to not expand was greeted favorably from all corners of the conference.

Said Washington State athletic director Bill Moos, "I like the way the conference is now and I'm pleased the decision was made to keep it at 12 members."

Said USC athletic director Pat Haden, "I don't think there is any rush for us to get to 16."

On Wednesday, a source told The Oklahoman that Oklahoma was using the Pac-12 for leverage to get some concessions from the Big 12:

“But frankly, we wanted the impression out there that we might go to the Pac-12 because that gave us some leverage,” the source said. “We were using that as leverage to say, ‘Hey, you want us to stay? Let's have some of these reforms.'”

That would seem to imply that Oklahoma wanted to make it public that it was negotiating in bad faith with the Pac-12, but Scott had no issue with this strategy.

"I have nothing but respect for the leadership of the University of Oklahoma," he said. "I don't want to contradict anything that they feel they need to say as part of the process they are in."

The Big 12 has yet to announce reforms.

While a second negotiation within just over a year to create a Pac-16 didn't end with an agreement, Scott said he doesn't feel that relationships have been damaged.

"I can only speak from my own experience and say not at all," he said. "Not in terms of the folks I've dealt with. I have had very enjoyable dealings with everyone I've dealt with."

Scott, Moos and Haden each said they don't expect expansion talk to end across the nation, including with the Pac-12.

"I don't see any of our schools wanting to leave," Moos said. "We've established the Pac-12 as a destination. I would guess there will be overtures down the road of institutions inquiring about membership."

But the Pac-12's condition for membership will be non-negotiable, Scott said: equal revenue sharing. Even if that means leaving money on the table.

Said Scott, "An opportunity was turned down that could have generated more money for the schools but potentially could have torn apart the fabric of the culture of the conference."

The big question, however, is the future: How long before expansion chatter again engulfs the conference? Is the Pac-12 merely playing a game of chicken with other programs?

Scott doesn't see it that way, but he also maintains -- as he has since the first wave of expansion in 2010 -- that consolidation isn't going away in big-time college football.

"I absolutely expect we will stay 12 teams for a long while," he said. "But after what I've seen happen in the last year, I don't think anyone could stick their neck out and make any definitive predictions."

Ninth in a series looking at potential dream and nightmare scenarios for all Pac-12 teams.

Understand: These are not predictions. They are extreme scenarios and pieces of fiction. You can read last season's versions here.

We're going in reverse order of my post-spring power rankings (which might not be identical to my preseason power rankings).

Up next: USC

Best case

In the bowels of the Coliseum, USC gathers before taking the field against Minnesota.

"I want to read you something," coach Lane Kiffin says, flicking open a one-page letter

"President Nikias. I appreciate your grace last week when announcing that USC would not pursue any further redress against the NCAA. What I find unconscionable is where this leaves the NCAA. I have personally reviewed the facts of USC's case before the Committee on Infractions, and I can tell you that I am not the only one inside these walls who has long been troubled by the Committee's findings and the resulting severe sanctions against your football program. USC was wronged well before news broke of the massive scandal at Miami under former athletic director Paul Dee, who was not fit to sit judgment of USC as the Committee chair. The combination of a poorly reasoned and unjust ruling and Dee's hypocrisy simply cannot stand. That is why I am taking the unprecedented action of ruling sanctions against USC null-and-void. Sincerely, NCAA president Mark Emmert."

That was not good news for the Golden Gophers, who go down 52-3.

"I'll tell you what it means," says linebacker Chris Galippo. "It means that the rest of college football hears one thing echoing in its collective head right now, 'They're baaaaaaack!'"

A rumor starts to float that SEC commissioner Mike Slive was found locked in his office closet, repeatedly murmuring, "But I don't want USC to be eligible. It's not fair!"

Poll voters immediately promote USC to No. 10 in the polls.

The Trojans batter Utah in the first Pac-12 game, 41-17.

"I know it's the new Pac-12," says ESPN's Chris Fowler. "But it seems a lot like the old Pac-10, circa 2002-2008."

The Trojans bludgeon Syracuse, 60-6 and rise to No. 5.

"Arizona State is going to test USC," says ESPN's Kirk Herstreit. "The Sun Devils have already manhandled a two good teams in Missouri and Illinois."

USC rolls the Sun Devils 38-10, with quarterback Matt Barkley throwing his ninth and 10th TD passes on the year. He throws 11, 12 and 13 in a 41-17 victory over Arizona and two more in a 44-7 win at California and a 33-17 win over Notre Dame.

"Barkley has 17 touchdown passes in seven games; Stanford's Andrew Luck has 16," says Fowler. "Fair to say the winner Saturday becomes the Heisman Trophy frontrunner?'

Stanford nips the Trojans 30-27, with Luck scrambling for 20 yards on third and 8 to set up the game-winning field goal.

The Trojans bounce back with blowout wins over Colorado and Washington, setting up a showdown with top-ranked Oregon, which is coming off a 33-30 overtime win over Stanford.

LaMichael James rushes for 154 yards and two scores in a 33-24 Ducks victory.

The Trojans batter UCLA, 45-20, beating the Bruins for the 12th time in 13 years.

The No. 8 Trojans face the top-ranked Ducks (again!) for the inaugural Pac-12 crown.

They gather before running into Autzen Stadium. Kiffin begins: "What a ride. We've seen a lot of stuff together these two years, huh? Stuff that was out of our control. Stuff that didn't let the Trojans be what Trojans truly are: Champions. But we're in control again, aren't we? It's about us again. And we've got a chance tonight to reclaim what has been taken from us. What is ours. Understand: Our victory will be remembered. It will become an important part of Trojans history. No, we're not going to get an opportunity to play for the national title like a lot of 'SC teams, though I'd like our chances in a playoff. But USC fans and former Trojans are going to remember you as the team who took back our championship identity, which was stolen from us. They will say, 'That was the team that reestablished the tradition.' And they will remember your names. The rest of college football is watching tonight, rooting against us, worried about the return of USC. Well, let's go out there and show them that their worries are 100 percent justified."

James is stuffed by Galippo on a fourth-and-goal inside the USC 1-yard line with 45 seconds left. Three Barkley sneaks later, and USC is a 29-23 winner, headed back to the Rose Bowl as Pac-12 champions.

USC stuffs Wisconsin 35-17 in the Rose Bowl to finish 12-2 and ranked fourth.

"I'm coming back for my senior year," Barkley announces. "because I want to win a national championship before I leave."

The Trojans signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class.

"I'd like to announce a home-and-home series with USC," says a grim-faced Alabama athletic director, Mal Moore.

"Mr. Moore, over here," shouts an uncommonly stylish reporter. "Is this a reaction to the rumored reality series for the Pac-12 network this fall, 'See what SEC athletic directors do when USC calls!'"

"Shutup Miller," a grim-faced Alabama athletic director says.

Worst case

Quarterback Matt Barkley throws three touchdown passes in a 30-23 season-opening win over Minnesota.

"Yeah, I think everyone is curious what Utah will bring to the table," says Barkley. "Our job is to give them a rude welcome."

The game is tied 28-28 late in the fourth quarter. On a third and 3 from its own 15, Utes QB Jordan Wynn finds DeVonte Christopher for an 85-yard, game-winning touchdown after USC cornerback Nickell Robey fell down.

The Trojans bounce back by whipping Syracuse 33-10, but Arizona State sacks Barkley four times in a 24-10 victory. USC improves to 3-2 with a home win over Arizona, but gets drubbed at California 35-20 and gives up a late TD in a 30-24 loss at Notre Dame after another coverage breakdown. Andrew Luck throws three TD passes in a 40-24 Stanford win over the Trojans.

USC shows some fight, winning at Colorado and at home over Washington, but it looks lethargic while taking a 48-20 whipping at Oregon.

"We play a faceless opponent every week," Ducks coach Chip Kelly says when asked if it still feels special to stomp USC, which Oregon has done three years in a row.

"Is it easier selling that to your players now than it was in 2008?" asks an uncommonly stylish reporter.

Kelly smiles, "Shutup, Miller."

"We still have plenty to play for," Kiffin says. "For one, we always want to beat UCLA. That can make a season. Finishing .500 is certainly better than the alternative. And we can stop the Bruins from winning the South Division."

UCLA defensive end Datone Jones sacks Barkley three times as the Bruins roll over the Trojans 33-17.

"Do I feel sorry for USC?" Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel says. "A little."

The Bruins lose to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game but they whip Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl and finished 10-4 and ranked 14th.

UCLA's 31-player class -- six elite prospects are brought in early to count against the 2011 class -- ranks sixth in the nation, two spots behind Notre Dame.

"It was great to cherry-pick Southern California recruiting," says Neuheisel. "So much talent. Glad we had a full allotment of scholarships."

USC's class of 15 ranks eighth in the Pac-12.

"Tough times don't last, tough people do," says Kiffin. "Wait... where did I hear that?"

Murmurs USC athletic director Pat Haden, "Not for long if they go 5-7 as USC's head coach."

Barkley, offensive tackle Matt Kalil, defensive end Nick Perry, defensive end Devon Kennard and safety T.J. McDonald each announced they are entering the NFL draft.

Ring! Ring!

"Pat, hiya! Mal Moore down here at the University of Alabama," says Mal Moore to Haden. "How you? Good, good. You want to bring your boys down here for a football game? We'd love to see 'ya!"

USC coach Lane Kiffin can now put his brief and controversial tenure at Tennessee in his rearview mirror after the NCAA found him guilty of no major violations during his one year in Knoxville.

Obviously, a win for Kiffin and USC.

Did the NCAA's egregious ruling in the Reggie Bush case play a role here? If Committee on Infractions chairman Dennis Thomas and other members of the committee read the work of Paul Dee's committee, it surely was somewhere in the back of their minds.

USC released statements from both Kiffin and AD Pat Haden.

Kiffin:

“I’m very grateful to the NCAA, the Committee on Infractions and its chairman, Dennis Thomas, for a very fair and thorough process. I'm also very grateful that we were able to accurately and fairly present the facts in our case and that no action was taken against us. I’m pleased that the NCAA based its decision on the facts and not on perception. I’m also very grateful that the Tennessee football program was cleared of any wrongdoing.

“As I have said before, we always have been committed to following NCAA rules and bylaws both at Tennessee and now at USC, and we always will be. Now that this has reached its conclusion, I am looking forward to continuing to prepare our team for the upcoming season.”

Haden:

“We obviously were pleased to learn about the NCAA’s ruling today regarding Lane Kiffin. I appeared at Lane’s NCAA hearing, and I believe the NCAA’s decision is fair and based on the facts presented. I'm glad this is behind us now and I know Lane feels the same way. From the time he arrived at USC, Lane Kiffin has been extremely compliant regarding NCAA rules and I feel confident that he will continue to be so.”

There are two types of "new" coaches. First, there are new-new coaches, those who are entering their first season with no track record at their present destination, which allows fans to invest in them their wildest hopes and dreams.

Then their are second-year coaches, who have a single season under their belts, a small and typically unrevealing sample size that allows everyone to make premature judgments about said coach's ultimate prospects.

Not many coaches go to a Rose Bowl their first year as head coach, as Oregon's Chip Kelly did. And sometimes fast starts are deceiving about what's ahead, see Arizona State going 10-3 in Dennis Erickson's first season. And did many folks think Iowa's Kirk Ferentz would be around for 13 seasons after he went 1-10 in 1999?

So we have the only second-year coach in the Pac-12: USC's Lane Kiffin.

While Kiffin's name might inspire more than a few folks to immediately spit, particularly those in a certain part of the country where spitting is less frowned upon, that's more about his abrupt departure from Tennessee and his sometimes cocky statements and behavior while he was there -- a side of himself, by the way, he hasn't shown much of of inside Heritage Hall.

As a coach, we only know he went 5-15 with the Oakland Raiders, 7-6 in one season at Tennessee and 8-5 at USC last fall.

What did we learn about Kiffin last season? Well, he's clearly a good recruiter, see another touted class that should help the Trojans better weather harsh NCAA sanctions.

Also, at 4-0 and then 7-3, it seemed as though he'd done a good job of keeping his team focused, even though it didn't have the postseason as a possible reward.

Then the Trojans got blistered at Oregon State and lost at home to a middling Notre Dame team. Sure, quarterback Matt Barkley got hurt in Corvallis, and even then the Trojans would have beaten the Irish if Ronald Johnson hadn't dropped a sure touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. Still, "scoreboard," you know?

A loss to UCLA to end the season would have cast a dark shadow over Kiffin's first season, but the Trojans prevailed and then they rolled in recruiting. The momentum at present seems relatively positive.

So what can we say about Kiffin after a year?

It appears he's matured since his brief, bombastic tenure in Knoxville. It seemed like he did a good job working with Barkley, helping him mature as a QB, though the true test of the relationships will be this season, likely Barkley's last before heading to the NFL.

In fact, you could say that his dad, legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, should be more on the hot seat in 2011. The Trojans defense let leads slip away in the fourth quarter and gave up way too many big plays in 2010.

Further complicating an evaluation of Kiffin are the NCAA sanctions, particularly 30-scholarship reduction over the next three years that could be crippling, even for a program of USC's stature.

It would be fair to say that USC, which has the talent to win nine or 10 games this season, needs to live up to reasonable expectations this fall before the real pain sets in for Kiffin to place himself in good standing with athletic director Pat Haden and the Trojans fan base.

If he wins 10 games and the first South Division title, it would be enough of a vindication of his coaching ability that he could survive an inevitable step back over the next three to five years.

But if the Trojans take another step toward mediocrity, it's likely that the honeymoon would abruptly end and he'd find his coaching stool fairly toasty heading into 2012.

A football field is 100 yards long, and each yard marker has produced immortal memories in college football.

ESPN.com is looking at some of the most famous touchdowns in college football history for each and every yard marker, and Pat Haden's touchdown pass to J.K. McKay to win the 1975 Rose Bowl for USC over Ohio State is the choice at 38 yards.

You can check out "Yards to Glory" here.

And here's what I wrote about the connection between the current USC athletic director and his right-hand man.

38. Best Friends Forever

Pat Haden, J.K. McKay team up to win Rose Bowl

Jan. 1, 1975: USC athletic director Pat Haden and his right-hand man, J.K. McKay, have a long history, together and as Trojans. Not only are they boyhood pals, but Haden connected with McKay for a 38-yard touchdown with just more than two minutes left in the 1975 Rose Bowl, a score that set up the two-point conversion that gave the Trojans an 18-17 win over Ohio State. So their collaboration has worked for USC before.

The athletic director talks about the Marc Tyler scandal. Haden says they considered kicking Tyler off the team.

USC running back Marc Tyler hasn't been acting like a senior leader for the Trojans of late, and now he's earned a suspension from coach Lane Kiffin for the season opener against Minnesota on Sept. 3.

At least.

Speaking to TMZ, Tyler -- who led the Trojans with 913 yards rushing last year -- appeared intoxicated when he made inappropriate comments about Kim Kardashian and joked about being paid to play for the Trojans, who you might recall are still in the midst of serving NCAA sanctions.

Moreover, Tyler is awaiting a ruling from the school's disciplinary committee on a pair of alcohol-related incidents from last year, which could make his penalty even more severe. Kiffin added that Tyler is also suspended from all team activities.

“Although Marc may find this punishment severe, it is imperative we continue to have a high standard for player behavior," Kiffin said in a statement. "Marc needs to work hard to show us that he can meet the standards of being a USC football player.”

Athletic director Pat Haden said Tyler "stepped way out of line."

"Marc has a lot to do to prove he belongs on our team," Haden said. "We hope Marc learns from this and comes back a changed and better person.”

The school also released a statement from Tyler:

“I want to apologize for embarrassing USC, my teammates and coaches. I am disappointed that I let down all the people who have supported me as I have been working through some personal issues. After meeting today with Mr. Haden and Coach Kiffin, I realize how my behavior and my statements, even though I was joking, can reflect poorly on so many people. As a veteran player, I should know that my job is to be an example for the younger guys. I accept my punishment and I regret that I will miss the opening game of my senior year. I am committed to doing everything the right way so that I can be reinstated to the team.”

What this means for USC is the backfield suddenly becomes very inexperienced, though the injury-prone Tyler was far from a certainty to top the rotation at the position. Without Tyler, the mercurial Dillon Baxter is the only returning running back who recorded a carry last year, and he had just 59 totes. Further, Baxter was listed behind junior Curtis McNeal and redshirt freshman D.J. Morgan on the post-spring depth chart.

Read more here.

Scholarships that cover the full cost of attendance is the answer, not pay-for-play, according to a polling of a handful of Pac-12 athletic directors.

USC's Pat Haden felt so strongly about the issue that he has a post on the matter on the school's official website.

"The NCAA formulas used to determine student-athlete stipends are not appropriate," Haden said in the post. "Having interviewed 15 different athletes and broken down their stipend against their bills, they are left with about $5 per day for food. I just do not think that is right."

Haden is not alone. Across town at UCLA, Dan Guerrero feels the same way.

“I would much prefer to see the NCAA pursue the notion of allowing athletic scholarships to cover the full cost of attendance at an institution," he said.

In fact, six conference athletic directors said the same thing. None who were asked for their take -- a number of ADs were on vacation -- said they were against increasing the value of scholarships to cover cost of attendance.

But paying athletes for their services beyond a full-cost scholarship also was panned.

"I am not in favor of any 'stipend' that would exceed that amount," Stanford's Bob Bowlsby said.

Why not? Well, while a few ADs sounded at least lukewarm to a revolutionary idea where athletes in revenue sports -- football and men's basketball -- could receive a stipend, none said they'd heard of a way to do that and not fall afoul of Title IX laws on gender equity.

"I haven't heard of one yet," Arizona's Greg Byrne said. "It would have to be a group effort to see if that's even feasible."

And even if someone produced a revolutionary idea that circumvented Title IX, the notion didn't generate much support.

"I'm not for pay for play," Washington's Scott Woodward said. "I think it's a great structure the way it is."

So cost of attendance it is.

"Cost of attendance," in fact, is the new catch phrase. It means covering all reasonable expenses a college athlete might have. That would mean an extra $2,500 to $3,500 per athlete. That doesn't sound like much, but when you multiply it across an entire athletic department with, say, 400 or so scholarship athletes, it gets pretty pricey. Woodward estimated it would cost Washington an extra $1 million a year.

Still, that doesn't sound like too much when automatic qualifying conferences in the BCS are signing billion dollar TV contracts.

Ah, but that's part of the problem. Non-AQ schools would struggle to pick up the extra tab. Many already are losing money on college sports. If AQ programs started to provide "better" scholarships and non-AQ programs didn't, then it would increase an already sizable competitive advantage.

Colorado's Mike Bohn has been an athletic director in non-AQ conferences -- San Diego State and Idaho -- so he understands why the idea isn't generating much traction outside of AQ conferences.

"I recognize the challenges it would put on those types of institutions," he said. "They would have to evaluate that and make decisions on what's best for themselves."

Bohn also feels like many people don't recognize just how valuable a full ride is -- cost of attendance or not. He points out it pays not only tuition and room and board but also health care, tutoring and other academic services and summer school. And the experience of a major college athlete is a fairly privileged one.

"It's important to accurately portray the investment each institution is putting into each student-athlete," he said. "The investment in these men and women goes far beyond the scholarship commitment."

Still, there's plenty of momentum behind the idea of improving scholarships and taking further financial burdens off athletes.

Writes Haden, "In a year from now, our new TV contract is going to kick in with $20 million per year in revenue and it is not right to have a student-athlete tell me he or she is going hungry. It is unconscionable."

Most of the change we think we see in life
Is due to truths being in and out of favor.

• This is really funny stuff: "A Few Good Coaches." Read it only if you can't handle the truth. Cliff Harris is still not participating in voluntary workouts.
• Here's the official site for Oregon State safety Lance Mitchell's blog.
• A Stanford blog considers... Stanford.
• More on UCLA's latest commitment, who is speedy.
• A quick chat with USC AD Pat Haden.
• Go to the Farmer's Market, see a few Utes.
• Washington Huskies: What's my line?
• Has Washington State coach Paul Wulff been too loyal with his coaching staff?
• You can check out highlights of the Oregon-Texas game here (I'm not a video game guy, but this almost wins me over).
• Highlights of a Jon Wilner conversation with Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott.

Greetings from Big Ten country. Happy to fill in for Ted during his vacay.

• The latest on the Cliff Harris situation at Oregon here and here and here. Ducks coach Chip Kelly should sit Harris against LSU, John Canzano writes in The Oregonian. In case you missed it, colleague Ivan Maisel checks in with Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas on the ESPNU podcast.
• Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott wants student-athletes to get more out of their scholarships, John Henderson writes in The Denver Post.
• USC athletic director Pat Haden won't predict the outcome of coach Lane Kiffin's recent NCAA hearing, Gary Klein writes in the Los Angeles Times. A look at the past, present and future for Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley, ESPNLosAngeles.com's Pedro Moura writes.
• Arizona president Robert Shelton is a good fit to run the Fiesta Bowl, Patrick Finley writes in the Arizona Daily Star.
• Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn is throwing without pain, Dirk Facer writes in the Deseret News.
• Washington hopes for big things from its latest 2012 recruit, Bob Condotta writes in the Seattle Times.
• FoxSportsSouthwest recaps Colorado's time in the Big 12. The Buffs add a running back recruit from Texas.
• Former Oregon State offensive lineman Tavita Thompson lands an assistant coaching gig with Pacific, James Day writes in the Statesman Journal.
• UCLA will get back to a bowl game in 2011, colleague KC Joyner writes (Insider).

At some point USC and Lane Kiffin will get to focus on the football part of football. But not yet.

Kiffin still has his own dirty laundry -- all of it bright orange -- to tend to: He's in Indianapolis this weekend discussing the alleged transgressions that occurred while he Tennessee's head coach with the 10-member NCAA Committee on Infractions.

Kiffin will try to defend himself against the NCAA and Tennessee, which is trying to heap the entire mess on Kiffin's and, by association, USC's doorstep.

Kiffin was cited with a failure "to promote an atmosphere for compliance within the football program and failed to monitor the activities regarding compliance of several assistant football coaches" as well as two specific violations:

• The NCAA alleges between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9 of 2010 Kiffin or his assistant coaches made 16 "impermissible recruiting telephone calls" to three prospects.
• The NCAA alleges Kiffin allowed a recruiting intern, Steve Rubio, "to make in-person, off-campus contacts with high school administrators during a recruiting trip" to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In both of the alleged violations, Kiffin was told in advance by Tennessee not to do what he ended up doing, according to the NCAA. That's good for the Volunteers, not so good for Kiffin. (You can read the complete Notice of Allegations here if you so desire.)

Said the NCAA of the calls: "These calls were placed subsequent to the football staff's receipt of information in December of 2009 from the institution's compliance staff that such telephone calls were impermissible."

Said the NCAA of the trip: "This trip and these contacts occurred after David Blackburn, the institution's director of football operations, informed both Kiffin and Rubio ... that Rubio was not permitted to enter a high school's property while accompanying a football coach on a recruiting trip."

So what's going to happen? The short answer is "heck if I know."

Using logic, reason and a sense of fairness last June, I predicted, using Alabama's 2002 pay-for-play case as a precedent, that USC would get hit hard but not hammered by NCAA sanctions. The NCAA opted instead to be unfair and arbitrary and pounded the Trojans with a loss of 30 scholarships and a two-year postseason ban.

There was no way to justify what the NCAA did -- good luck coming up with a more severe penalty against Ohio State -- but the organization tried on its new enforcement web page: "Each case is unique, and applying case precedent is difficult (if not impossible) because all cases are different. Each case has its own aggravating and mitigating factors, and the committee considers both sides in assessing penalties."

If applying precedent is "impossible," then your enforcement arm can do anything it wants. Imagine if the police and courts operated this way.

Judge: You shot him for jaywalking?

Police: Yes.

Judge: Isn't that little harsh?

Police: He was wearing a Reggie Bush jersey.

Judge: A USC Reggie Bush jersey or a New Orleans Saints Reggie Bush jersey?

Police: USC.

Judge: Oh, aggravating and mitigating factors. Well, then. Good job.

Know this: Kiffin is going to suffer some sort of sanction specific to himself, likely one that limits him in recruiting. While the NCAA doesn't want us to pay attention to precedent, I covered a strikingly similar case in 2002, when then-Washington coach Rick Neuheisel was grounded for eight months for violations he committed while coaching at Colorado.

The interesting difference is the NCAA ruled Colorado failed to properly monitor Neuheisel's activity. It appears the COI -- with the overwhelming support of Tennessee -- has the option here of ruling Kiffin went rogue versus his compliance department. That might cast Kiffin's transgressions in a harsher light.

On the plus side for Kiffin, he's kept his nose clean at USC, which athletic director Pat Haden noted in a statement last February when the notice of allegations was published: "Since his return to USC last year as our head football coach, Lane has been vigilant in making sure he and the football program follow the NCAA's rules and compete the right way. Lane has my support as our head football coach."

USC's exposure here will likely be nothing more than collateral damage resulting from sanctions against its head coach, which might be substantial. Kiffin is an outstanding recruiter -- see his top-five 2011 class, despite the NCAA sanctions shadow -- so removing him from the equation for a period of time will further hurt the Trojans efforts to remain competitive.

Of course, after Kiffin and the NCAA chat this weekend, it will be weeks before the COI publishes its findings.

So -- Fight On!... and on and on -- USC fans can look forward to more embarrassing headlines generated from behind the closed doors of conference rooms.