Carson Palmer is a man of few words. Wait, did we say "few"? We mean "ill-chosen and recklessly incendiary." When on a Los Angeles-area radio show this past Thursday, the USC alum had this to say about Ohio State fans:

I cannot stand the Buckeyes.

Well, that's not a very nice thing to

It's amazing to hear what those guys think about that university and what they think about that football program and Tressel and all the crap I gotta put up with being back there.

Okay, you've made your point, Carso

I just can't wait for two years from now when SC comes to the 'Shoe and hopefully we'll have a home game that weekend and I can go up there and watch us pound on them in their own turf

Carson.

I'm really getting sick of it and I just can't wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience LA and get an old-fashioned Pac-10 butt-whoopin' and go back to the Big Ten.

Okay. Let's get you home.

Granted, the vitriol is probably comically overstated, as he was talking to sports radio jockeys in USC's backyard. Also, unlike some people, he didn't bring up genocide. Still, this being the age of the Internet, we're more than happy to share woofing like that when Carson Palmer's name is attached to it. We're not trying to discourage it, of course; this is ten thousand times better than the boilerplate "looking to go out there and compete" phrases that typically come out of athletes' mouths.

Palmer may, however, want to avoid taking shots at a team that's a heck of a lot more popular--and successful--than his Bengals.

It's 2005 all over again with USC getting "greatest ever" hype before the games even begin. Stanford's Jim Harbaugh, who has yet to coach a collegiate game, called USC the greatest team in the country this year and perhaps in college football history. Sure thing, coach. Sure thing.

USC coach Pete Carroll cooled that talk with levity at Pac-10 media day, simply saying "you gotta love Jim, don't you?"

One other figure not buying into the hype is Cal receiver and Heisman Trophy candidate DeSean Jackson.

"I don't know about all the talk," he said of Trojans 24/7. "I mean, they lost all their receivers. They're a great team, a great program. But separating them from the rest of the conference? That's uncalled for."

"They lost last season to Oregon State and UCLA, teams we beat," Jackson continued. "That shows us right there they can be beaten. And this year, they gotta come to Cal. I ain't gonna support all this talk too much."

Jackson didn't even register love for quarterbacks John David Booty or Matt Leinart. His boy? Carson Palmer.

"Greatest team of all-time?" Jackson said. "Maybe when they had Reggie Bush and LenDale White. And I wouldn't even say Matt Leinart. Carson Palmer was the quarterback I liked."

It's good to see at least one person putting their foot down against runaway pre-season hype. Well, two since Carroll isn't buying into it either.

"There's no way I would have any understanding of what that's [greatest ever talk] all about."

Oh, and obligatory video below of Jackson getting hit kinda hard in a vicious way by a USC safety.

Four short years ago, Mike Price had coached the Washington State Cougars to the Rose Bowl and handed Heisman Trophy Winner Carson Palmer and the mighty USC Trojans a loss that conceivably kept them out of the National Championship picture (though the Trojans *did* win one of 16 NCAA-recognized titles that year). After a brief stay in Tuscaloosa, Price now finds himself in West Texas at the University of Texas - El Paso, pinning his hopes on the Heisman prospects of another Palmer: Carson's little brother Jordan.

Had Jordan Palmer chosen to follow in his brother's footsteps and attend Southern Cal, he'd be gunning for an unprecedented third stiff-arm trophy in a row for the Trojans. Instead, he chose the UTEP Miners and his name appears on trophy watch lists which had largely ignored his brother going into Carson's senior year...even if it is only in small print.

Palmer and the Miners open up thier 2006 campaign and bid for a third straight bowl appearance at San Diego State, whose expectations for 2006 are almost as high as UTEP's, followed by a home game against Texas Tech and games against the two new Mexico schools before opening conference play in October.