Ohio State-USC: A Preview

Just got my tickets for OSU-USC next year and I'm so pumped for this game. This is probably going to be the game of the year, kudos to USC and Ohio State for scheduling it.

Coach Pete Carroll stays true to his word when he says he is ready to play anybody, anywhere. Of course things can change during the actual season. This will be USC's second game and Ohio State's third, so you never know what's going to happen.

Ohio State, after having a cake-walk of a schedule last year will be tested. Their non-conference schedule was a joke and their conference was just as bad.

They played Troy, Ohio, and Youngstown State winning their zillionth mythical State of Ohio championship. They stumbled once on the way to the BCS title game against Illinois, a team which USC annihilated at the Rose Bowl.

Anyway, this is a small preview analyzing the different aspects of the team.

Coaching: Right off the bat this is a tough one. Each coach has won national championships, multiple conference titles, and BCS games.

Tressel is an offensive genius and Carroll is a Defensive guru. Carroll has won six straight conference titles and earned six straight top five finishes, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since Bobby Bowden and Florida State.

Also if you look at the losses of each coach over the last few years, Coach Carroll has never been blown out of the water. In chronological Order the losses go: Texas, Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford, and Oregon.

In all of these games the point differential was never more than a touchdown. The guy knows how to make adjustments during the game to give his team a fighting chance.

Tressell, on the other hand, has been embarassed by SEC schools in the last two years. Carroll has gone into the south and beaten quality SEC teams like Arkansas and Auburn. The guy dropped 70 points on Arkansas one year and 50 the next.

With that said, I've got to give the edge to Coach Pete Carroll.

Quarterback: It looks like Mark Sanchez has beaten out Mitch Mustain to earn the starting QB position. The Parade All-American was the No. 1 prospect coming out of high school.

Coach Carroll said Sanchez has the biggest arm of any quarterback he's had since Carson Palmer. That's all fine and dandy and he very well may be the next great USC quarterback, but he's going to go through some growing pains.

While he looked great against Notre Dame, he looked extremely shaky when playing up in Eugene, Oregon.

The Buckeyes, on the other hand, return Todd Boeckman under center. This 6'6" quarterback started all 13 games for OSU and threw for almost 2400 yards. His TD-INT ratio was 25-14 and had a passing accuracy of 64 percent.

So based on experience and the physical tools, Ohio State has an advantage.

The Running Game: Another tough one. It boils down to Beanie Wells vs USC's Running Back by company.

Beanie Wells returns with most of his Offensive Line in tact, only losing Kirk Barton who went in the seventh round of the draft. He's set to have another great season of 20+ TDs and over a 1,500 yds rushing.

However, this isn't to say USC has a bunch of scrubs at that position. After being unable to establish a stable Running Back Starter in the 2006 season (and the departure of Chauncey Washington to the NFL), USC developed its young talent in the 2007 season.

I predict that Joe McKnight and Stafon Johnson will bring flashes of brilliance much the Reggie Bush-LenDale White duo did a few years back. On the O-Line, USC lost Sam Baker (All-American) and Chilo Ranchal (Pac-10 First Team) to the draft in the first and second rounds respectively.

Ohio State wins this position battle barely, even though I have a lot of confidence in the USC defense which brings me to my next point...

DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS: Yea, yea, yea it's great that OSU has so many returning starters coming back for this season. James Laurinaitis is a beast at LB.

But...the USC defense is what's been carrying the team for the last two seasons. Even with the departures of Sedrick Ellis and Keith Rivers, their Defense is damn scary.

Hard-hitting LineBackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing (the last two Rose Bowl MVPs) are monsters. Kevin Ellison and Taylor Mays prowl the secondary and they are bonafide studs. Ohio State is going to have a tough time passing and running against them.

Sorry Buckeyes, the USC defense is just too athletic for you guys.

Receiving: I have a lot of respect for OSU wideout Robiskie. Dude had 11 TD catches and almost a 1000 yds receiving in '07. Props. USC wideout Patrick Turner had a mediocre season last year.

And, with Fred Davis (their leading receiver last year) gone, Vidal Hazelton and Ronald Johnson are going to have to step up. They're young and I wonder if they'll have the jitters against the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes take this one based on experience of play.

Overall, the Buckeyes have better skill positions on the offensive side of the ball. But, I say this game will be won on the defensive side and I think the Trojans will be victorious.

Coach Carroll relishes a challenge and gets excited to play against great offensive minds like Coach Tedford of Cal and Charlie Weis of Notre Dame. Jim Tressel will be no exception.

Plus, Ohio State just doesn't possess the speed and athleticism to compete with the SEC schools. USC is very much like an SEC school. They're overloaded with speed that will ultimately overwhelm the Buckeyes.