USC vs. tOSU

It's not often when a great football match up like this takes place so early in the season, but this year college football fans are treated to a game that features more NFL talent on one football field than a Dolphins and Rams game. Let it be known that I am a big time USC fan and will be bleeding Cardinal and Gold Saturday night, but I can still break the game down objectively.

Offense: For USC it comes down to whether or not they can win the battle up front. If they can neutralize the Buckeyes front 7 they should be able to go up and down the field with ease. They feature a future NFL 1st round pick at QB in Mark Sanchez, with a rocket and arm good scrambling ability should be able to pick apart the OSU secondary if given time. The Trojans have a plethora of running backs that they will utilize Saturday night including Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, CJ Gable, Allen Bradford and Marc Tyler. Each of these 5 would start for any team in the country, but instead they get to share carries at SC and be fresh for both halves of football. At wide receiver they also have plenty of All-American caliber options. Patrick Turner, Vidal Hazelton, Ronald Johnson, David Ausberry, Damian Williams and Travon Patterson. Expect all of these guys to get on the field at one point or another during this game. Now as I mentioned before the amazing amount of talent at the skill positions will mean nothing if the O-line does not protect Sanchez, which would make this game more like a Big Ten style of game... boring and slow.

For Ohio State on offense just like USC it will come down to the battle up front. If OSU wins the trenches and be able to control the clock with their stout running game. If not they will be forced to use Todd Boeckman in more roll out situations which is not his strong suit. If Boeckman can't get the job done look for super Frosh Terrelle Pryor to come in and run the spread formation attack. Beanie Wells has been ruled out which means Dan Herron and Maurice Wells will share the carries for the Buckeyes. This will be the difference in the game. Can these 2 guys keep the chains moving long enough to keep the SC offense off the field? Were gonna have to wait and see but if they cannot do so the anemic OSU passing attack will be exposed. They have little depth or star power at the wide receiver spots. Both Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline are possession type guys, and their only deep threat is the mouthy Ray Small.

Defense: As far as I'm concerned, the USC defense is the best in all the land. Up front they have the best tandem of rush ends in the country with Kyle Moore and Everson Griffen(future top 10 pick) and in the middle they feature Filia Moala and Averell Spcier, both big run stuffers. The linebacking corp is just in training for their tickets to New York for the NFL draft next April. Ray Maualuga is the meanest man in cleats since Ray Lewis' days at Miami, and WLB Brian Cushing is a 4.5 forty guy who can lay the hammer. In terms of depth for the linebackers they have 4 former high school all-americans just waiting their turn in Malcolm Smith, Jordan Campbell, Luther Brown and Chris Gallipo. The Secondary is still solid despite losing Terrell Thomas to the NFL this past April. Cary Harris and Shareece Wright are both capable cover corners who can stick with the Buckeyes all night. SC features 2 of the hardest hitting safties you will ever see on a field together. Taylor Mays(future top 10 pick) is a linebacker with wide out speed and will be flying all over the field. Opposite Mays is Kevin Ellison who despite not having the type of speed Mays has, hits even harder. This is a tough unit to score on or even move the ball on a consistent basis.

Ohio State's defense is very very good, but not on the same level as is USC's. The D-Line is above average with guys like Cameron Hayward and Lawernce Wilson at the ends, but at the tackle spots they lack size needed to stop those USC backs. The linebacking crew is damn good but are slightly overrated due to the media's infatuation with James "The Animal" Laurinaitis. He's a great college backer, but he's not very big listed at 6'2 and a generous 235 pounds and average speed. He has very good instincts and would be perfectly suited to be an WLB in the NFL. Marcus Freeman is the best NFL prospect in the line backing corp, with his great speed and quickness he should be an equalizer when USC uses Joe McKnight out of the backfield. The Secondary is where OSU could have an edge over USC's receivers. They feature Malcolm Jenkins the best cover corner in the country, and Anderson Russell at saftey should reak havok over the middle.

Overall I see this game coming down to the O-Line play by both teams, and OSU needs to find some offense if Beanie Wells does not play.

Prediction: USC 34 tOSU 17