USC-Ohio State: A Spectacle Without Substance

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

As America awaits the start of college football, one topic intrigues me, yet it probably goes unnoticed to most college football fans around the nation.

Recently my friends and I had a discussion about the college football regular season schedule. We pinpointed which regular season games we were most looking forward to, which games we thought were going to better than advertised, and which games we suspected will be overrated.

The game that stood out to me during our discussion was USC at Ohio State.

The game will surely be a sight, without question. ESPN's College GameDay is headed to Columbus on the second Saturday in September. With an 8 p.m. EST start, the night game inside Ohio Stadium, "The Horseshoe," will be a spectacular vista. Few games in recent years have had more hoopla and intensity surrounding them than this game will have.

But, this game lacks impact and meaning. I told my friends I felt this game would be overrated. Let me explain.

Essentially, the winner of this game remains in contention for a berth in the national championship game. The loser, meanwhile, must rebound and concentrate on winning its respective conference in order to earn a berth in the Rose Bowl.

I know the last three winners of the BCS National Championship each had at least one loss, but winning every game nearly assures a team a berth in the title game, so I can't downplay the importance of avoiding a loss.

I understand college football fans want to see games like these, in which two national powers, preferably non-conference opponents, square off in a clash of tradition for bragging rights. Fans want to see a great game so that they can walk away from it knowing the game was worth watching.

I'm like those fans, to a point.

But I can't comprehend how a team with a legitimate chance to win the National Championship would schedule a game like this one.

There's no point.

These days in college football, winning every game should be the approach a team takes because teams can't count on another team to lose a game and subsequently drop below them in the rankings.

So why would a team like USC or Ohio State risk losing when each has a rigorous conference schedule to survive?

Now I'm sure there's some financial incentive for playing this game. I understand money keeps programs in operations, but ultimately the goal of every team is to win the National Championship. And so playing a game like this one simply isn't worth it.

I know this game is nearly a month away. I know other games have similar implications as this one, but the USC-Ohio State game seems to be the premier non-conference match-up this season.

So this is why my attention is focused on this game.

I will watch this game in hope of seeing a great one. I will marvel at the atmosphere this game will present. But today in college football, the body of work a team constructs is ultimately what matters. This game is only a fraction of the puzzle needed to complete a run to the national championship game. 

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