Speaking of Holtz, you must listen to Jim Rome's interview last month of former Nebraska standout Jason Peter. It's not so much an interview as Peter just going off on Holtz. It's a fabulous piece of radio and is posted on the site MVictors. Peter, who has a terrific book out titled "Hero of the Underground," is now a radio talkshow host at ESPN 1480 in Lincoln.

Unlike a lot of Heisman watches, my preseason list is intended to determine which players have the best chance of actually winning the trophy at season’s end. If a player does not have a realistic shot at winning the Heisman, he is not on this list.

Therefore, the following ranking is NOT a prediction of the eventual order of the voting (so calm down Gator fans), but a gauge of the strengths of each of the top candidates based on The Ten Heismandments. Other players who are not on this list will get votes and finish high in the race but won’t win.  I will put out top 10 updates predicting the order of the vote from time to time, but this is not one of those times.

I can say with extreme confidence that the Heisman winner will come from the following group of players. THESE ARE THE GUYS WITH THE BEST CHANCE! Here we go:

1. Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells, Jr., RB., Ohio State–A perfect candidate. A top talent from a traditional power that will compete for a national title. Has the schedule and the name recognition to run away with this. His stiff arm could be more famous than the trophy’s by season’s end.

2. Chase Daniel, Sr., QB, Missouri–Outside of Tim Tebow, he’s the top returning vote getter from last season. Well-known quarterback playing in an exciting offense and an emerging program. Will put up big numbers once again and could win the Heisman if the Tigers make a serious title run.

3. Patrick White, Sr., QB, West Virginia–Might end up as one of the biggest winners in college football history. Dangerous runner who could win the Heisman if he can up his passing stats and lead his team to yet another 11-win season.

4. Stafon Johnson, Jr., RB, USC–The last seven USC tailbacks to top 1,400 rushing yards at some point in their careers have either won the Heisman or finished second in the voting. Johnson looks like he may break out from a crowded running back corps and have that kind of year.

5. Percy Harvin, Jr., WR/RB, Florida–Can do-it-all when healthy. He’ll benefit from Tebow’s exposure and the explosiveness of the Gators offense. If he gets 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving, look out.

6. Colt McCoy, Jr., QB, Texas–If he can regain his freshman year form, he could be a top contender. Has added more rushing yards to his repertoire, but must cut down on his interceptions.

7. Keiland Williams, Jr., RB, LSU–With the LSU quarterback position unsettled, look for the Tigers to lean on Williams in the early going. That could mean a hot start and a chance to emerge as a serious Heisman candidate.

8. Graham Harrell, Sr., QB, Texas Tech–To have a chance at the Heisman, he basically has to break every single-season passing record in existence while leading TTU to the Big 12 title and beyond. If anyone can do it….

9. Matt Stafford, Jr., QB, Georgia–A top pro prospect who has yet to put it together for a whole season. Plays in a system that doesn’t produce big numbers, but could still get attention based on his team’s success.

10. Marlon Lucky, Sr., RB, Nebraska–Once upon a time, the Nebraska I-back was a shoo-in Heisman contender. But Lucky won’t get a single vote unless Nebraska somehow revives under Bo Pelini. If that happens, Lucky will probably be seen as one of the main reasons why. And Heisman voters may take notice.

You'd think -- considering Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Virginia all rank in top 15 schools for spending on recruiting athletes in all sports. In 2006-07, Tennessee led the nation at $2 million. The Irish were second at about $1.75 million, the Buckeyes 10th at $1,236,800, and the Cavs 15th at $1,112,000.

With most of the costs going to travel, the median Division 1 program spent $632,600 on sports recruiting in 2006-07. Twenty one schools spent over $1 million. The findings are published in a report from the Chronicle of Higher Education which is dated August 1, 2008.

USC spent $903,799 on recruiting in that same period, of which $268,449 was spent on women's recruiting.

Some other familiar football opponents made the top-20 in spending, including Auburn, Nebraska, Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Of the six BCS conferences, the Pac-10 spent the 5th most on recruiting, $834,700,000 -- an increase of 80% from ten years before. Oregon led the league at $1,077,300, 19th highest in the country.

A few highlights....

Champs Sports Bowl ... Virginia vs. Illinois
Meineke Car Care Bowl ... Florida State vs. Pitt
Texas Bowl ... Colorado vs. Rutgers
PetroSun Independence Bowl ... Nebraska vs. Arkansas
Alamo Bowl ... Michigan State vs. Kansas
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl ... Texas vs. Oregon
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl ... Wake Forest vs. Alabama
Chick-fil-A Bowl ... Boston College vs. South Carolina
Outback Bowl ... Michigan vs. LSU
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl ... Miami vs. Notre Dame
Capital One Bowl ... Penn State vs. Auburn
AT&T Cotton Bowl ... Oklahoma vs. Tennessee

Rose Bowl presented by Citi ... Wisconsin vs. USC
CFN is basically rubber stamping the winner of USC - Ohio State into the National Championship game. From the outcome of this prediction, I guess CFN is throwing in with the Buckeyes. This one looks dead on to me, unless USC ends up in the championship game, then this one becomes tOSU against the Sun Devils.

Allstate Sugar Bowl ... Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
By putting the Bulldogs into the Sugar, CFN is calling the WLOCP the defacto SEC championship. Take that as you will, Georgia fans. Va Tech looks like the class of the ACC, but CFN pulls them into the Sugar as an at-large. If there's one conference that has proven itself to be way to whacked out to predict, it's the ACC. I think Georgia/Arkansas are safe SEC picks, but give me Clemson from the ACC side.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl ... Missouri vs. West Virginia
The Fiesta gets its traditional first pick of the at-large teams and takes the 'Eers. I'm not sure that Missouri will be the Big XII champs. CFN is hedging, with Texas Tech as their second choice, but... I wouldn't count out the Sooners... ever. I think Oklahoma - West Virginia makes more sense.

FedEx Orange Bowl ... Clemson vs. Texas Tech
If there is one prediction that I think is off the mark, it's CFN's prognostication for the Orange. I would be willing to take the field here at any odds, because I don't see a Tigers - Red Raiders matchup in Miami. I think the Hokies are the most likely candidate here for the ACC, versus an at-large team. For my prediction, give me VaTech (ACC Champs) versus Arizona State (at-large) or maybe even Utah (at-large).

FedEx BCS National Championship ... Ohio State vs. Florida
The Buckeyes and Gators in the National Championship game... where have we seen that before? This one is just as likely to be USC-Florida, which would probably be the highest rated college football game ever. If Florida gets to the BCS title game and wins, I think you will have seen the last of #15 in orange and blue. Just sayin'.

Comment on CFN posts its 2008 Bowl Game Predictions...

A 14-foot-by-14-foot mural is being installed at the edge of the stadium's tunnel and will be visible to most of the crowd during football games. Dubbed "Tradition," the artwork features USC's mascot being ridden back from another championship at the Rose Bowl (symbolized by a bed of roses on the horse's back) and the Roman numerals for 1888 -- the year of USC's first football game.

This is the third large-scale sports mural done by local artist Mike Sullivan. Trojan faithful are sure to remember the Mario Danelo tribute he created last year at San Pedro High School. Posters of that mural can be seen hanging in a number of restaurants and other local venues, and proceeds from their sale have gone to the Mario Danelo Endowed Football Scholarship Fund.

"The greatest thing was talking to a couple of students at San Pedro High School, who said they may feel like things are against them, but they can look up and say, 'Hey, here's a guy who came from this school and these hallways and did something with his life,' " Sullivan said. "Hopefully that can inspire some of them."

Danelo was a USC football player from San Pedro who died shortly after USC's 2007 Rose Bowl victory.

Sullivan also created a Pat Tillman memorial at Arizona State University. He has at least 15 more murals scheduled in the coming year at places such as Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska. Most are football related, but UCLA will be getting one honoring its basketball team and Coach John Wooden. Asked if he has a favorite team, Sullivan joked that even though he's a huge sports fan, "We didn't have a really good football program at art college! I'm kinda neutral."

A mural series in Laguna Beach gave Sullivan the inspiration to create sports murals at stadiums. After developing an initial concept for each piece, Sullivan spends two to three weeks painting before having the design transferred onto tile for a two- or three-day installation. The tiles are supposed to be maintenance-free and create a dramatic lighting effect under sun or night lights. "They photograph well," he added.

The official dedication at the Coliseum will be at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, just before kickoff of Trojan Huddle, USC's annual spring football game. USC football alums Paul MacDonald and Anthony Davis will be on hand, along with Traveler.

Poster versions of the mural are available online and should be in retail locations (such as the USC bookstore) soon. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the USC Alumni Assn., which is an important element of Sullivan's art. "When we do these murals with the colleges, we really try to develop a relationship with the alumni association, with the bookstore, and other people at the university to create a fundraising aspect."

Sullivan's own path to college took an interesting twist. "An art teacher submitted my portfolio to an art college without telling me, and I won a scholarship to an art college in Detroit."

You may have seen Sullivan's work before and not realized it. Early on, he did graphics and animation for Sega and Nintendo. Today, he's the official artist for "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" on FSN.

To see photos of the installation, click here.

When USC and UCLA tipoff today at the Staples Center it will be the first time the two programs have ever faced each other in the Pac-10 Tournament. It may also be the last time you see the school bands at a hoops rivalry game. Earlier this year, UCLA ended a long tradition by refusing to invite the Spirit of Troy to Pauley Pavilion. They also declined to send their own band to the Galen Center.

Whether you're watching in person or on TV, make sure to enjoy the sounds of the Trojan Marching Band. If you've got some time, check out their 2007 Year-In-Review (after the jump), which chronicles an impressive 452 engagements and 47,677 miles traveled. It's amazing how much work goes into their performances around the nation. Maybe they deserve an invite back across town.

Thanks to Assistant Director Brett Padelford for passing this along from the Spirit of Troy:

2007 was another record-breaking year for the Hardest Working Marching Band in the History of the Universe.  This year???s theme was probably ???the road??? as the band traveled 47,677 miles (or the equivalent of nearly two times around the world) on the way to gigs and USC Athletics events.  To understand how the Trojan Marching Band fits all the traveling, performing, and practicing in a single year, here is a road trip through 2007.

ANY USC CONTEST, ANYWHERE

USC Athletics is the TMB???s top priority and band members will travel anywhere to support the Trojan teams.  In 2007, the band attended 92 USC Athletic events supporting 15 sports, including track & field, water polo, and crew.  Band members traveled 25,797 miles in the process while logging 1,035 hours (or more than 43 days) at the games or in transit.   

Of course, football comes first and the TMB???s streak of consecutive games attended ??? home or away ??? passed 250 this year at the Coliseum versus Stanford.  Currently, after the 2008 Rose Bowl, the band???s remarkable run ??? which started in 1987 ??? rests at 259.

During the 2007 season, the band logged 13,083 miles following the football team to Nebraska, Washington, Indiana, Arizona, and up north to Berkeley for the Weekender. Among The Spirit of Troy???s other destinations this year for sports were Spokane, Washington and East Rutherford, New Jersey with the men???s basketball team for the NCAA tournament and College Station, Texas for the women???s soccer team???s national championship victory in the College Cup.  The TMB also traveled to the men???s NCAA Water Polo Championship and women???s Volleyball Championship, both in Northern California.

ALWAYS ANOTHER GIG

When not at a game, the TMB can usually be found on its way to a gig.  ???Gigs??? are any band performance that???s not for a USC athletic event, whether it???s a wedding, a university event, a birthday party, a media appearance, or a corporate meeting.  The band performed 360 gigs in 2007 or nearly one per day while traveling 21,880 miles and spending 1,412 3???4 hours (or nearly 59 days) on the road or at gigs.  Most of the band???s events each year are performed by the small ???10-Piece Band.???  Of the band???s 360 gigs, the 10-Piece performed 280 of them.

Some of the band???s more interesting gigs this year included the opening of Star Wars Celebration IV at the Los Angeles Convention Center, a pre-NFL draft party for USC Wide Receiver Dwayne Jarrett at a Hollywood nightclub, a photo shoot for a portable audio recorder print ad, and a playoffs rally for the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium.

In 2007, the band appeared at 48 weddings (plus 1 engagement party, 1 wedding shower, and 2 wedding anniversaries), 34 birthday parties, 12 graduation parties, 8 golf tournaments, 6 retirement parties, and 4 bar mitzvahs.  The TMB also performed at 7 corporate events in 2007 for clients like the Walt Disney Company, Russell Athletic, and Neiman Marcus.  Non-profit organizations were very important too as the band attended 30 charity events for such causes as the Special Olympics, March of Dimes, and the Junior Blind of America, to name a few.

HOLLYWOOD???S BAND

The TMB is not called ???Hollywood???s Band??? just because the big studios are right down the street.  No, the band earns this title every year with all the work it does in front of the camera.  In 2007 alone, the band participated in 13 major media events including Jeopardy!, The 2007 ESPY Awards, ???til Death, Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer, and Last Comic Standing.  In July, the band was flown back to the ESPN Campus in Bristol, Connecticut to perform for the debut of ESPN???s College Football Live.  The band was also asked to appear on 3 local morning news shows in 2007, only 1 of which was in Los Angeles.  The other two were KHQ in Spokane, Washington and CW31 in Sacramento, California.

A TYPICALLY BUSY FALL WEEKEND

Fall weekends are the busiest for The Spirit of Troy because its many different commitments all come together at once.  For example, during the weekend of the USC vs. Oregon game in Eugene, the band performed 16 gigs from Thursday through Sunday with numerous segments of the band out on Saturday (whether back home in Los Angeles or in Eugene). The sophomore class got to the game on the road, leaving after practice on Thursday night and enduring 1,768 miles and 24 hours on a bus.  Earlier that day, a 10-Piece band traveled up north with an alumni group on the train and played at 6 stops on the way to Portland.  Meanwhile, after the game on Saturday, the band back home broke into a 10-Piece band that did two gigs, a 40-Piece band for the KIIS-FM Homecoming Concert in Anaheim, and a 30-Piece for a women???s volleyball game at the Galen Center, making five different segments of the band out at once.  After three more 10-Pieces on Sunday and including the USC Athletics events, the band had tallied 19 engagements over four days along with 7 hours of practice.

2007 BY-THE-NUMBERS

• Total engagements for the band (Gigs & USC Athletic events): 452
• Total distance traveled by the band: 47,677 miles (or about 10 roundtrips between LA & New York)
• Scheduled practices, sectionals and meetings: 210
• Time spent by band members at practices, sectionals, and meetings:  422 1???4 hours
• Total time spent by band members at gigs, practices, & athletic events: 2,870 hours or nearly 120 days
• Length of band camp in August: 10 days
• Practice time during band camp: 67 hours
• Most gigs performed in a week: 23 (the week of USC???s graduation)
• Overnight trips taken: 21
• States visited: 11
• Farthest traveled: Bristol, Connecticut
• Requests for the band to appear at events: 636
• Events in 2008 requested in 2007: 74

We’re heartbroken. The Orgeron Era can’t die. He just…he just can’t. He’s big, tough, and aggressive, just like a Hummer! He’s gettin’ pelts on da rakrootin’ trail! He gotta da Jevan Snead a-comin intah da Oxfahd fo-a throwing da heapah touchdowns in 2008!

In all seriousness, this is sad as hell. We’re left looking through the scrapbook now, watching the photos bubble up under our tears.

Just one more time, for old times sake. Play it Jo-Jo. YOU PLAYED IT FOR HIM, NOW PLAY IT FOR US. (Slams fist down drunkenly, tears gleaming in our eyes.) Play it again, Jo-Jo.

We imagine Robert Khayat did this over the phone, since you’d have to engrave the Orgeron’s name on magical shackles a la Hellboy to restrain him before telling him he couldn’t come back to work in person. They’d have to call in Rasputin for the whole thing.

This leaves the pesky question of who will take the Ole Miss job. Exquisitely timed as always, Ole Miss has fired a coach just in time to compete against Texas A&M, Michigan, Nebraska, and god knows what other larger, more monied programs will fire their coaches in the next ten minutes–not to mention the vacancies gaping after the guys who fill those positions leave their current positions.

America is bored with USC's success.

After limping into their first game of 2007 without four starters and still winning by four touchdowns, the Trojans lost three first-place votes in the AP poll.

Next, USC dismantled Nebraska, prompting a popular football blog to run a headline reading "USC Continues Boring, Humdrum Perfection."

An abysmal run against Washington, Stanford, and Arizona quickly brought the juggernaut back to Earth. USC didn't even crack the top 25 in some computer standings.

So the Trojans responded, with their backup quarterback, by going into Notre Dame Stadium and torching the Irish for the biggest USC victory in the history of the venerable series.

The coaches poll responded in their own way -- by leap-frogging Arizona State, which didn't even play that week, ahead of the Trojans.

The only consistent thing about USC this year has been their slide. A lot of people around the country may be enjoying this, but maybe, just maybe, USC fans can enjoy it, too.

A couple if days ahead of the USC-Oregon matchup, the Trojans are a three-point underdog. It's not a position they're accustomed to. The last time USC wasn't favored against a conference opponent was six years ago. Things were different back then. USC was still a year away from being a Cinderella, much less a Godzilla, of college football.

Let's rewind. Nov. 11, 2001 was one heck of a football game.

To set the scene, USC had finished last in the Pac-10 in 2000. Their leader at the time earned the nickname "Coach-Whose-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Spoken" on Internet message boards. Much to the chagrin of Trojan faithful, he was replaced by NFL-retread Pete Carroll. It looked like things had gone from bad to worse. A certain local paper ("El Tiempos De Los Angeles," or something like that) ran scathing criticism of his hiring. Months later, the Trojans opened the 2001 season 1-4. Across town, UCLA was 6-0. Ranked fourth in the polls, the Sons of Westwood weren't just sniffing a Rose Bowl, but a national title.

When the Bruins sauntered into the Coliseum on Nov. 11, nobody was expecting much from the Trojans -- certainly not the oddsmakers. USC had improved since its rough start, but UCLA was out for redemption after falling to 20th in the polls. USC was nowhere near the top 25.

88,588 screaming fans packed the Coliseum. The crowd was rowdy from the start (they still served alcohol back then) and chanted "D-U-I, D-U-I," as Bruin quarterback Cory Paus took the field. News reports broke two days earlier about his second DUI charge of the year. It was the first time I saw a real home-field advantage for USC in two seasons.

Carroll's defense imposed themselves with what can only be described as domination: 114 yards allowed, 5 sacks, 4 fumbles (1 recovered), 3 interceptions, and 0 points. It was his first career shutout, and the 27-0 spanking of their crosstown rivals sent USC into a bowl game for the first time in three years.

One other thing stood out. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, hundreds of students stormed the field.

USC fans -- storming the field?

It seems difficult to fathom now. USC is such a powerhouse it wouldn't be appropriate under almost any circumstance. Greg Patton of the Riverside Press-Enterprise firmly believes that USC can only be Goliath, never David.

So does that mean the Trojans of today are immune to the unbridled joy of a thrilling upset? Of course, there are moments when the impossible becomes statistical (2005: USC 34, Notre Dame 31), but what about a real soul-satisfying shocker? A sensation that bandwagon fans, by definition, never get to experience?

When USC takes the field in Autzen this Saturday, hard-core fans will feel something they're unaccustomed to. Whether you want to call it doubt, fear, uncertainty or something else, it's not pleasant when their team has been on top of the world for so many years.

So even if USC is Goliath, don't tell me that Trojan fans won't be celebrating a little more than usual if they get this "upset." Their faces will flush a little more cardinal. Their victory will be a little more golden.

Sure, it can't measure up to Nov. 11, 2001 (maybe I'm looking back through Rose-colored glasses), but try to enjoy this, Trojan fans.

And even if you don't get the upset this Saturday, it just means another one is coming up.

That's what makes this sport great.

For example. Pete Carroll dropped news today that would have been news anywhere else: that tailback C.J. Gable’s season is over due to season-ending groin surgery. (Anytime someone comes at your groin with knives, it’s definitely the end of something.) Add this news to the transfer of Emmanuel Moody to Florida, Stafon Johnson’s ongoing issues with a bruised foot, and the fact that Chauncey Washington can’t feel his right shoulder, and this might be a point of concern to any other school.

Fortunately, USC’s backups have backups that fart lightning and sweat pure liquid awesome into their silken robes of excellence. Sophomore Allen Bradford will get the start, and he gets to run behind the line that does this…

…against Nebraska. This week, they’re playing a team without their starting quarterback, Stanford, who’s coached by a guy who pissed off Carroll by suggesting he was leaving for the NFL after the ‘07 season, Jim “Wash Your Hands” Harbaugh.

Not that Pete’s sweating it. He’s just finishing up a great, just a great mesclun and wild salmon salad before a little gym time and then practice. He’s really, really jacked about the whole thing, and proud to tell you that, and proud to be so boringly perfect that the number 2 team is cutting through the waters of a season so placid they’ve scarcely raised nary a ripple on the surface of the national sea of consciousness.

Then, like a plane flying into the Bermuda-triangle, C.J. Gable disappeared completely off the radar.