While the University of Southern California started the season as the third-best team in the nation behind Georgia and Ohio State, their complete dominance of a University of Virginia team that won nine games last season left little doubt in anyone's mind that the Trojans are the team to beat for the national title this year.
The No. 1 Trojans will face their toughest test of the season this weekend when the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to Los Angeles to play at the Coliseum. While many have deemed this game as the regular season game of the year, Ohio State's performance last weekend against a below-average Ohio team left a lot to be desired. Thus, it is safe to say USC will have little trouble beating an overrated Ohio State team.
While star running back Beanie Wells will be ready to play this weekend after being out last weekend with a foot injury, it will not make much of a difference. While having Wells in the game makes Ohio State a noticeably better team, USC's defense and especially its front seven are arguably the best in the nation, anchored by 6-foot-2-inch, 260-pound linebacker Rey Maualuga, 6-foot-3-inch, 255-pound linebacker Ryan Cushing and 6-foot-5-inch, 295-pound defensive tackle Fili Moala. The Trojans' strong defense is experienced and extremely fast for its size. Look for Ohio State's quarterback Todd Boeckman to be running for his life, as USC Coach Pete Carroll routinely blitzes with his big, fast linebackers.
On offense, the big question mark going into the season was how would Mark Sanchez handle being the starting quarterback? Even with an injured knee, Sanchez put on a brilliant showing against Virginia as he passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Also, USC is so loaded at wide receiver and running back that Sanchez does not have to win the game by himself. The Trojans go at least four deep with little drop-off at the running back position with C.J. Gable, Joe McKnight, Stafon Johnson and Allen Bradford. At receiver, the Trojans are led by Tennessee native Patrick Turner, Arkansas transfer Damien Williams, speedster Ronald Johnson and Vidal Hazelton.
Besides USC's great talent, there are a few other greater factors that will help them win on Saturday, since Ohio State does have a good deal of talent in its own right. The main other reasons USC will be victorious on Saturday are home-field advantage, rest and coaching.
The Trojans play Ohio State at home in front of 92,000 fans, which will be an advantage if the score is close going into the fourth. Furthermore, USC had last week off to rest for Ohio State, which should not be understated in a game that is sure to be physical. This extra preparation brings me to the coaching advantage USC has over Ohio State. Jim Tressel is also a phenomenal coach, but the Trojans are led by Carroll, the best college football coach in the nation. Carroll is 77-14 at USC, which is the best winning percentage in college football for a coach with at least five years experience. Carroll also led USC to a national record of 33 straight weeks as AP's No. 1 ranked team and USC became the first college football team to achieve six straight 11-win seasons.
Ohio State has too many chips stacked against them to pull off the victory, and USC will be rolling through a relatively weak Pac-10 after they win this weekend on their road to the national championship.
