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• USC football: Matt Barkley named Pac-12 offensive player of week
• USC Trojans Football: Matt Barkley The Maestro In Upset Of Oregon
• Matt Barkley Heisman campaign begins
• USC huge win at Oregon
• Stopping RB Polk is biggest key
• USC's Matt Barkley finds love and perspective in Nigeria
• Record-game For Barkley; Woods and Lee Shine in 48-41 Win Over Arizona
• USC Football Returns Home To Host Arizona
• Bank Of The West Weekly Football Honors
• FB | Jones still out with injury, to miss game Saturday against Southern California
• Trojans in need of better effort
• Scoggins: For Kiffin, misery doesn't love company
• USC Football Notebook: Barkley, Woods on same page in scrimmage
• USC's Matt Barkley named to 2011 Manning Award watch list
• USC FOOTBALL NOTES: Barkley shaky in first scrimmage
• Pio Vatuvei Verbals To USC Trojans Football
• USC's Matt Barkley, 5 other Pac-12 players named to 2011 Walter Camp watch list
• Southern California Trojans football
• USC Trojans Football: The Nickell Robey Story
• USC football: Issues come to the fore in the fourth
• Trojans release new numbers fot the fall roster
• No changes on the horizon for USC's football uniforms
• USC football: Nick Perry has a big number in mind
• OT Smith helps keep first-round grade at USC pro day
• Injuries will impact USC practice
• USC linemen the next Cam Newton?
• USC hires Nebraska's Gilmore as WRs coach
• USC Trojans redshirt freshman WR Kyle Prater breaks foot
• Eight USC Trojans invited to 2011 NFL Combine
• USC's Johnson, O'Dowd, Wright to take part in 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl
• Amir Carlisle and Anthony Sarao Choose USC
• USC Recruiting | Trojans eyeing McKeesport DL recruit Delvon Simmons
• USC football: Is Lane Kiffin too unemotional?
• USC signs two more JC gridders
• Football recruiting: Losing Aaron Douglas hurts
• USC Football Recruiting: One More Verbal and Closing the Book on a Busy Weekend
• USC football: Breaking down Matt Barkley’s season
• USC seniors deserve a better ending
• USC Football Hosts Notre Dame In Famed Intersectional Rivalry
• USC Football: Was the Arizona Game a Sign of a Modified Spread in 2011?
• Barkley named semifinalist for O’Brien Award
• USC FOOTBALL NOTES: Passing comment serves as motivation
• Report card: Grading the Trojans (vs. Stanford)
• USC Football | Sarkisian shows he has transitioned from student to master
• Jupiter and Havili named USC Credit Union Student Athletes of the Week
• USC Football: Robert Woods' 97-yard kickoff touchdown return
• USC's Tyler goes from forgotten to first
• USC leans on Matt Barkley's leadership
• Mater Dei WR Blackwell among best in California
• USC Football Success Factors in 2010 And Beyond
• Laying the Foundation: USC Football Recruiting, 2011
• Joe McKnight doesn't mind the comparisons to New Orleans Saints' Reggie Bush
• USC Trojans to face Boston College Eagles in Emerald Bowl
• Corp gets the nod in Saturday's game against Washington
• Colts sign rookies Austin Collie (WR, BYU) and Fili Moala
• The Sideline Report: '09 College Football Preview
• USC 101: History of the Song Girl
• USC football: The best DBs, OLs in the nation?
• USC football: 5 most indispensable Trojans
• Ryans set to help Cushing
• USC football: 10 things we learned in spring (No. 4)
• UCS's Pete Carroll to Author "Win Forever" Book
• Trojans' quarterback Barkley getting into a groove
• Trojans' defense is quickly making strides
• 2009 NFL Draft Preview: Clay Matthews
• Lions coach Jim Schwartz will keep open mind at draft
• Waiting game finally over for Chiefs' Cassel
• Odd questions are the norm for prospects at the NFL combine
• Longevity runs in Matthews family
• Pythons kept at bay by brilliant Baxter
• SIGNING DAY 2009 : West Helena's Winston highlights Razorbacks' 2009 commitments
• USC's Sanchez among 12 Trojans invited to NFL combine
• Should He Have Stayed One More Season? Mark Sanchez Enters the NFL Draft!
• Carroll apologizes to Sanchez for demeanor
• Carl Smith And Mark Jackson Join USC Football Staff
• High School Football: Matt Barkley Leads White Team to Victory in Under Armour All-America Game
• Next Season Could Be A Test For Carroll, Trojans
• Trojans offensive line will have holes to fill
• Trojans' Moala will try not to cry
• Trojans' outlook: Up in BCS, down in Rose Bowl hopes
• USC blanks Arizona State, 28-0
• USC Seeks Upward Mobility
• QB Tuel takes aim at Centennial
• USC linebacker Cushing could be sidelined for Oregon State game
• Matt Barkley, Nation's Top HS Football Prospect, Opens Season on ESPN2

Scoggins: For Kiffin, misery doesn't love company

 

Lane Kiffin sensed the question was coming and pounced.

Boy, if you lost 30 scholarships, imagine what's going to happen at ...

"We don't wish bad on anyone because it does nothing for us," he said. "I know people get into that and our fans do. But it has nothing to do with us and won't help us."

Wait, what? Not so long ago, Kiffin and the Southern California football program wore a giant bull's-eye and felt the wrath of the entire college football world, not to mention NCAA disciplinarians.

A young, brash coach bolts from Tennessee after one season, leaving an NCAA investigation in his wake. He lands in a better job at a glitzy program that assumed any punishment from Reggie Bush's involvement with an agent would be tolerable.

Outsiders seemed to take delight when the NCAA lowered the boom with harsh sanctions: the loss of 30 scholarships, a two-year bowl ban, four years probation. USC got to keep the Song Girls, but the Trojans' punishment was designed to hurt and make a point.

Except now it's precedent, and so what should happen at Ohio State and North Carolina and Miami and the next school that runs seriously afoul of NCAA rules? The scandals at those places make Bush's indiscretions seem like child's play.

If USC got hammered, others should really get tattooed (no pun intended in the case of Ohio State). Misery loves company, but Kiffin isn't tidying up the guest room.

"I tell our players, our coaches and our fans, we don't worry about other people," Kiffin insisted. "No matter what happens to those people, our scholarships aren't coming back. Our bowl games aren't coming back. We're focusing on ourselves."

The storm clouds have moved on to other zip codes as Kiffin and his program settle into their new normal. They lost their appeal for leniency this spring, so they understand the rules of engagement going forward. The Trojans begin the 2011 season Saturday against the Gophers knowing they're ineligible to play in the Pac-12 championship game or any bowl game. They lose 10 scholarships each of the next three seasons.

The challenge for Kiffin and his staff is to make sure USC remains USC, relevant on a national scale despite crippling sanctions.

"We want to be able to maximize this situation," Kiffin said. "Can't guarantee what that means in terms of wins, but we know that we're doing the best we can."

The loss of 30 scholarships represents the biggest hurdle because it's difficult to win at any level short-handed, even at USC. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. The Trojans can sign only 15 recruits in each of the next three classes, so they can't afford any defections, academic casualties or "misses" -- players who aren't as talented as originally thought during their recruitment.

Kiffin declined to discuss his strategy to mitigate the scholarship losses, citing competitive reasons. But he admits they've tried to be creative. That included signing midyear enrollees because they count against the previous year's recruiting class. The sanctions also allowed USC's upperclassmen to transfer to another school without losing a year of eligibility, which Kiffin refers to as "free agency."

"There's no book for how to handle this," he said.

Kiffin refuses to concede anything though. The Trojans were picked to finish first in the Pac-12 South division, even though they technically can't win it. They have a veteran quarterback in Matt Barkley and some front-line talent, although their defense was horrendous last season.

Their rehabilitation requires them to toe the line off the field too. In an interview last summer, USC athletic director Pat Haden told me, "We're going to win, but we're going to win right." It didn't sound like lip service.

The NCAA ruled last week that Kiffin's staff at Tennessee racked up 12 secondary violations related to recruiting in one year. None were deemed major, so Kiffin avoided punishment, but the NCAA noted that 12 violations is nothing to be proud of.

USC can't afford for the NCAA to knock on its door again.

"It's a very positive atmosphere now with everything out there," Kiffin said. "We're ready to move forward."

 

More on startribune.com

 

MORE MATT BARKLEY NEWS

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Jan 30 2012 2:34PM GMT

Football recruiting: Morris may be a pleasant surprise for Tide
Montgomery Advertiser Jan 30 2012 2:34PM GMT Florida State. "You see Alec Morris here, he's serviceable. Alabama hasn't needed to have Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley or Matt Stafford out there to win. So field generals are good. Quarterbacking one of the premier programs for two seasons in

Football recruiting: Morris may be a pleasant surprise for Tide
Prattville Progress Jan 30 2012 12:20PM GMT Florida State. "You see Alec Morris here, he's serviceable. Alabama hasn't needed to have Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley or Matt Stafford out there to win. So field generals are good. Quarterbacking one of the premier programs for two seasons in

Local roundup: Disc golfers Criss, Hokum win open divisions at Felton Freeze
Santa Cruz Sentinel Jan 30 2012 10:59AM GMT the Intermediate flight, La Selva's Ryan Gonyea shot a 2-under 112 for the win, San Jose's Matt Barkley took second with 117 and Monterey's Sean Allen took third at 119. CYCLING The fourth race in the Surf City Cyclo-X series course was held Sunday at

Kiffin, Orgeron Keep USC on Track
DawgsBite.com Jan 30 2012 6:37AM GMT of Robert Woods and Marquise Lee among others, and some teams could lose some of their leaders like Matt Barkley. ?Getting or keeping those guys on campus while trimming the roster of non producers will help lessen the impact of the scholarship

Holler: RG3 holds the key
PackerReport.com Jan 29 2012 2:22PM GMT flat on their faces, the quarterback market is as hot as it has ever been. The decisions of Matt Barkley and Landry Jones, both of whom would have been first-rounders, to stay in school increased Griffin?s value. Unlike most aspects of life, where

Top recruits don't always work out for teams
Individual.com Jan 29 2012 9:28AM GMT Missouri, Gateway (Mo.): Academics forced him to JC for two years, Missouri backup for half of 2011. 5. Matt Barkley, QB, USC, Mater Dei (Calif.): Threw for Pac-12 record 39 TDs, early Heisman favorite for 2012. Class of 2008 1. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio

Mock draft begins with Luck, trade for Griffin
SI.com Jan 29 2012 7:58AM GMT read is that Tannehill is the most likely candidate. Washington's desperation at quarterback is obvious, and no Matt Barkley or Landry Jones means the Redskins might have to roll the dice on the former Aggie. Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina. The

Top recruits don't always work out for teams
Pittsburgh Tribune Review Jan 29 2012 7:23AM GMT Missouri, Gateway (Mo.): Academics forced him to JC for two years, Missouri backup for half of 2011. 5. Matt Barkley, QB, USC, Mater Dei (Calif.): Threw for Pac-12 record 39 TDs, early Heisman favorite for 2012. 1. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State,

Top recruits don't always work out for teams
Pittsburgh Tribune Review Jan 29 2012 7:23AM GMT Missouri, Gateway (Mo.): Academics forced him to JC for two years, Missouri backup for half of 2011. 5. Matt Barkley, QB, USC, Mater Dei (Calif.): Threw for Pac-12 record 39 TDs, early Heisman favorite for 2012. 1. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State,