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The USC Trojans have just learned that they have been banished from post-season play for the next two college football seasons, thanks in large part to the way that boosters, school officials and those close to the team handled Reggie Bush. Problems with O.J. Mayo’s single year at the school also contributed to the ban, but the football program has been smacked hard in the face. Suddenly we know exactly why Pete Carroll decided to leave his high throne at USC for the Seattle Seahawks.

The USC Trojans were recently listed with +1200 odds to win the BCS championship, behind the Ohio State Buckeyes and Alabama Crimson Tide, who served a similar ban from post-season play in 2003. Now, all bets are off when it comes to this football team’s dreams for the next two seasons.

A lot of people were caught off guard when the Seahawks suddenly swooped in and snatched up Pete Carroll from the Trojans. After winning seven Pac-10 Championships during his head coaching tenure, it seemed unimaginable that any coach would want to leave such a favorable position at such a highly regarded football program. Why would anyone bolt the sunny shores of Southern California for the dreary grey of Seattle?

Well I guess now we understand why he made the move. New head coach Lane Kiffin will have to find ways to motivate the USC Trojans without any real reward in sight for a team he inherited from Carroll’s staff. What will make that journey even more difficult is that he will lose 30 scholarships (10 per year for three years) as part of the NCAA’s punishment. Without dangling a “We can contend for the BCS Championship” carrot out there for would-be Trojans, the recruiting process for Kiffin gets even more stringent and desperate without that free tuition money sitting in the bank.

The ripple effect from this ban extends beyond Kiffin and the USC Trojans. Alumni Reggie Bush may very well lose his Heisman Trophy as the NCAA has deemed him ineligible for the 2004 season when he won the esteemed award. Adding a Super Bowl ring while stripping Bush of the highest personal achievement he may ever garner is a biting kick to the groin, but it certainly would be appropriate given the back alley shenanigans this program tried to get away with.

No conference has undergone such a swift transformation as the Pac-10 this week. The USC Trojans can stand to spoil a few seasons here and there, but they will be crippled by students wanting to get a BCS Championship elsewhere. I’d be very surprised to see Matt Barkley play out his two years at USC with no hope of ever winning a national title.

Oregon, which won the Pac-10 title and regular season title last year with a 10-3 SU record stands to make the biggest gain, but even they have jettisoned their starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for behavior detrimental to the team. Joining Oregon and USC in the Pac-10 this year will be the University of Colorado, who plan on causing a ruckus in the shuffling division.

This may seem like a very harsh punishment for any program, but it certainly sends a very strong message to all schools. Cheaters can apparently prosper, but no school, no matter how much money they make for the league, the school or its boosters is out of the law’s long, cold reach.

The newly-arrived BCS National Championship odds in the BetUS sportsbook means we are just three short months away from college football’s kickoff and the onslaught of ladder climbing that is the BCS Championship race.

This will be a transition year for the college ranks, and for fans as well, as big names like Tebow, McCoy, Bradford and Clausen matriculate to the NFL level.

So where do the big programs rank in our college football betting futures?

The 2010 defending champions reign supreme as the clear favorite already. The Alabama Crimson Tide stand heads and shoulders above all others at +375 odds to win the BCS Championship.

This should be no surprise to anyone, especially with quarterback Greg McElroy and Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram returning under Nick Saban’s wing.

Challenging the Crimson Tide in the SEC will be the Florida Gators, who will still have Urban Meyer, but will be without the devilish powers of Tim Tebow. John Brantley, who will be a junior, will likely win out at camp to become the successor to Tebow, but he has extremely big shoes to fill.

Florida’s +1800 odds are spot on the money. They’ll be competitive, but they’re a huge unknown on the landscape.

The second favorite on the board will most likely get more chuckles from the betting public than action. The Ohio State Buckeyes check in at +500 odds to win the BCS Championship, and hope that they can keep the steam from their Rose Bowl victory over Oregon piping away.

The return of Terrell Pryor, a 6-foot-6 and 235 pound playmaking quarterback, certainly helps bolster the hopes of the Buckeyes betting faithful. It’s up to Jim “The Sweater Vest” Tressel to prove his naysayers wrong and there would be no better way than to rub the doubters’ faces in a crystal trophy at year’s end.

The big boys from the Big 12 that will be butting heads seem to be the Texas Longhorns (+1400) and Oklahoma Sooners (+1500), both of whom lost their star quarterbacks. In a strange turn of events, both schools got previews of the future as Oklahoma’s Landry Jones went 6-4 SU in place of Bradford.

Their biggest completion will come from the Texas Longhorns, who lost Colt McCoy in last year’s BCS Championship game in the first quarter, and then lost him to the NFL Draft. McCoy’s heir apparent, Garret Gilbert, put up what many see as a heroic performance under tremendous pressure throwing 186 yards, 2 touchdowns and 4 picks on 15-of-40 in his place.

Both Jones and Gilbert will be under the microscope as the definitive head liners, yet both are still a year away from making the kind of impact their predecessors did. Still, I know nothing I say will deter you Big 12 betting investors from lumping in on those big odds to win the BCS Championship.

No team on the board is under going more change, however, than the USC Trojans were are being pegged with +1200 odds. Matt Barkley will return to the fold at quarterback, but he’ll be getting signals from a brand new head coach. Lane Kiffin backhanded Tennessee and stepped in to fill the sudden void left by new Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

Who needs to wait until September to make your first college football wager of the 2010 season?

Instead why not head over to the Sports book, where you can already place futures bets on who’ll win the BCS National Championship.

In previous editions we looked at the favorites, as well as the next tier. Well today, let’s look at some true long shots.

Florida (+1800): For the first time in four years, the great, Tim Tebow will no longer be on campus for the University of Florida. But just because he’s gone doesn’t mean that the Gators aren’t still loaded.

In Tebow’s place will step John Brantley, a former high school All-American, who received rave reviews during this past spring practice. He’ll be flanked by maybe the best offensive line in the country, one that returns four starters, including arguably the best center in the country in Mike Pouncey. On the outside, Jeff Demps, who rushed for 745 yards last fall will return, and will be the primary ball carrier.

The one thing the Gators can’t control is a schedule that sees them go to Tennessee, Alabama and Florida State, as well as play Georgia on a neutral field. Although looking at this logically, the Gators should be favored in every game except when they play the Crimson Tide.

Look, Florida will certainly have to overcome a lot to hoist the BCS National Championship trophy, but making futures bets is about finding value where no one else does. And there might not be a better value than the Florida Gators.

Iowa (+1800): It’s easy to forget now, but had Ricky Stanzi not fallen to an injury late in the season, the Hawkeyes may have gone undefeated and won the Big 10 championship.

Either way, Stanzi is back on campus for his senior year, and if healthy, this could be the most dangerous team in the conference. Stanzi threw for 2417 yards in 2009, including a phenomenal Orange Bowl victory where he completed 17 of 29 passes for 231 yards and two scores. Remember too that Iowa welcomes back a trio of running backs with big time experience, sophomores Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher (who combined for over 1400 yards last season) and Jewel Hampton who was supposed to be the starter before missing all of 2009 with a knee injury.

The Hawkeyes are also the beneficiaries of a favorable schedule that sees them play Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State all at home. With odds of +1800, Iowa might be the best bet on the board.

Miami (FL) (+2000): Is “The U,” finally back to being a major player on the college football scene? Indeed they might be.

Miami welcomes back a number of key players, including their do-it-all quarterback Jacory Harris who tossed for 3352 yards last year (although he needs to cut down on his 17 interceptions) and leading receiver Leonard Hankerson. It remains to be seen if running back Graig Cooper can play in 2010 however, after he suffered a major knee injury in last December’s Champs Sports Bowl.

Either way, we’ll know whether the Canes are legit or not within the first month of the season, as they travel to Ohio State (Very likely a top five team), Pittsburgh and Clemson by the end of the first weekend in October.