Reggie Bush: Will The Bush vs. USC Feud Derail the Saints This Season?

Reggie Bush and the USC Trojans are attacking each other in the media and it does not seem to be going away anytime soon. The question is will this affect the Saints as they make a run to try and repeat this year?

The Top Ten online sportsbooks have posted the Saints odds to win the Super bowl at 9 to 1 and Bet Mania has a win total over/under set at 10.5. These odds can change along the way if Reggie Bush or the Saints are distracted.

The Super bowl is something that the Saints can come close to achieving but they don’t need distractions along the way.

In the first preseason game of the year, Bush ran for 17 yards on five carries to include scoring a touchdown. From the way he looked in the preseason game, it would be easy to deduct that the off field feud with USC is not bothering Bush or the Saints.

However Bush has already commented on the situation on more than one occasion. One constant theme he keeps repeating is how bad the situation is and how much it bothers him.

In late July after discovering the allegations and the penalties that were being put on the football program at USC, Bush had this to say. “This thing, regarding USC and the NCAA, is the closest thing to death without dying because I have such a great love and respect for the university,” Bush said. “This has been one the toughest things I’ve had to deal with in my life.”

Ten days later, Bush proclaimed that he would focus on football, but was still bothered by the way that USC has separated Bush from the university.

“I think I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” Bush said. “Obviously, it does, but at the end of the day it is what it is. All I can really do now is focus on the New Orleans Saints and just try to move on. It bothers me and it sucks. The whole situation is terrible and nobody feels worse about it than I do.

Recently Reggie Bush called Southern California athletic director Pat Haden and Haden told USA today that Bush never apologized. “Never did he say I’m sorry or I apologize,” Haden told the L.A. Times. “Never did he say, ‘I lied to the NCAA or I took stuff.’”

This story is not going away and it may be an issue for a long time to come. Regardless of what he has said publicly, it is obvious this affects Reggie Bush.  It is not yet obvious if it will affect his game play, but if it does the Saints could suffer as a team.

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