This game was close the entire way, but the difference was ultimately the level of play at the quarterback positions.

Sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley is solid and could be great someday, but he isn’t on the same level as Jake Locker.

USC’s pass defense could not slow down Locker, who finished with 310 yards passing and a touchdown.

Locker may have been even more unstoppable on the ground, finishing with 110 yards rushing to lead the Huskies.

The award is now vacated but could eventually be awarded to runner-up Vince Young of the Texas Longhorns.

It was weird for Bush to willingly give up the award considering he has claimed innocence all along.

It may simply be a situation where he saw the writing on the wall and just grew tired of the constant distraction.

It’s no secret that he has been crushed over the school’s decision to ban him from the campus and take down virtually anything that references him.

Just a week before, the USC offense carried the defense to a shootout victory over a mediocre Hawaii team.

Playing a rebuilding Virginia squad, it was suddenly the defense that took over to carry the team to a victory.

Quarterback Matt Barkley and the USC offense struggled to move the ball consistently and just didn’t look ready to play.

Maybe USC just tends to play to the level of their competition, but Lane Kiffin has to be less than enthused two weeks into the season.

USC jumped out to a big lead in the early going but then watched as Hawaii made it much closer than it should have been.

It was a tremendously disappointing effort from USC’s defense, one that did not please head coach Lane Kiffin.

Quarterback Matt Barkley was very impressive in passing for five touchdowns, although it wasn’t against a very good defense.

USC just seems happy to put all the offseason distractions behind them and squeeze out their first win of the year.

After losing scholarships and a shot at the postseason due to the Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo investigations, some players are transferring out of USC.

Some of those players leaving just so happen to be heading to Tennessee’s football program, which has raised some eyebrows.

Kiffin believes that the Volunteers are deliberately targeting his players to get them to leave as payback.

This looks like a fued that is only going to continue to heat up over the coming months and years.

Bush was investigated for gifts he received while at USC and whether he violated any NCAA rules.

It was determined that Bush did violate a number of NCAA rules and the team had to forfeit games.

The school was also ordered to cease any type of contact with Bush, essentially leaving him out to dry.

Bush said that he disagreed with the findings of the investigation and hopes his Heisman Trophy isn’t stripped from him as well. 

Their 2004 national championship could also be stripped from them, which would be a huge blow.

Bush and former basketball star O.J. Mayo allegedly received extra benefits for being athletes at the school.

The school is also expected to vacate all of their victories from the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

It will be a major blemish on the college coaching resume of Pete Carroll, who quickly left for the Seattle Seahawks as these allegations became more serious.

Lane Kiffin is set to help the program bounce back from a very disappointing 2010 season.

Kiffin has been very quiet so far, which is much different than his loud antics in just one year at Tennessee.

The head coach said things are much different at USC because you don’t need to create a stir about the program.

The school and program will recruit itself so long as he and his coaching staff get out there and talk to the players they want to bring in.

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin quickly took the job and began the process of heading out of Knoxville.

Kiffin has plenty of ties to USC, as he was an assistant on Pete Carroll’s staff before taking the head coaching job with the Oakland Raiders.

Kiffin was hired by the Volunteers just 14 months ago and was in the process of rebuilding the program.

He should be an outstanding recruiter out in an area with a ton of talent, so USC shouldn’t see much of a drop-off.

The head coach resigned so that he could sign a big contract to become the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

Carroll had just gone through a tumultuous year with the Trojans, so it was now or never if he was going to leave.

The team fell well short of expectations and there were a few investigations into off-the-field issues with athletes.

There were also reports that he wasn’t particularly getting along with the school’s administration.