By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
I know what observers are getting at when they say Reggie Bush deserves to keep his Heisman Trophy, that he won it because of his athletic prowess and not because he had some sort of unfair advantage resulting from the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
But when did it become a badge of honor to be a great athlete without the benefit of PEDs? Rules are rules, and if the Heisman Trust feels a violation of them is significant enough, then by all means, take Bush's trophy from him.
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And just because someone wasn't cycling, that doesn't mean there's no unfair advantage present. We hear way too often about off-field struggles of big-time college athletes, whether they're related to academics, crime or financial hardship in the family.
When a star athlete gets some preferential treatment to ease the burden on his family in one or more of those areas, that's an advantage for sure. It's been reported that Bush and his family received gifts and cash — maybe a home, maybe a car — while he was at USC, and though such benefits surely didn't help Bush run faster or score more touchdowns, it's an unfair advantage nonetheless.
No investigation has alleged such wrongdoings against former Texas star Vince Young, for example, yet there may have been a similar shortage of money in his family. Maybe Young had to somehow get from Austin to his hometown of Houston three hours away for a family emergency a few days before a game, yet without Bush-like perks, that could have been quite difficult if not impossible. And then he's left with an enormous amount of stress clouding his psychology when he's trying to prepare for Oklahoma or Nebraska, stress that Bush didn't have to deal with because his family seemed to be taken care of.
I realize the argument may seem thin at first glance, but if you give it some thought, it's not. Our culture, at least in the ultracompetitive and megamacho world of sports, doesn't recognize much that's not right in front of it. If you can't see it, it must not be there, right? Well, we didn't see the Bush family as gravy trainers in 2005, yet, five years later, that's all that we know about them.
BEST GAME: Don't buy the hype about this week's Alabama-Penn State game. The defending national champions, even without Mark Ingram and Marcel Dareus, will toy with the Nittany Lions. The best game of this weekend involves two national championship contenders. Miami at Ohio State is the one to watch this weekend.
GOOD LUCK TO WYOMING: Dealing with the death of one of their players in a car accident over the weekend, the Cowboys get No. 4 Texas Saturday, then No. 3 Boise State the following week. Tough stretch in Laramie.
BOISE NO LONGER CUTE: With Boise State's huge win over Virginia Tech last night, the Broncos are 5-1 in their last six games against teams from BCS conferences, and has won two straight BCS bowl games. Regardless of whether you think they should play for the national championship should they run the table, Boise is a nationally elite team. It is not a cute little project like college basketball fans thought Gonzaga was eight or 10 years ago. Just as the Zags have sustained their success and become a staple — not a side-show gag — among national powerhouses, Boise State, too, belongs at the grown-ups table.
MILES AWAY: LSU Coach Les Miles sent out a note on Twitter Sunday that read: "Woeojuwejhdjwe." Maybe it described his state of mind after the near collapse against North Carolina. Maybe it was an accident. It was removed a short time later.
CAROLINA BLUES: Speaking of UNC, you had to be impressed with the Tar Heels' effort in the second half. Butch Davis' squad was so decimated with those suspensions that I heard his nanny was next on the depth chart at a couple of positions.