by Travis Normand

While USC deserved some kind of punishment from the NCAA for its infractions during the Reggie Bush era, I am not sure the punishment fit the crime.  Worse yet, I don’t know if the punishment punsihed the wrong-doer.

I have to be careful; or what is starting out as a simple post about a t-shirt could turn into a lengthy comment on NCAA jurisprudence (or the lack there of).  After all, I am still waiting to here about Miami’s punishment for the Nevin Shapiro incident.  Oh well.

Despite the fact that USC was relatively “hammered” for their infractions, it never really seemed to harm or derail the Trojans.  Yes, they were banned from playing in a Bowl game (and the Pac 12 Championship game), however USC doesn’t seem to have missed a beat in terms of where they should be as a football program.  On the other hand, I am not sure the punishment was suppose to be a set-back to their program at all (as that is a different kind of recurring punishment).

However, what we have learned is that a program such as USC isn’t really hurt by what we thought was a large scholarship reduction.  While most of sat around wondering how USC would manage to compete with only 75 scholarships a year, USC didn’t seem to break a sweat thinking about it.

So, last week, it was no surprise when this t-shirt appeared for sale online.

T-shirt reads:  “Our 75 are better than your 85.”

Yes, the t-shirt is a direct reference to the fact that despite the scholarship reductions, USC doesn’t appear to be hurting too badly.  In fact, most teams are having a hard time keeping up with a full roster of 85 scholarship players.

The upcoming 2012 season will be the real test on whether USC is really hurting at 75, but my guess is that they will be just fine.  The Trojans are looking to make a serious run at the Pac-12 Conference Title (and thus a BCS Bowl game), so we shall see how much better their 75 really are.

The shirt is from:  http://www.our75arebetterthanyour85.com/