Former Trojans head coach Pete Carroll says he’s “absolutely shocked” about the sanctions that were recently levied by the NCAA against USC’s football program, which include a two-year postseason ban and the loss of 30 scholarships over the next three years.

Here’s the video:

Like most kids growing up, I used to hide things from my parents. Progress reports, poor test grades, and of course, the occasional Playboy or two. (Stop it – you know you hid them, too.)

Granted, I was often successful in hiding these items from my folks. But hiding a crumbled up Playboy is a little easier than sneaking free hotel stays, rent-free homes, suits and limousines past my parents.

In other words: How the hell didn’t Carroll and USC know that Reggie Bush was getting free crap? How did they not know that several of his family members were staying in rent-free homes, or that he rode in a limousine wearing a brand new suit when he accepted the Heisman in New York in December of 2005?

You can sneak a lot of things by unsuspecting people, but not on a college campus and not when the program’s most recognizable player is involved.

Even if Pistol Pete didn’t know, someone had to. Someone had to have seen what was going on. Are you telling me that a jealous player didn’t see everything Bush was getting and not tell other people? Come on – word travels fast, I don’t care what the situation is.

I refuse to believe that USC was completely oblivious to what was going on when Bush was there. And as so many people have pointed out over the last couple of days, it’s hardly a coincidence that Carroll agreed to head back to the NFL during the same year that USC was punished.