USC-Ohio State: Ex-Buckeyes Coach John Cooper (Mostly) Knows the Score

I had an opportunity to hear John Cooper, the wily old ex-Buckeye coach, give his opinion on the upcoming USC-Ohio State game to be played this Saturday.

In that interview, Cooper made some pedestrian observations, as well as some that I thought were very enlightening.

Among the pedestrian:

Home field gives the Buckeyes a tremendous advantage.

Terrelle Pryor must have a big game.

The Buckeyes have an advantage on special teams.

Ho-hum.

Then John Cooper said something very interesting.

For Cooper, if he were still coach, he would load the box and make young Matt Barkley, USC's true freshman quarterback, beat the Buckeyes with his arm.

After giving it some thought, I agree with Coach Cooper. This might be Ohio State's best plan.

Except it might also be just what the Trojans want.

In fact, it might be part of the setup that Pete Carroll and the Trojans laid out in the San Jose State game, where they scored six touchdowns on the ground.

The game plan that Carroll and Jeremy Bates put in for the San Jose State game was crafted to protect Barkley while re-establishing the running game as the primary focus of the USC offense.

However, anyone who knows Pete Carroll also knows that his words don't ring hollow when it comes to his assessments of his players.

When Carroll says he has full confidence in Barkley, he means just that.

If Ohio State stacks the box, Carroll will unleash Barkley and let the chips fall where they may.

With USC's receiving corps (even with Ronald Johnson out), there is a ton of talent available that the Buckeyes, quite frankly, don't match up well with.

Anyone who watched the Buckeye-Navy game, if they are honest, saw the Buckeye defensive backfield get exploited with surprising regularity.

It goes without saying that USC's receivers are a bit faster...and better...than the Midshipmen's receivers.

So if Jim Tressel takes John Cooper's advice, we may see the foundation for Matt Barkley's legacy being built early. We'll just have to wait and see about that.

Cooper also made a prediction.

In a mild upset, according to Cooper, the Buckeyes will win 17-14.

Oh well, John, you can't be right about everything.

31-21 USC.