The USC Trojans have been called Tailback U ever since they were churning out elite NFL players like O.J. Simpson and Marcus Allen. But when it comes to breeding star quarterbacks, the Trojans have to take a back seat to the Michigan Wolverines.

Michigan’s move away from Bo Schembechler’s ground game following his 1990 retirement delivered Tom Brady, currently working his way up the food chain toward Greatest of All Time status. The Wolverines have also produced starting QBs Todd Collins, Elvis Grbac and Brian Griese. And that’s just recent history.

USC would still be on anyone’s Top 5, thanks to Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Boston College will be forever linked to Doug Flutie, unless Matt Ryan steals the show, but don’t forget Matt Hasselbeck was an Eagle. Under Jeff Tedford, Cal has sent Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller to the bigs, and Washington (Mark Brunell, Chris Chandler) often comes up big in the pass-happy Pac-10.

If you’re trawling the NFL futures market looking for value, you’ve picked a good time. Free agents are being snapped up like fresh produce, the occasional trade is on the table, and the draft has yet to come. Meanwhile, March Madness is diverting the attention of many a bettor.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (40-1 to win the Super Bowl) have already added nine players to a team that made the playoffs last season. Defense was the focus; although the Bucs had the No. 4-ranked defense in the league in terms of efficiency, their D-line was weak. Marques Douglas and Jimmy Wilkerson will shore up the run blocking.

On the trade front, it looks like the Oakland Raiders (100-1) will get cornerback DeAngelo Hall from the rebuilding Falcons for a second-rounder. The Raiders were 4-12 last year and still have some work to do, but are worth a look in single-game situations with Hall and CB Nnamdi Asomugha playing together.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a shiny eight-year, $102-million contract. It’s the biggest contract in Steelers history, and a lot of cash for someone who nearly killed himself in a motorcycle accident just two years ago.

It’s getting harder and harder for the man on the street to relate to these athletes and their gigantic salaries. But “Big Ben” is very, very good at what he does, and over 60,000 people pay to see him at Heinz Field eight times a year – plus the playoffs, where he essentially works for free. Roethlisberger does have a ring, though, to remind him about Super Bowl XL.

This is also an NFL contract we’re talking about here. Big Ben is only guaranteed to see $33.2 million. And yes, there is a clause preventing him from partaking in “hazardous activities.” There are plenty of less successful people out there making far more money that merit our scorn instead.

There’s hope for Western civilization after all. The voting public appears ready to support politicians with ethical substance, and the betting public has likewise turned its back on the New England Patriots.

The Pats have become the NFL’s version of the Evil Empire, joining the New York Yankees and the Duke Blue Devils among the most hated teams in North American sports. An Empire because of all those championships; Evil because of the controversy surrounding Spygate, which the New York Times recently dealt with in a refreshingly intelligent manner.

The problem isn’t that the Patriots apparently stole signals from the New York Jets last September. That’s legal. The problem is that they did it effectively, using video technology to record activity on the Jets sideline for further analysis. This falls into what ethicists call a “gray area,” doing something that is technically allowable yet violates the spirit of the rules. It’s not illegal, but it’s cheating just the same.

Depending on your outlook, the New York Giants are the worst Super Bowl champions the NFL has ever produced, or they peaked at just the right time. The futures market for Super Bowl XLIII suggests the former; the Giants opened at 12-1 to retain their title, behind four other teams.

The New England Patriots are next year’s favorites at 3-1; they may or may not bring cornerback Asante Samuel back to Foxborough, but are otherwise expected to be intact from their near-perfect 2007 campaign. That might be a problem – the New England linebacking corps is getting older, not better.

The Giants have a much better chance of playing as well in 2008 as they did during the playoff drive. It all depends on Eli Manning and his continued development into an elite player. “I’ve got to become a better quarterback. That’s my goal,” Manning told the team website. So far, so good.

For a relatively meaningless game, the 2008 Pro Bowl gave us a few things to think about for next season. Minnesota Vikings fans in particular will be thinking about Adrian Peterson; he rushed for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the NFC (+3) dumped the AFC 42-30. Peterson becomes just the second rookie to be named Pro Bowl MVP; Marshall Faulk was the first in 1995.

Terrell Owens added a pair of TD catches for the NFC, one from current teammate Tony Romo and the other from ex-teammate Jeff Garcia. T.J. Houshmandzadeh also caught two TD passes in a losing effort. While the NFC featured a balanced offensive attack, the AFC could only manage 45 yards rushing on 10 carries.

The NFC improved its Pro Bowl record to 10-13 with the win, including three of their last five visits to Honolulu. Now the NFL offseason begins in earnest; Feb. 21 is the deadline for franchise tags.

Not a lot of people predicted a Patriots-Giants matchup for Super Bowl XLII. But now that we’re here, let’s crank up the old crystal prolate spheroid and see what fate has in store for Glendale.

1. Wes Welker will be named Super Bowl MVP. The Giants will leave the middle of the field open for Welker to roam.
2. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw will combine for over 100 yards rushing. Bradshaw is the X-factor in this one.
3. Lawrence Tynes will not miss a field goal. That was the case 14 times this year.
4. Domenik Hixon will return a kick for a touchdown.
5. Randy Moss will catch a TD pass.
6. Eli Manning will throw two interceptions.
7. Tom Brady will throw for over 400 yards.
8. Mike Vrabel will catch a TD pass.
9. Junior Seau will retire after the game.
10. You’ll be very tired of hearing the word “dynasty” very soon.

There will be a new NFL champion this year. The Indianapolis Colts (-11) had the better of the visiting San Diego Chargers on offense Sunday, but two tipped Peyton Manning passes for interceptions were the difference in a 28-24 Chargers victory. San Diego won despite in-game injuries to Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson.

Indy wasn’t the biggest chalk on the Divisional board. That was the New England Patriots (-13.5) in Saturday’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tom Brady was 26-of-28 for three touchdowns, and Laurence Maroney rumbled for 122 yards and a score, but the Jags were sufficiently pesky to grab the cash in a 31-20 loss.

The Pats will now prepare to host the resilient Chargers in the AFC Championship game. It was unknown at press time how the knee injuries suffered by both Rivers and Tomlinson would affect their status for Sunday’s matchup. New England reported no significant injuries.

You’re going to see it mentioned time and again this week. I was among the many who got burned last year picking the home team in the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs. They were 0-4 ATS.

I certainly won’t be shying away from taking the home side in the two AFC Divisional games this weekend. These are two of the best teams ever assembled: the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. They are so good that I have no problem taking New England (-13) over Jacksonville and Indianapolis (-9) over San Diego.

The bye week is the reason home teams (last year notwithstanding) have traditionally done well in this round. It’s going to be of particular use to the Colts, who had a number of nagging injuries on offense and needed the rest. And it’ll be very difficult indeed to out-coach Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy when they’ve had an extra week to prepare.

The NFL never ceases to amaze. We saw some amazing things happen both on and off the field in 2007. Some of what we saw, we wish we hadn’t. The Top 10 list of the league’s biggest stories of the year proves that truth is stranger than fiction.

Michael Vick arrested and jailed on dogfighting charges, suspended by NFL
New England Patriots go 16-0 during 2007 regular season
Sean Taylor shot at his home by intruder, dies at hospital
Marquise Hill dies in jet-ski accident
Indianapolis Colts beat Chicago Bears at Super Bowl XLI
Bobby Petrino signs with Atlanta Falcons, leaves for Arkansas after 13 games
Bill Parcells retires for third time, comes back as top exec for 1-15 Dolphins
Tom Brady (50 TD passes) and Randy Moss (23 TD catches) set league records
Brett Favre breaks Dan Marino’s career records for TDs and yards passing
Pac-Man Jones suspended for entire season following strip-club riot