DeflateGate: Fired USC manager tampered with game balls during Oregon-USC

Hey, NFL. You think this whole deflated ball scandal at the AFC Championship is unique, right? It’s weird, it took place in an important game, and it sure seems unusual and new.

Bad news -- like most great football things, college did it first.

- Gum placed in kickoff tees

- Players hiding steel plates under their jerseys like Bret Hart luring Goldberg into a trap

The Pac-12 has announced it’s fined USC $25,000 after a Trojans student manager deflated some of the game footballs below NCAA-regulated levels during the Oregon game. Even though USC has repeatedly denied it knew what was happening, rules were broken.

Officials discovered the under-inflated footballs during the game. Afterward, Pac-12 officials questioned USC about the incident. The student manager admitted to deflating the footballs after they had been checked and approved by game officials.

Lane Kiffin has broken many a rule in his time. From secondary violations aplenty at Tennessee to having a player switch jerseys to fool helpless Colorado and so on, it’s part of his thing. So when USC has to fire a student manager for deflating footballs below the allowed level, it is not at all unfair to wonder just how much Kiffin’s staff had to do with it, despite his own explanation and denial.

Especially when, according to CSN ...

USC Athletics released some curious news tonight. The program says it relieved a Trojan student manager after finding he’d deflated footballs at the USC-Oregon game below regulation level. Officials at the game discovered that several balls had to be re-inflated before the game and at halftime.

The Pac-12 has reprimanded USC for its actions and issued a fine. Though the university denies any knowledge of the manager’s plan, and has fired him as a result of his action, it’s still the latest in a string of weird incidents involving USC and broken rules. The student manager has also confessed that he acted alone and did not collaborate with anyone on the USC football team, whether it be athlete, coach, or support staff.