The bookmaker will still have USC games on the board in college football this season but you will not be able to bet them on the futures board. The Trojans are under NCAA sanctions this season and will not be playing in a bowl game. USC is still going to be good this season and they will still get action at the online bookmaker, but not to the extent they have in the past.
Bookmaker odds will favor the Trojans quite a bit in 2010 but there is no question that USC has taken a hit. They can’t play in a bowl game this year and it is almost a certainty they won’t be able to play in one the following season either. USC has appealed some of the penalties that the NCAA handed down but it is really a futile effort since schools don’t win appeals against the NCAA.
USC will still appear in the AP college football poll but they will not be in the USA Today poll. That poll is part of the BCS rankings and since USC will not be in a bowl game, they can’t be ranked in that poll. USC received a two-year bowl ban from the NCAA in addition to four years of probation, scholarship losses and they were stripped of some past victories. The school has accepted the bowl ban this year but they are appealing some of the other sanctions. They can forget about bowl games this year and next year though as they are not going to win an appeal. The loss of scholarships is huge as well in terms of USC bookmaker football odds since the Trojans will not have as many blue chip players.
The penalties are also having a secondary effort for USC as some players are now leaving the school. Under NCAA rules, players can transfer to another school and play right away since USC is being penalized. Some players have already left and top recruits are also backing out of their commitments. USC is going to be hurt some this season in online bookmaker odds by the losses but it is the next few seasons where they are going to suffer even more. The Trojans still have enough talent that they could win the Pac-10 this season but that won’t be the case down the road.
USC will still be playing games and their odds will still be of interest at the bookmaker. The Trojans just won’t be winning a national title anytime soon and they won’t be on the futures board either this year or next.