USC vs Ohio State

USC vs. Ohio State

Speedblog

Sounds like a Rose Bowl to me.

In about half an hour, college football starts on the second week, and I wanted to blog this out as fast as I can, or as fast as I can type. I heard and read all the hype about this major game, and the implications it has on the BCS. And I grant you, many teams in the top 10 and top 15 are eyeballing this game, because the loser of this game will slip down, and possibly out the BCS Championship picture.

Ohio State has a huge burden to bear, not just for the coach or the team, but the conference as well. Many people have criticized the Big 10 as not being as tough as the SEC or Big 12, and how many times these schools fold up like a lawn chair in the post season…Ohio State being case number one.

Losing at USC 35-3 was embarrassing as the Buckeyes hauled their behinds back home, licking their wounds, and would lose to conference foe Penn State and to Texas at the end of the year. Losing Chris Wells hurts them too, meaning that Terrelle Pryor (not to be confused with Richard) will be bearing a lot of the weight.

We saw how Ohio State survived Navy…this leaves MUCH to be desired. But to play at home, with a more experience quarterback could be what the doctor ordered. There is no question to Pryor’s talents, but he does not throw the ball very much. It reminds me a lot of Georgia Tech’s game with Clemson…but we saw how disastrous that could be.

This is a MAJOR game for Ohio State on every level. The conference needs to have something to brag about, the team needs to have this win and the players need some “get back” against the Trojans who spanked them like they stole something.

For USC, this is not so easy a task, regardless of how they did last year. Some question the strength of the Pac-10, especially after Oregon lost to Boise State recently. We know the Trojans lost only one game last year, that being to Oregon State in an away game, which is one of the weaknesses of USC…playing away against good teams. Not counting Stanford and UCLA since they are in the same state, USC went to Virginia, Washington State and Arizona last year. Washington State was 2-11, Virginia finished 5-7 and Arizona was the only team with a winning record…but USC escaped that one 17-10.

There could be a problem here with USC playing away against strong foes, and add to that a brand new quarterback, and this could really get interesting. Sure USC mopped up San Jose State, but they were SUPPOSED to. Now we’ll get to see how a top ranked team plays on the road where they have had problems, against a real quality team in Ohio State, in that HUGE stadium that holds more people than the city I live in TIMES three, with a freshman quarterback at the helm…

Good luck USC, you’re gonna need it.

But how much luck will they need against a Buckeye team that had trouble with Navy? I admit that the style Navy showed is not what USC will bring, so I think Ohio State can adjust easily, but the question will be whether Pryor can get the job done without “Beanie’ Wells being there. I am not confident that Pryor can lead his team if it comes to passing, and I think USC has a strong enough defense to force him to have to throw more than they need him to.

This might be closer than some think, but you have to decide which is greater, a team with a freshman quarterback playing away against a top 10 foe, or a team that was blasted last year by this same opponent, and struggled against Navy in a conference some are starting to question. I think I will take experience in QB, but I am not confident in his passing.

IF USC can’t force Pryor to throw more, I can see Ohio State winning by less than 7 points. IF he is forced to throw a lot, I can see turnovers galore…but the same could be said for USC. I think if both teams play at even par…USC still wins.

But not by much.