Editor's note: Brian Edwards was No. 3 on VI last year for guaranteed picks, leading his clients to more than nine units of profit. Don't miss out on tonight's pay-if-it-wins-only selection!

Lane Kiffin inexplicably got his first head-coaching job from Al Davis before the 2007 season. With the Raiders for just 20 games, they posted an abysmal 5-15 record on Kiffin’s watch.

Dismissed just four games into the 2008 campaign, Kiffin had three months to jockey for a head-coaching job at the collegiate level. When Phillip Fulmer’s tenure at Tennessee went stale and the masses up on Rocky Top demanded that he step aside, AD Mike Hamilton pulled the trigger.

In doing so, UT got rid of class, integrity, leadership and experience. In his search for a replacement, Hamilton went looking for youth, flash and excitement. He found it in Kiffin, who sold Hamilton a bill of goods that included a package deal for recruiting ace Ed Orgeron and legendary NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

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Hamilton bit on Kiffin’s pitch hook, line and sinker. He got the boosters to pony up for the nation’s most expensive coaching staff. Hamilton allowed his brash new coach to make a fool of himself and the university by falsely accusing Florida of recruiting violations, while racking up six secondary NCAA violations before coaching his first game for the Volunteers.

During a 7-6 season, Kiffin chirped more about moral victories in close losses to Alabama and Florida than anything of substance. But 14 months into his stay in Knoxville, Kiffin bolted for what he called his ‘dream job’ at USC, leaving behind broken promises and a lingering NCAA investigation.

Shortly after taking over at Heritage Hall, USC got hammered with the worst penalties the NCAA has dealt out since giving SMU the ‘death penalty’ in the early 1980s. The Trojans can’t go to a bowl game in 2010 or 2011, and they’ve had 30 scholarships (10 each for the next three incoming classes) stripped away.

The sanctions prompted OT Seantrel Henderson, who many recruitniks tabbed as the premier player in the 2010 class, to transfer to Miami. Although an appeal of the penalties is still pending, Kiffin and his staff were clearly caught off guard by the magnitude of the sanctions and have a much tougher challenge in front of them in the coming years.

Nevertheless, USC still goes into its Week 1 opener at Hawaii as a heavy favorite. Most books opened the Trojans as 18 ½-point favorites earlier this month, but that number is already up to 21 and rising. As of Tuesday afternoon, the total was 54 at most spots.

USC finished 2009 with a 9-4 straight-up record and an anemic 4-9 against-the-spread ledger. Meanwhile, Hawaii went 6-7 SU and 6-6 ATS.

The Trojans return five starters on each side of the ball, including sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley, who started 12 of 13 games as a true freshman. Barkley threw for 2,735 yards and 15 touchdowns, but he was intercepted 14 times.

USC’s leading rusher (RB Joe McKnight) and receiver (WR Damian Williams) have departed. Senior RB Allen Bradford will step up to take the bulk of the carries after rushing for eight TDs and averaging 5.8 yards per carry last season.

Greg McMackin’s squad has five starters on offense and seven on defense returning. However, a pair of starters on the offensive line will be missing Thursday night. Junior center Matagisila Lefiti is out for the first three games of the season, while junior OG Brett Leonard isn’t expected to return until early October.

Junior Bryant Moniz has been named the starting QB for the Warriors, who won four of their last five games with Moniz under center last year. The lone loss in that stretch came against a Wisconsin team that was playing extremely well down the stretch.

Moniz posted a 14/10 touchdown-to-interception ratio last year. He has his favorite target and one of the WAC’s premier wideouts back in the mix. That would be senior Greg Salas, who had 106 receptions for 1,590 yards and eight TDs in ’09. Also, senior WR Kealoha Pilares returns after hauling in 66 catches for 690 yards and four TDs last season.

Hawaii owns a 4-4 spread record in eight home underdog situations since McMackin took over for June Jones in ’08. However, the Warriors are 0-3 versus the number as double-digit home ‘dogs.

USC was an atrocious 1-5 ATS as a road favorite last year and has failed to cover the number in nine of its last 12 road ‘chalk’ spots.

These schools met in the 2005 season opener with the Trojans rolling to a 63-17 victory as 36-point home favorites. They have won all six all-time meetings against the Warriors, scoring 60 points or more in the last three encounters.

ESPN will have television coverage at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

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**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Alabama RB Mark Ingram, will miss this week's opener against San Jose St. after injuring his knee at practice Monday afternoon. Ingram had the knee scoped on Tuesday and will miss at least one game, possibly more. With that said, there's no reason to downgrade the Tide because it has the nation's best back-up RB in Trent Richardson.

--Oregon St. owns a 9-2 spread record in its last 11 games as an underdog. Since 2005, the Beavers have won outright as double-digit 'dogs three times. They are catching 13 1/2 against TCU at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday night.

--Utah is just 2-4 ATS as a single-digit home favorite during Kyle Whittingham’s first five years at the helm. The Utes will host Pitt as three-point home favorites Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. Versus will have the telecast.

--Pitt senior DE Jabaal Sheard is ‘out’ at Utah due to a suspension. Sheard had 42 tackles, five sacks and five tackles for losses last season. CORRECTION/UPDATE: According to multiple reports Friday morning, Sheard has been upgraded to 'probable' and will most likely play.

--Most books opened Northwestern as a three-point road favorite for its lid-lifter at Vandy, but the number was at five or 5 ½ as of Tuesday afternoon. This line move is probably due to a knee injury sustained by Vandy sophomore RB Warren Norman, who is ‘out’ this week. As a true freshman last year, Norman returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and also rushed for 783 yards and three TDs. He averaged 5.4 YPC on an offense that scored more than 13 points just four times.

--Much of the pregame chatter about personnel for Saturday’s UNC-LSU game has been focused on the expected suspensions for the Tar Heels. However, the Tigers are going to be missing a few players as well. Starting junior center T-Bob Hebert (the son of Bobby, who played QB for the Saints and Falcons) is suspended for an off-season arrest, while back-up WR Chris Tolliver is ‘out’ with a concussion and back-up free safety Karnell Hatcher is ‘out’ with a knee injury.

--Going into this week, there were 15,000 tickets available for the start of the Jimbo Fisher Era at Florida St. In fact, hotels in Tallahassee have a deal for free tickets for those that rent a room for the weekend. Now I know Samford doesn’t exactly get the blood flowing for a Week 1 game, but seriously? This reminds me of when Steve Spurrier was at UF and what he would say to the Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi in the week leading up to the Gators going to Doak-Campbell Stadium: (Spurrier twang: “Hey Mikey! You think they’re going to sell it out up there in Tallahassee this week?) Of course, both the ‘Noles and Gators would usually be in the top-five for this showdown.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

For daily sports gambling analysis, follow Brian Edwards on twitter at Vegasbedwards.