As the University of Southern California football program has recently received a two-year postseason ban, the forfeiture of three seasons worth of victories, and the loss of 30 scholarships, the focus of what started as a NCAA investigation will now turn to the source – Reggie Bush. Somewhere, a relieved Mike Williams went back to deep-frying his protein bars.

Bush, who reportedly received more than $300,000 in gifts from sports marketing agents during his three years at USC, could now be targeted by the IRS, should the government find that any of the gifts were taxable. When reached for comment, With Leather’s Senior Tax Analyst, Lobster Dog, said: “It is our belief that giant bags full of money are indeed taxable.”

Quit trying to write off Glenn Beck’s doilies, FOX News:

Greenberg estimates that Bush, now the star running back for the New Orleans Saints, “ultimately will wind up paying about $150,000,” but “it could be up to $200,000″ if his financial team can’t get the penalties and interest waived.

The penalties imposed upon the coveted USC football program and former student-athlete Bush are the result of an extensive investigation that discovered the Heisman Trophy winner received more than $300,000 in illegal benefits from marketing agents during the years he played college football.

The former Heisman Trophy winner Bush has stated since the beginning of the NCAA investigation that he is innocent and has openly disagreed with the punishments doled out to USC. He also claims that he’ll cooperate with both the NCAA and USC, should school athletic officials choose to appeal. While IRS representatives cannot legally announce that they’re pursuing Bush for back taxes, it is kind of odd that Tim Geithner bought a new yacht and named it “Bush It to the Limit.”

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The University of Southern California football program is expected to receive a two-year postseason ban from the NCAA today, and the Trojans could also forfeit up to 20 scholarships and possibly some wins from previous seasons. College football’s governing body has been investigating allegations that a sports marketer provided rent-free housing for Reggie Bush and his family during his 2003-05 tenure at USC, an accusation that could cost Kim Kardashian’s former sugar daddy his Heisman Trophy. It’s almost as if – almost – that Pete Carroll saw this coming.

This is certainly a taxing situation for new USC coach Lane Kiffin, who is widely regarded as one of the most respected and honest coaches in college football*. Kiffin has fought considerably in his career to climb the coaching ladder** by working diligently in building strong winning records*** and establishing legacies at every stop along the way****. However, with only a two-year ban, Kiffin should have more than enough time to continue rebuilding and help return the Trojans to national title contention when the ban is lifted in 2012.

* Fart noise.
** Fallen ass backwards.
*** 12-21 career in college and NFL.
**** He’s marked for death in Tennessee.

Throw down the fiery thunder of justice, FOX Sports:

You want to punish USC, NCAA? You want to do something with some teeth that will keep programs from cheating? Force the school to give back its share of 2004 bowl money, TV revenue, and the dough made from merchandise and ticket sales. Force USC to open the 2004 books, and whatever the football team brought in, that’s the fine. If the season didn’t happen and the wins are vacated, then so should the revenue made off of them.

Haha, good one, Pete Fiutak.

The last time USC football received a punishment was in 2001, so the NCAA isn’t likely to slap the “repeat offender” tag on the Trojans. However, many see this “punishment” as too light and a slap on the wrist, but the current USC players are taking this very seriously. In fact, quarterback Matt Barkley is worried about the impact this will have on game attendance, so he is taking his efforts to Twitter, where he responded to the NCAA suspension by tweeting at Taylor Swift to attend a USC game.

Matt Leinart immediately called sloppy seconds.

I’m not sure, but I think the folks over at UT are kinda mad at Lane Kiffin.  Not only did they riot and start fires in the streets, but now they’re rapping about it.  It’s cathartic, or something.  Some of my favorite lines brought to us by the stylings of Brabo Gator are:

“You made a bunch of promises/and then you left us/you screwed us so hard that your wife got jealous

“You didn’t screw us privately/You screwed us in the open/You screwed us so dirty I just hope you wore a Trojan

“You suck/plus your dad about a hundred years old”

I’m just going to go ahead and throw this out there…maybe the Kiffins shouldn’t ever go back to Tennessee ever.  Like, EVER.  Or it sounds like they’ll beat your ass.  Just sayin’.

–Thank you The Best Damn Sports Comedy for the tip!

There have been some fun ancillary reports coming out of Knoxville in the wake of Lane Kiffin’s departure for Southern Cal, mostly about students burning stuff and painting rocks and what have you, but the best for my pesos involves former Tennessee assistant coach Ed Orgeron’s efforts to bring his current crop of recruits with him to Los Angeles.

Former Tennessee recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron has contacted multiple UT mid-term enrollees and encouraged them not to attend class today so that they can easily leave UT and enroll at Southern California, multiple sources told the News Sentinel.

By attending class today, the nine mid-term enrollees, who have been at UT since Monday, would have to follow strict transfer rules, which include sitting out a year. –GoVolsXtra.

And confirmed reports had Orgeron making some of these calls while Kiffin was still giving his farewell speech to his old team. It’s kind of unreal that USC can hit the ground running like that in somebody else’s building. I don’t fault Kiffin for heading back to familiar territory. Who wouldn’t screech their tires to get out of Tennessee at the first possible chance?

Img from USC Trojans Blog.

Southern Cal has filled their football coaching vacancy. With Lane Kiffin. And the indignation coming out of the Volunteer State is eclipsed only by the desperation of what I thought was the best job in college football. Between the weather, the Pac-10 scheduling, and smatterings of California coeds, no program could sell itself as effortlessly as Southern California football.

Kiffin continues to fail upwards like some sort of entertainment executive at NBC, and doing so in a way that makes landing the top job in Los Angeles almost appropriate. With USC waiting under the NCAA’s hammer, it seems that a guy that spent his one year of experience in FBS racking up minor violations wouldn’t be their guy.

And that’s just the thing. Nobody wanted that job. Jeff Fisher? No thanks. Steve Marriucci? Rolled to voicemail. Hell, Jack Del Rio decided to stayin Jacksonville. Whatever the hell was going on in LA, everyone’s aversion to the job says a lot about the state of that program, and probably gives a clue to why Pete Carroll was so eager to get the hell out of there in the first place.

UPDATE: Del Rio apparently is staying in Jacksonville. Until he gets fired next year, at least…

The former Southern Cal linebacker has about 15 million reasons to scoff at Southern Cal’s head coaching vacancy. That’s the amount of the buyout (over three years) from his contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who finished 7-9 this year in a fairly competitive AFC South division. But the Turds In Teal only won lost five of their last six, and Del Rio was thought to be interviewing for his job this week, despite the hefty price tag. Turns out that he was–in LA.

Of course, Del Rio will deny everything until the ink on his deal with Southern Cal is dry, and that’s fine. Everyone can get all worked up about how dishonest it is to lie about taking a job when you already have one, but that’s the game. Because saying that you’re going to leave one job without having another one locked down is stupid. Do we really expect these guys–who earn their keep by outsmarting the opposition–to do anything less?

Now, why Del Rio would skip out on $15 million for a Pac-10 program that’s about to be fist-fugged by the NCAA is anyone’s guess. Yes, it’s his alma mater, and even if it came under sanctions, it’s easily one of the ten best jobs in college football. Just don’t expect him to spell out his intentions to anyone with a tape recorder. That’s not the way that this game is played.