USC Trojans vs Ohio State Buckeyes: Expert Football Picks

One of the biggest games of the year will take place this Saturday as perennial football powerhouses USC and Ohio State do battle. Anytime two programs with such rich football traditions take the field, you know something special will happen.

The atmosphere will be electric and it will be a nationally televised game everyone should watch. The Trojans are favored by 6.5 points, but Ohio State has proven it will always be a tough team to beat. So what should you expect in USC vs Ohio State Football Picks for this game?

USC Trojans

On the Trojans' side, you’ve got a lot of blue chip talent. This is pretty much the same as every year, as USC constantly has several NFL-caliber players playing.

They're ed by true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who coach Pete Carroll at one point called a prodigy. When you can come into a football powerhouse like USC as a freshman and start, you’re obviously pretty talented. He even beat out two other gifted quarterbacks to win the job. Backup quarterback Mitch Mustain was once the Gatorade High School Player of the Year. Now he’s riding the pine behind this freshman.

If that doesn’t tell you that you should be aware of who this kid is, then nothing will. Watch out for a breakout game at some point from Barkley. This could be the week that he goes off and leaves everyone else on the field in the figurative dust.

The downside to the USC Trojans is that they always seem to play below themselves a little bit. Every year, they are in the National Championship conversation and it seems like every year they lose to someone they shouldn’t lose to. Will Pete Carroll be able to successfully mesh all of those talented guys into a cohesive unit each and every game?

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are not quite as talented as the Trojans, but they are a very well-coached football team. Jim Tressel is one of the best coaches in college football and the Buckeyes boast some top recruits of their own. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is a Mike Vick-clone who has the ability to get out and run from the quarterback position. Anytime you bring a dual threat to the table, you’ve got the potential to beat anyone. USC will have to keep a spy on him at all times if they hope to contain him.

The downside to the Buckeyes is that they lost a lot of guys from last year. They came very close to losing to Navy in the opener which isn’t a good thing. Hopefully they will have rebounded into the form that they’re used to by the time they face USC this weekend.

Regardless of what happens this weekend, you can be sure that USC and Ohio State are going to play some very good football. Expect a high scoring affair between two of college football’s greatest programs. 

Check out Vernon Croy's Expert College Football Picks this season.