Oh, how I’m excited to see some top-notch college football this Saturday!
We can’t start with anything but OSU/USC. The USC Trojans had a bye before this week’s marquee match-up with The Ohio State University, and they proved themselves worthy of the pole poll position after trampling the Virginia Cavaliers back in week one.
Last week, Ohio State continued their perennial routing of state “rivals” by trampling the Ohio Bobcats yet again. Only…not really.
Frank Solich proved that he earned that his contract extension today versus the heavily favored Big 10 team by leading through the third quarter, only to have a few dropped balls, a fumble and a pair of interceptions late in the game ruin all chances of what would have been the Bobcats’ biggest victory in school history.
Ohio State scampered away.
The Coliseum should hold interesting things for the Buckeyes, who have not beat the Trojans in 30 years. Though OSU will most likely pull off their fourth Big Ten championship in a row, Pete Carroll’s team is probably too much for a Chris Wells-deprived offense.
The real interest in this game lies in the defense. USC’s weakness at nose tackle is less of one with the lack of a sufficient OSU rushing attack, and the line backing core has a strong returning squad. Watching OSU LB and play-maker extraordinaire James Laruinaitis is always entertaining, and his Buckeye defense will be the key to a close game. USC’s offensive squad – as usual – has a great lineup, and will take advantage of any mistakes the Buckeyes make.
I have to give both universities mad props for scheduling this game, keeping September interesting beyond the random upsets. The Trojans’ disappointing duels versus Nebraska were supposed to be this magnificent, but the Carroll dynasty won’t make this one much prettier for a hindered Tressel team.
Winner: OSUSC (and by that I mean USC)
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