College Football: What Happens to College Football Landscape If USC Wins Appeal?

As USC and its fans wait…and wait…and wait for the NCAA to finally render its decision on the Trojans' appeal, it gives cause to pause and consider the unthinkable.

What if the Trojans actually win their appeal?

Before you say it, I know.

Hardly anyone ever wins an appeal with the NCAA.

But what if they do?

How would that decision change the landscape of college football and the NCAA’s enforcement of their policies?

Well, for one, it would signal a willingness on the NCAA’s part to reconsider the arbitrary process college football's governing body uses to punish those they consider having committed rules violations.

After all, last year rules violations committed by Ohio State and suspect behavior by Cam Newton and Auburn has brought to the forefront violations that were at least on a par with the violations that USC was accused of.

If the NCAA were to rule on the Trojan appeal favorably, it would send a message, intended or not, that if those transgressions committed by other programs were not worthy of severe punishment, then why should USC’s sanctions be so severe?

Now, it should be understood that this is not how the NCAA would spin it

No, they would be much more likely to talk about the changes USC has made in their compliance office and the great lengths that Pat Haden, USC’s new athletic director, has gone to in order to make sure the Trojans followed the rules.

Whatever.

The truth of the matter is that even as this piece is being written, college football and its fans, by and large, understand the hypocrisy of the NCAA’s punishment of USC when compared to violations committed by other programs.

In essence, a favorable ruling for the Trojans by the NCAA would just be a face saving maneuver by a governing body whose enforcement of their policies is now, and always has been, arbitrary.

Because of the NCAA’s refusal to dispense punishment in an organized, accountable manner, there is not much chance that things will change in terms of how they will administer college football and enforce its rules.

In the final analysis, will college football change if USC wins its appeal with the NCAA?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is because it won't change, college football will continue to be at the mercy of a governing body whose primary concern is protecting its own image rather than doing what is best for the sport it is supposed to protect.

Sadly, college football and its fans will continue to be the losers in the long run.

And that means no one wins.