When has there been a day in college sports with so much going outside of actual game competition?
In no particular order:
*The USC football program takes a massive hit (a two-year post-season ban, a 30-scholarship hit over three academic years) from the NCAA. Unless at least half off the post-season game ban is overturned and a hefty hunk of the scholarship reduction is restored on appeal, the Trojans aren't going to be serious contenders for conference titles -- much less BCS crowns -- for a large hunk of this decade.
*The conference structure as we've known it in recent years is being disassembled: the Big 12 (with Colorado bound for the Pac-10 and Nebraska apparently headed for the Big Ten) could be history in a manner of days, unless the Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State resist the temptation of also joining the conference soon to be formerly known as the "Pac-10)".
And if they can't, what becomes of Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State?
*Tom Izzo of Michigan State -- who is as good a coach as there is in college basketball -- is apparently strongly considering taking the coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Big 12 has 10 schools, the Big 10 has 12 - Perfect, I had a hard enough time explaining to my girlfriend why it made sense the Big 10 had 11 schools.