NCAA Football: USC, on probation, looks to wipe away Reggie Bush scandal with …

The University of Southern California is in the process of trying to remove any questions regarding the integrity of its storied football program.

Ever since June, it’s as if new president Max Nikias has called Ty Pennington into Heritage Hall for an “Extreme Makeover College Edition.” He has had any memories of former All-American running back Reggie Bush removed, including the replica of his 2005 Heisman Trophy from the athletic building in the center of this walled campus.
Bush was the central figure in a four-year investigation by the NCAA Committee on Infractions, which determined both the star running back and his family had taken money and illegal gifts from two sports agents during his junior and senior seasons. The NCAA wound up putting USC on four years’ probation, banning the Trojans from bowl games the next two years, docking them 30 scholarships over the next three years and allowing current players and recruits to transfer without penalty.
The punishment could have the same effect on USC as SMU felt in the ’80s and Miami in the mid-’90s, making the Trojans, who have won 11 national championships and sent 437 players to the NFL draft, vulnerable again to adversaries from the Pac-10.
What remains to be seen is whether new coach Lane Kiffin, a 35-year-old Pete Carroll disciple who was offensive coordinator at the time of the infractions, will be able to keep the ship afloat during this “Grapes of Wrath” period.
Kiffin, whose bold nature has sometimes been perceived as arrogance, was not afraid to antagonize his former employer with the Raiders, Al Davis, a renegade in his own right, or his opponents in the SEC while at Tennessee. He has never lacked confidence, although he hasn’t been able to balance the books on the field. He was  just 5-15 in one-plus years with the Raiders and 7-6 in his only year at Tennessee with a 23-point loss to Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
“This is the exact job I signed up for,” said Kiffin. “I didn’t come out here for bowl games. I didn’t come for scholarships. I came here because it’s the best job in America. And we get to live right here, too.”
It sounds attractive, but so did buying a home in Southern California five years ago.
Kiffin will have the benefit of an excellent staff, including his father, Monte, who has long been regarded as one of the best defensive coaching minds in the NFL and Ed Orgeron, who is one of the most effective recruiters in the country.
But the Trojans are down to 71 scholarship players, 14 below NCAA standards for Bowl Subdivision teams. Six players and two recruits  including 6-8, 330-pound offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson, who went to Miami – already have left. And Kiffin had to plead with fifth-year senior wide receiver Brandon Carswell, who was on the verge of leaving for Cincinnati, to stick around and complete his final five courses and graduate. The Trojans are thin on the offensive line after guard Butch Lewis injured a hip in practice. The reduced numbers have forced Kiffin to run lighter-than-usual practices to keep his depth intact.