Ohio State-USC: Too Early to Think Rematch?

It's still almost a month away, but Ohio State traveling to USC is quickly becoming the most hyped non-conference game not involving Notre Dame that I can ever remember.  Both of these teams have emerged as the elite of college football over the past decade, both winning and playing in multiple title games over the past decade.

I'm not about to pick a winner or announce who I think will win this game.  I'll save that prediction for the regular season or the week of the game.

But one thing sticks out to me about this game that is obvious to all college football fans: The winner of this game will clearly be on a fast track to play in the National Championship game.

On the other hand, will the loser of the Sep. 13 extravaganza be doomed?  Common sense tells you that they would have to be, falling behind in the head-to-head battle amongst the teams, but deeper thought tells you that the loser will still have a very capable chance of playing for it all in January.

All one has to do is win out after this game, and that team will most likely be playing for the championship.

That's easy to say, especially in the middle of August, but it is the truth when it comes to this game.  Obviously the winner will be on the fast track for Miami at the end of the year, but the loser is not doomed—not by a long shot.

It is safe to say that neither team will play a game against as good of an opponent as they will on Sep. 13 in Los Angeles.  To say that both teams will go unbeaten after their meeting really is not a stretch.

After USC, the Buckeyes' biggest challenge comes from a trip to Wisconsin on Oct. 4, while they also have dates in Michigan State and Illinois before the end of the year.  The hardest part of Ohio State's schedule is that all of what should be their most difficult games come on the road, something they should be rewarded for at the end of the season if they finish with just one loss.

USC gets the gift of playing their biggest games of the season at home.  Including their date with the Buckeyes, they will also welcome the likes of Oregon, Arizona State, and Notre Dame, while competing in the intra-city showdown against what is supposed to be a revamped UCLA team in the Rose Bowl.

These two teams have dynamic defenses and will both win their respective conferences.  With the parity in college football these days, I have trouble saying that this will be the only loss of the two teams this season.

I am going to go against the norm and say that this is not the be-all, end-all of these two teams' National Championship dreams.  Sure, the winner does have the fast track to a title run, but a loss does not eliminate that team from title contention by any means.

Georgia, Florida, Missouri, and Oklahoma are all highly ranked teams who could very possibly have multiple losses in the regular season.  Couple that with the loser of this game going unbeaten the rest of the season, and we could very well have a rematch of this historic battle in the National Championship game.