Creature Vs. Creature: USC-Ohio State—How the Trojans Can Lose on Saturday

No, this is not a prediction. At Heritage Hall, where, as Pete Carroll always says, “It’s all about us,” there is no Wall of Worry. Some concern? Maybe. But no worry.

Since Carroll and his staff insist it’s all about the Trojans, I thought I would do the worrying for them and list some things that the Trojans might do that could lose the game.

Kristofer Green, my counterpart with Ohio State, will do the same for the Buckeyes.

So, how can USC lose to Ohio State?

First and foremost, if the Trojans defense breaks down and they are unable to contain Terrelle Pryor, USC will lose. The defensive ends and cornerbacks must keep Pryor from turning upfield, or the Trojans could be in for a long night.

In that same regard, the interior linemen and blitzing linebackers must maintain their passing lanes and not leave the middle wide open for draws or to allow Pryor to cut back.

While trying to contain Pryor, if the Trojans coverage loses sight of tight end Jake Ballard, Pryor and Ballard could play toss and catch all night. Jake Ballard (what a cool name for a football player or a country singer) had three receptions for 51 yards against Navy.

Since the Buckeye tailbacks are not as explosive or as deep as their Trojan counterparts, USC must contain Pryor and make Dan Herron and Brandon Saine try to beat them. Herron, the starting tailback, only had 72 yards in 17 carries against Navy. 

If the linebackers or corners cannot keep up with Herron or Saine out of the backfield, however, the Trojans could lose this one. While neither is a deep threat, both are serviceable receivers.

The fewer open targets Pryor has to hit, the better. He is a much improved passer this year than we saw in his early season appearance at the Coliseum last year. Against Navy on Saturday, he threw for 172 yards.  

Speaking of targets, the Buckeyes aren’t nearly as well-stocked at wide receiver as the Trojans. Dane Sanzenbacher isn’t the speediest receiver the Trojans will face in 2009, but he can get open. He only had two catches against Navy, but they were long ones totaling 57 yards.

If Taylor Mays or Will Harris let either 6'2" Duron Carter, son of NFL great Cris Carter, or 6'3" DeVier Posey get behind them, that could give OSU the go-ahead score in a tight ball game.

Above all, the Trojan defense must forget about their 16 tackles for loss and their five sacks against San Jose State.  

This is Ohio State.  

The only thing the Trojans should think about is tackling—period. None of that weak arm-flailing stuff we saw last week at certain times in the Coliseum—D.J. Shoemate excluded. 

I hope Pete Carroll brings along a video of Shoemate’s tackle on kickoff coverage and plays it before stepping into the Horseshoe. That was an entire clinic condensed into one hit.

But the Trojans must bring that kind of intensity on every play. If they blow their assignments or forget the fundamentals when it comes to blocking, tackling, and coverage, Ohio State can pull off an upset.

On the offensive side of the ball, USC must establish a strong ground game. Without that, they are sure to lose.

The Trojans cannot afford to put this one squarely on Matt Barkley’s passing arm. If they do, they will have a very long flight home.  

That means if the horses up front led by Jeff Byers don’t play up to their ability, it could put the Trojans on the losing end of the score.

But that is USC’s least likely concern. With Kris O’Dowd returning from a dislocated kneecap and taking snaps all week with the scout team, that should firm up the offensive line even more.

So, that leaves basically two places where the Trojan offense could break down.

The primary one is quarterback. If Barkley is affected by crowd noise or the hostile atmosphere in general, he could wind up throwing picks that cost the Trojans the game.

While I don’t expect Barkley to be so affected that he forces throws into tight coverage, I do expect the noise and atmosphere to affect signal calling and audibles. That could lead to drive-killing penalties that force the Trojans into second-and-long or third-and-long situations.

If that is the case, then the possibility of interceptions increases with a proliferation of obvious passing downs. Although I do expect USC's WR Damian Williams to put some distance between himself and OSU's DB Chimdi Chekwa, you never know.

The other place where the Trojan offense could break down is at tailback. They shouldn't have trouble running the ball, but they could have problems holding on to it. If Joe McKnight or any of the tailbacks fumble a couple of times to give Terrelle Pryor and OSU a short field, the advantage goes to the Buckeyes.

Finally, both the offense and defense have to throw out the result of last week’s games. San Jose State was certainly nowhere near the level of Ohio State. If the Trojans think that 56-3 score makes them invincible, they have another thing coming.

By the same token, if the Trojans think they would have had a much easier time with Navy than the Buckeyes had, think again. Navy was 8-5 last year and made their sixth consecutive bowl appearance. They also run perhaps the most complicated offense in college football, the triple option.

So, breaking it all down, here are my three keys to a Trojan loss.

1. Not containing Terrelle Pryor.

2. Not firmly tackling Terrelle Pryor.

3. Letting Terrelle Pryor beat you with his arm.

Have I given all of our USC fans enough to worry about? No, not even daunted? Then try this—Pete Carroll is 6-0 against the Big Ten. Isn’t it about time a Big Ten team wins for a change?

Hey, I’m only saying.