USC Trojans and Tennessee Volunteers: The Epic Battle Waiting To Happen

Superman and Lex Luthor, cat and dog, fire and water, these are but a few examples that cross our mind when we think of arch enemies. It is the collision of equal and opposite forces reacting to each other in a violent explosion of animosity. You can parallel this into almost any confrontation, and college football is the best example.

At this very moment you can Google Tennessee, USC, Lane Kiffin, or Derek Dooley and come up with an infinite amount of topics that will lead you in every direction. The most intriguing is the 800lb gorilla in the room beating its chest, screaming for a matchup between Tennessee and USC (Southern Cal).

Opposite coasts are already boasting the outcome. Tennessee’s stance is more reserved, it has its powerhouse status to protect along with the SEC’s reputation, which at this point is somewhat shaky, at least where Tennessee is concerned. The Vols have been somewhat decimated with the last five year’s occurrences.

There are plenty of reasons ranging from depth to young inexperienced players, and finally three head coach changes in as many years, that would keep Tennessee from wanting to play the talent-rich Trojans, while USC would like nothing better than to make an example of the weakened Volunteers to shut up the SEC once and for all.

The Trojans in fact are at this stage more prepared to take on the likes of Tennessee. Carroll didn’t exactly leave the Trojans scraping the bottom of the barrel refilling its roster, nor did Kiffin have to go on a nationwide hunt to staff all of the coaching positions. It’s already been rumored that if the wind blows just right the Trojans are only faced with two, maybe three, tough games on their schedule and the PAC-10 is theirs for the taking, lining them up for another BCS bowl.

The Vols however are as described before, in no position to compete for anything except pride.

On Jan. 12, Kiffin officially told the world he was home, and would take over for his mentor Pete Carroll, and bring forth another decade of Trojan football. His statements at the microphone were noticeably less animated, but no less sincere than his previous remarks as he took the helm at Tennessee. The people of USC have noticed and they’re all smiles.

Compared to last season's outlandish bravado, Lane Kiffin is hauntingly quiet now, barely suggesting that he has rolled up his sleeves. With the task at hand of re-establishing USC as not only the PAC-10 ruler, but a crystal trophy contender as well, Carroll’s young replacement busies himself and Trojans will expect results quickly; much like the Volunteers will look for from Dooley, Kiffin’s successor, at Tennessee.

Kiffin can boast an arsenal of athletic talent, and elite coaches he's collected, that includes his father Monte, the "Confucious" if you will, of defensive coordinators, offensive line guru James Cregg, secondary genius Willie Mack Garza, and the mysterious acquisition of quarterbacks coach Clay Helton. You then pause as Ed Ogeron swaggers in to view with a smile that sheepishly suggests anything but the friendliness he portrayed in The Blindside.

From Tennessee's point of view, there is nothing friendly about anything associated with Lane Kiffin, oddly it's really by proxy that USC now shares in the Volunteer's hatred for their one-time coach. For the Volunteers, USC was just a blip on the radar of a long list of BCS competitors as it seemed they would never face each other, save for a bowl appearance under lottery-like conditions.

On Jan. 15, in the shade of the Smokey Mountains, the Vol's nursed their wounds and brooded over the defection, and the implied insult from Kiffin's departure. They wondered at their new athletes disappearing, hoped that help would arrive soon, and pondered whether that help would be vaguely reminiscent of Phillip Fulmer or be a hurtful reminder of Kiffin. Then, before anyone could utter "why," Derek Dooley's name was written into the Volunteers history as its new head coach.  

At the podium he stood gesturing at Neylands Maxims, reciting key points of their shared work ethics, with a perfect and very audible southern drawl, while the scorned athletic director Mike Hamilton stood by nervously contemplating a quick getaway.

Almost immediately a "Derek Dooley glaze" clouded the Volunteer's eyes, and like a hot bowl of chicken-noodle soup Derek Dooley made the Vol's feel better. With a depleted staff and athletes absconding right and left Dooley somehow saved a top 10 recruiting class and lured in Boise State's defensive maniac Justin Wilcox.

Like the cool hand on a fevered brow Big Orange believed it would all be okay, and with that feeling vengeance appeared in their eyes, thinking of a day when certain paths might cross, but not too soon.

It has been slightly different for the faithful Trojans.

Carroll departed for the Seahawks as NCAA trench coats appeared around campus. For the span of a heartbeat, panic was in the air. Then on a gloomy ESPN broadcast, Lane Kiffin announced his intentions of leaving Tennessee to take over as the new head coach of the USC Trojans "...the No. 1 job in the country." The Trojans barely blinked, they knew Kiffin was coming back to where he belonged.

From that day on orange-hate has, and continues, to follow Kiffin. In true testament of USC pride the Trojans have rushed to defend their new and well-known herald. Claiming with definitive cognition that he had always been a Trojan, no matter how many waste-water facilities (poo plants) were named in his honor.

Time has passed and the angst felt by both sides have subsided somewhat, but an overall uneasiness still arises with the mere mention of the opposite coastal poles.

In the Volunteer state, people will still look at you as if you are the lowest of lows at the mere mention of the slightest advocacy for Kiffin, or his return to the Trojans.

In California the whole story is usually ensued by snickering, with several remarks about hillbillies, rednecks, and sore losers.

Much like the old days of Alabama and Penn State, they will wait until the schoolyard is crowded enough, more of a crowd to bear witness, and then they will happily offer themselves up for battle. There won't really be a need for provocation either; eyes are now gleaming at the slightest possibility.

Will it be an aerial war between two star QBs? Will it be a battle of defensive genius, young versus old? Maybe both sides could meet one other evenly matched as God intended. They then proceed to pummel each other until the field turns to dust and blood; it’s what we all want.

For the moment USC is holding the better hand and Tennessee will have to wait until their team matures to effectively challenge Kiffin and the Trojans. Tennessee and USC will play each other very, very soon and when that takes place it will be the equivalent of World War III.

The only question that remains is which team will emerge victorious.