The Big One: USC at Ohio

With a nine-game winning streak against Big Ten teams, a performance against a non-ranked school by a top 5 team that went the way it should, and an Ohio team coming off a very close game against Navy which they should’ve handled a lot better (no offense to Navy), and USC looks like the better team.

The game must still be played however!

This years college football season has already seen a major upset (BYU/Oklahoma) and USC winning at The Shoe would be another. It would shake the Big Ten who doesn’t have another team playing a currently ranked opponent until November. A USC win means more than just an Ohio State championship season lost, but hopes for a championship season for any Big Ten team would dwindle. With all the numbers pointing towards a USC win how will the shaken Buckeyes perform?

The Buckeyes will depend on their 11th man, the fans. As one of the loudest stadiums in all of college football Ohio can only hope the USC’s true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley will cave. Ohio must hope that USC wasn’t hiding the true talent of that quarterback when they showed the nation how they could run the ball. The Buckeyes must also weather a USC team that has major depth that will enable it to stay fresh throughout the entire game.

What chance do the Buckeyes have really?

No matter what the team may say, the coaches or any analyst. Ohio will depend on their fans to get them a win this Saturday. If USC can quiet the crowd the Big Ten may be out of the BCS race for the rest of the year.