In January, Oregon played in the Rose Bowl with senior Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback. The Ducks lost that day, but the future still looked bright for Masoli, a strong contender for the Heisman — which goes to the best college football player in the country.

In the months since that game, Masoli has pleaded guilty to theft in a frat house incident and was kicked off the Oregon team after being cited for possession of marijuana.

Speculation grew and swirled about Masoli, a California native who had a troublesome personal behavior record in high school, too. The reason was that he had a year of college playing eligibility left. Any university with a graduate school willing to enroll him could also land one heck of a football player.

As the courting began, many teams wanted his talents — but he wound up at the University of Mississippi.

The regrettable aspect of the sequence has been all the excuse-making and rationalization. There’s a dearth of willingness to describe the situation without a bunch of adjectives. Here’s the deal: Jeremiah Masoli needed a year to try out for a National Football League contract. Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt needed a quarterback.

There might have been a time when college athletics provided competitive outlets for serious students who also had physical skills. That was a long time ago. There might have been a time — and there still might be schools where integrity or at least the appearance of integrity matters most. These days, however, football coaches are paid a minimum of 10 times the salary of the most scholarly chemistry professor. The coaches live by the rule, “Win or be fired.”

We wish Jeremiah Masoli, Houston Nutt and the Ole Miss Rebels well, but spare us all the explanations. The facts speak for themselves.