After sitting on pins and needles when Beanie Wells went down last week, Buckeye fans probably had no idea that UCLA’s upset victory over Tennessee had a direct effect on their team. But it did, and it was maybe even bigger than the injury to Wells.
It would seem that after the Buckeyes' lackluster win over Ohio University that the Buckeyes might have sleepwalked themselves into a slight advantage.
Their sluggish offense through the first three quarters certainly wasn’t anything to strike terror into the hearts of the Trojan defense.
So, how did such an all-around unimpressive effort against a creampuff figure to be an advantage for Ohio State?
As Lou Holtz and other pundits from the four-letter network have assumed, the Trojans will be overconfident.
No doubt, Ohio State’s has lulled USC into a false sense of security. After all, USC is No. 1 in both polls, and surely the Buckeyes will drop a few spots.
Uncertainty of whether Chris Wells will play could make the Trojans even more overconfident. Even if he does play, the Trojans must believe he can’t be 100 percent effective.
Add to all of that the fact that the Trojans will be a heavy favorite at home. No doubt they will have a letdown.
Assured that they're going to roll, USC will lose focus, make mental errors, have assignment breakdowns and penalties.
They could just hand the game over to Ohio State. At least that’s what the Alphabet network and its four-letter affiliate would like us all to believe.
They have to make sure we are up at the crack of dawn out here on the West Coast to tune into College Game Day and the Big Game that both networks have been touting since Signing Day last February.
But not so fast, my media huckster friends...
Last week, Ohio State lost any psychological advantage they could possibly muster when UCLA came back in the second half to knock off Tennessee in OT, 27-24.
Even though USC was named No. 1 in both polls, they were no longer the media darlings of L.A. football. All week long, it has been a continuous procession of UCLA Bruins before the media.
The usual hype over USC’s 52-7 pasting of Virginia and the rise to No. 1 has been eclipsed by the media’s fascination with a team given up for dead pulling off the upset of Week One.
It marked the triumphant return of Rick Neuheisel to his alma mater and the end to his five-year banishment from the collegiate ranks. His boyish face has been on every sports pages and every TV sportscast from L.A. to San Diego. His humorous charm on radio talk shows has upstaged Pete Carroll, even on the Trojans flagship station.
Even Norm Chow, former USC offensive coordinator, now the offensive coordinator for Rick Neuheisel, has been interviewed on sports talk shows. Chow isn’t known for being the most outgoing guest. But his adjustments did spark UCLA’s second-half comeback, and that deems him as worthy of interviews as Jack, the Giant Killer.
Steve Sarkisian, the USC offensive coordinator and a former quarterback at BYU and a USC coach under Chow, only had one brief radio interview on the Trojan station. Even though he engineered an explosive offense against Virginia, he hasn’t been mentioned at all in the national media the way Chow has.
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2 months ago
Excellent read Paul, truer words can not be said.
The baby blue lovefest has left me tuning my car radio over to the FM rock stations.
I hope Wells is as close to 100% as possible so we don't have all the haters droning on how the Buckeyes were short handed.
from 2 months ago
When the Buckeyes lose we're sure to hear that USC had a bye week to prepare and Wells wasn't 100% even if he's 110%.
2 months ago
Even if UCLA doesn't beat Tennessee, USC looks at midseason form. Where as Ohio State could barely beat Ohio University. The Buckeyes stand no chance against the Trojans.
2 months ago
Please UCLA will be a middle of the road Pac-10 team where as USC is going to be going for another Pac-10 Championship. You're forgetting the fact that USC has so many weapons and they are experienced they aren't going to be over confident they actually have had two weeks to prepare for Ohio State and if the Buckeyes have Chris Wells or not. Ohio State is going to get their asses handed to them on a platter.
from 2 months ago
I realize that, Steven. The point I was making is that already the media are speculating that USC may go into the game over-confident and that OSU might have a psychological advantage. I'm merely saying that's impossible the way USC has had to listen to all the UCLA love this week. For the Trojans, this week's game will be a "statement" game regardless of who they are playing.
2 months ago
Pete Carroll and USC own the BIG Ten.
from 2 months ago
That's true, Gil. It's the Pac-10 that I'm concerned about. Cal put up 66 today. Right now Rudy Carpenter has 249 yards passing at halftime for ASU. And we can't forget Oregon.
2 months ago
No matter what OSU fans will be all over the boards either claiming "we are the best" or one of these 2 excellent built in excuses:
"Oh, USC had a bye week and we didn't"
"Wells was still hurting from that injury"
from 2 months ago
You're absolutely right, Andrew.
2 months ago
Your two halves of the stories are true on their own but the inference you are trying to draw is a big leap. Yes OSU meltdown may give USC a false sense of security and yes UCLA sudden rise may affect USC focus, but how can’t say definitively that these two factors combined will help USC against OSU. Consider this equally plausible speculation; USC may overlook OSU if UCLA is capturing their imagination. See you can connect the two halves of the stories in a several different ways. Nice read but don’t agree with your analysis.
from 2 months ago
Thanks for your comment, R, and for another look at the overall picture. But USC would never overlook OSU because UCLA is capturing most of the media attention. That would be true if the UCLA were right around the corner, but it's not until December. Instead, they will try to take the attention away from the Bruins by playing the best possible game that they can against the Buckeyes.
2 months ago
this article, while an interesting read, misses the point. USC historically (Pete Carroll era) plays well in big games but they have a tendency to lose focus and play to the level of lesser opponents. I don't think they'll lose their emotional edge or football focus. I'm more worried about another "Oregon State" or "Stanford" episode as the season progresses.
from 2 months ago
That's exactly my point. If you have read any of my other articles, I have stated that Ohio State is not the concern, Arizona State, Oregon, Cal and possibly even Arizona are the biggest stumbling blocks on the USC schedule. As for what I have written here, it's merely what a lot of media pundits are spouting to make this out to be a monumental battle.
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