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Manti Te’o. It’s a name we’ve associated with honor and passion for the game of football. A name intertwined with a strong faith, fearless leadership and triumph over adversity. It’s a name that many have said embodies the values of Notre Dame football. It’s the name of a man who willed his team to an improbable 12-0 regular season record and BCS Championship Game berth. And yet, here we are, just 11 days after the end of his college career, finding ourselves questioning everything we’ve ever thought of Te’o.

Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey of Deadspin released one of the most in-depth investigative reports ever released from outside of major sports media, as they pieced together the story of Te’o's now infamous fake dead girlfriend.

It’s prompted media scrutiny on themselves. It’s had teammates, friends, students, administrators and fans scratching their hands and asking who’s been duped: America or Te’o? They’re all valid questions and thoughts in the aftermath of the breaking of the story.

But out west, Te’o has long served as an example of misfire. A moment when the USC brand lost out to Notre Dame’s values and faith. With the story now public, it poses the question, what would have happened had Te’o come to Los Angeles, as he wanted, and played for USC?

Fans have long used Te’o's decision to go to Notre Dame over USC as a crutch. It’s been an overused narrative, coupled with the departure of Jarvis Jones, based on every argument’s two favorite words: ‘what if’.

But now, with Lennay Kekua discovered to be as real as Art Vandelay, is the USC narrative twisted? Well, it’s hard to say.

It’s easy to say that now, using the happenings of a star player and the happenings at Notre Dame, and transposing them in a vaacum and recreating them at USC. If that’s possible, then yes, it’s good for the Trojans that Te’o didn’t put on a cardinal and gold hat back in 2009.

But, the reality is that the factors of Te’o living in Los Angeles would change everything.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the alleged mastermind behind Kekua, is from Lancaster. The ex-high school classmate that he used as his visual representation of Kekua, lives in Torrance. Kekua was said to be attending Stanford.

Had Te’o played at USC, a long-distance relationship with Kekua would have been awfully easy to maintain, yet rather simple to debunk, given the relatively short drive from Los Angeles to Palo Alto.

It wouldn’t have taken long for Te’o to smell a rat and figure out that he was being deceived. Or, at least that would be considered to be a safe assumption to make.

With Deadspin reporting that Te’o and Tuiasosopo visited with each other when the Irish came to Los Angeles in November, it’s safe to say that the two would have had somewhat frequent encounters. With Tuiasosopo doubling as Kekua, there’s more possibilities for a failed plan with Te’o so close.

Then, of course, there’s the pictures. Could a Torrance woman really pass off as Manti Te’o's girlfriend even though she’s never met him or heard of him? The odds would say that a viral picture of a local woman would likely be spotted and tipped to the Los Angeles media, even if Te’o would have been a less-prominent star in Los Angeles than he was in South Bend.

There’s just too many factors that make the hoax seem as though it would be a long shot if it took place at USC. If the hoax doesn’t happen at Notre Dame, much less USC, the narrative remains.

The reality is that as long as the hoax muddies Te’o's name, some will sleep better at night thinking of how Te’o's tenure at Notre Dame saved USC from the embarrassment of the story. And the reality of that, is that that’s still a misguided assumption.

Unless, of course, you’re a believer of the latest Te’o theory, which alludes to Kekua’s creation as a cover up of homosexuality, as vaguely alluded to by Mike Freeman of CBS. Those sentiments remain to be purely conjecture, pitting Te’o in a conundrum of being penned as a hero or villain and flipping the whole story upside down. Judging the trajectory of this sudden-evolving story, who knows what to believe.

Either way, the ‘what if USC had Te’o’ phrase might come to an end this week, whether or not for rational reasons.

Meanwhile, USC has its own slew of issues on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Where has Dion Bailey and Hayes Pullard been all season? Why is a defense that was strong last season, getting exposed with basically the same lineup? Finally, how will redshirt freshman Max Wittek play in his first start?

This game will give Trojan fans hope about the future of their program. For one, Max Wittek has a cannon for an arm, and is definitely capable of leading the Trojans to victory. As long as the football gets equally distributed and does not become the Marqise Lee Show, the Trojans will score points and hold on to the football.

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Let’s remember, for all the talk of Manti Te’o and the elite Notre Dame front seven get, the back four have been exposed this season by quality offenses, as Landry Jones threw for 356 yards. After checking out Wittek at practice, there are many similar qualities between he and Jones.

Notre Dame allows 195 passing yards per game, which is strong, but they have not faced multiple elite quarterbacks this season. A combination of an independent schedule and facing traditional powerhouses on down years has made life relatively easy in the passing department for the Golden Domers.

Marqise Lee, Robert Woods and Nelson Agholor are some of the fastest receivers in the nation and Notre Dame will not have the answers to slow down these weapons. As long as Wittek distributes the football and uses his tight ends and backs effectively, he can be able to turn this game into a shootout.

On defense, the Trojans will once again have their hands full with dual-threat option Everett Golson. Golson has rushed for 25 yards per game while throwing for 191 yards. What makes Golson a dangerous weapon is his ability to stretch plays with his feet and find his favorite target, Tyler Eifert down field.

Like Joseph Fauria from UCLA, Eifert is an elite tight end that uses his 6-foot-6 frame to shield off defenders and make outstanding plays. Monte Kiffin’s cover two defense exposes the deep 20-yard corner route consistently, as expect Golson to look for Eifert on that route to convert huge third downs.

The Notre Dame rushing attack is pro-style featuring heavy hitting back, senior Theo Riddick. Riddick packs a punch with his 200-pound frame, and will challenge the heart of the USC defense.

The Notre Dame offense is not elite, but looks to capitalize on great field position and their outstanding intangibles, in Golson and Eifert to make big plays.

If the Domers consistently move the football, Monte Kiffin’s scheme must be put on the hot seat more than it already is. Possible candidates like Jack Del Rio and Derek Mason will likely be receiving calls this offseason.

College Gameday will be at the Coliseum for what should be a bittersweet game for the Trojans and a tremendous chance to restore history for the Irish. Expect a motivated Notre Dame, while the Trojans are a mystery when it comes to what type of motivation they will be playing with.

Matt Barkley has had a tremendous career at USC, but his lack of confidence near the end of the season due to his terrible decision making has had a negative impact on this team. Wittek brings the future, and a change from ‘Unfinished Business’ to ‘New Business’. What a better way to begin than against a top-five national defense, robbing them of a chance to play in the National Championship.

The Trojans have always responded well under less scrutiny and expectations and this matchup supplies the Trojans the opportunity to prove pundits wrong. Rallying around the effort to keep head coach Lane Kiffin’s job, whether warranted or not, should give this lifeless team a reason to play with fire.

Regardless of the result, the Trojans will learn much about their upcoming future from the outcome of this game on both sides of the ball. Is Wittek the guy that can carry this team to a national championship and can the Kiffin’s move forward in leadership roles at USC?

If a chance to push into 2013 with a positive outlook on offense is not enough motivation, the Trojans are playing their biggest rival, Notre Dame. Expect a great game between these historic rivals.

That’s right folks: we’re talking about the Champ Sports Bowl, featuring the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Florida State Seminoles.

For those of us too young to remember any powerhouses besides USC, Texas, Bama, LSU, Oklahoma, Florida, and Ohio State, let me break it down for you right quick:

In the 90s, Florida State and Notre Dames were THE squads. They often commanded to top spots in the rankings, and when they clashed in bowl games, they did not disappoint. In 1993 the top-ranked Seminoles fell to the No. 2 Fighting Irish, 31-24 in South Bend.  Then in 1994, No. 8 Florida State tasted revenge with a 23-16 win over Notre Dame. Two years later, in the 1996 Orange Bowl, No. 6 Notre Dame lost 31-26 to the eighth-ranked Seminoles, leaving both teams with 9-2 records.

Much like that last match-up, the ‘Noles and the Irish will meet in the Champs Bowl with the same record (8-4) and will aim to return some prestige to this once well-respected rivalry.

Both teams are sporting fairly new coaches—Brian Kelly for Notre Dame and Jimbo Fischer for FSU—who are both finishing up their second year with their respective teams. In the past two years, they have definitely gotten people excited about these schools again, with the notion that more can be expected in the future. In spite of that, neither team finished with a particularly impressive record, though the Seminoles did climb their way back into the rankings with a No. 25 record after beating Florida 21-7. Notre Dame ended its season with a 28-14 loss at Stanford, after having a four-game winning streak. Also, the Fighting Irish saw its starting quarterback Tommy Reese get benched after he went 6-13 and threw a pick. Still, it looks like Reese will be starting in this bowl.

Notre Dame seems to have the upper hand offensively in this game, as they are toting two weapons that will wreak havoc for the Seminoles: wide receiver Michael Floyd and running back Cierre Wood. Floyd is coming into this game with 95 receptions, 1106 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, averaging almost 12 yards per receptions. Wood has 1042 yards and nine touchdowns from 199 carries, averaging just over five yards per touch. Florida State does not have weapons nearly as effective, but they do have a quarterback who knows what to do with what he has: E.J. Manuel. Manuel has thrown for 2417 yards, 16 touchdowns and has only thrown eight picks all season. If The Irish defense cannot find a way to apply constant pressure to Manuel, he will have a field day against the Irish.

Defensively, both teams do a pretty good job keeping points off the board: Florida State has been holding opponents to under 16 points per contest, and Notre Dame has been holding theirs under 21 points. Based on that, this could be a game similar to that of LSU/Bama the first time around—lots of defense and no offense whatsoever.  However, with the amount of yards these teams rack up per game—424 for the Irish and about 376 for the Seminoles—it really could go either way. One thing we do know is that the hits will come early and the will undoubtedly come often, as these teams tote two of the best middle linebackers in the country. For Notre Dame, their defense will be led by Manti Teo, a tackling machine with speed to make plays in both the running game and in coverage. Florida State, on the other hand, is led by Jeff Luc—a human highlight of sorts—who lays the lumber every time he gets a shot on the ball carrier. He’s known for over-pursuing plays because of his aggressiveness, but when he connects he does so in a big way.

The Champs Sports Bowl will be the fourth time in five bowl games that the Irish have faced an ACC opponent. The Irish are 3-0 against the ACC going into this game, but they haven’t faced a defense as tough as the Seminoles. FSU’s defense led the ACC and was 4^th in the nation, allowing an FBS-low 2.3 yards per carry and 81.8 per game, over their last four games.

As a Trojan, I would LOVE for Notre Dame to drop this game, especially after the way USC dogged them back in October. The Irish really thought they were going to beat USC again after winning on a fluke the season before, and nothing would please me more than to have them lose again to a team that they have history with.

But hey, that’s just me.

All loyalties aside though, Florida State should have this one in the bag. This is a team that hasn’t really been out of its 4 losses, and their lack of success is more a testament to their immaturity and not to a lack of talent.

And believe me when I say, this is a team of ATHLETES.

This is the most potent collection of talent in the very fertile state of Florida, and if they’re able to exploit the tremendous gap in athleticism they own over Notre Dame (as well as a fragile psyched Tommy Reese), the Fighting Irish are going to be the springboard into a very special 2012 for Jimbo Fisher and company. Everything clicks for Florida State in a game that has South Bend faithful calling for Brian Kelly’s job. Final score: 35-28.

The Champs Sports Bowl kicks off at 2:30 Pacific Time on Dec. 29^th. Be sure to check it out to see which program will bring some glory back to its name.