There is a chance that the schedule for the opening weekend at Internet gambling companies will have a change as the USC-Hawaii game is in question. The Trojans are supposed to open their 2010 season at Hawaii but the sanctions handed down by the NCAA against USC could affect that game. It is an important game for Hawaii and it would be a popular game in online gambling odds since it would be televised on ESPN.
Internet gambling companies would favor USC on the road at Hawaii if the game takes place. The Trojans are scheduled to play Hawaii on September 2nd at Aloha Stadium but the game may not happen. USC has a 13 game schedule and that would not be a problem normally as teams that travel to Hawaii are permitted to play one more game than the maximum of 12 that the NCAA allows. The NCAA penalties handed down to USC include prohibiting USC from playing exempted games.
The NCAA changed the rules back in 1955 and allowed teams to schedule an extra game if they traveled to Hawaii. The Rainbows were having a hard time getting teams to make the long trip so the NCAA made an exemption to their normal scheduling rules. The NCAA would not normally include the penalty of prohibiting exempted games but Alabama took advantage of the rule to schedule a 13th game in 2003 and 2003 while they were banned from postseason play. It gave the Crimson Tide a sort of bowl game reward even though they couldn’t play in the postseason. So the NCAA solved that problem and they are not going to allow USC to do the same thing.
The problem in this case is that Hawaii is the school that suffers if the game is not played. The game against USC was scheduled in 2001 and Hawaii has said they will lose more than a million dollars if the game is cancelled. The game is the marquee one on the Hawaii schedule. The Rainbows have talked to the NCAA about the problem but USC will have to be the one to appeal since the punishments are against their university. USC may end up appealing the post-season ban but whether they will appeal the exempted games ban has yet to be determined. If they don’t appeal then you may not see USC playing at Hawaii this season.