I think we're all in agreement that there's a pretty good chance Tressel could have his best Buckeye team this fall. No apparent weaknesses. Yet, will his best be enough to topple the premier team of this decade, in their place?
A veritable Florida State of the aughts, the Trojans are so consistently good that whenever there's an uncertainty about who should start as the preseason No. 1 team in America, USC is thrown in as part of the top cluster.
Sure, Southern Cal only returns 11 starters from a team that was supposed to win it last year, but that's all good—the last four recruiting classes were ranked 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 8th on signing day.
We'll break this game down in due time, but over the course of this summer, these five things keep popping into my head and are scaring the crap out of me:
1. Taylor Mays
USC's free safety is gigantic for his position at 6'4" and 230 pounds. Oh, did I mention that he's run a
- B/R Ticket Guide
2. Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing
The West Coast version of Laurinaitis and Freeman, but bigger. Maualuga passes out pain and Cushing has earned all-conference nods at two positions. The loss of Rivers is not insignificant, but the fact that the Trojans are well positioned to take on the strength of the Buckeye offense should give pause.
3. Those Running Backs
When most teams spell their workhorse, the drop-off in talent is evident when the backup takes the hand-off. When USC spells a running back, the guy getting the carry was likely the nation's top-rated running back at one point in high school.
Johnson, McKnight, Gable, Tyler—the Trojans are loaded. Granted, USC's line shouldn't be as good as it's been in recent years, but with that kind of depth, the Buckeye defense can't afford a play off.
4. Pete Carroll and His Gigantic Big Game Gonads
Pete's the one coach that's pretty hard to hate. Chill guy, good with the players, and absolutely money in big games. Since he's turned around USC, the only big game he's lost was to arguably the greatest college football talent of the last quarter century. And that was to prevent his team from three-peating.
While his teams drop the occasional game to inferior competition, they simply do not lose big games. And the game on 9/13 is a tad big.
5. Will Ferrell
I haven't trusted that guy since Elf.
Who or what is on your nightmare list for the USC game?
comments (4) write a comment »
write a new comment
6 months ago
oh brother. it's the schedule or lack of. when are ya'll gonna get it.
from 6 months ago
Oh, yeah, you're right. USC should definitely schedule more games with Arkansas and Tennessee and Mississippi and Mississippi State. Oh, yeah, and who is it you guy play in your OOC games? Schools like Lousianna at Monroe. Where is Monroe, anyway? And Upper Northwest No-Name State. They have terrific cheerleaders.
6 months ago
1. Chris 'Beanie' Wells: This is the man that sets the Buckeyes apart from the rest. 222 yards & 2 touchdowns vs. Michigan last year, and he added another 160 yards & a touchdown vs. the vaunted LSU defense. This was all while he was at 80%.
2. Offensive Line: Beanie will be running behind 4 returning starters one of whom, Alex Boone, was projected as first round NFL talent.
3. That Defense: one word; awesome. Statistically the best defense from last year.
6 months ago
Ho boy...as a Buckeye fan, USC's linebackers scare the bejeesus out of me. Whether or not Beanie will get through them is the big question going into this game.
write a new comment