September 2, 2006 will be a special day in college football as the PAC 10 invades the unfriendly confines of SEC country, for a tripleheader that will quickly define who has a powerful conference in 2006.
This is USC coach Pete Carroll’s year to re-load and before anyone feels too sorry for him understand that the two players vying to replace Leinart were both regarded as the top prep quarterback in America their senior years. Bush, like Leinart, will be missed, but there’s a roll-call list of young, highly regarded runners anxious to win the job at tailback.
This is a team that went 37-2 the past three seasons with both of those losses coming by three points. Enough quality players return buoyed by a string of recruiting classes regarded among the finest in the country to give USC another shot at being in the middle of the BCS mix.
The problem for the Trojans is their opening week visit to hot, humid and hostile Arkansas where the embarrassed Razorbacks are waiting. Last season, USC hung up seventy points on Houston Nutts team and payback is on their minds rather than southern hospitality.
The number floating around Vegas has USC a 10...