What to Expect

As I said in the previous entry, USC has only played one game, and that was against a team that struggled the following week against Richmond. I think USC is getting much more credit than they deserve at this point. Do I think there is a chance they continue on this path and finish undefeated, yes, but at this point I think it is too early to make that prediction.

OSU did struggle against Ohio, and I don't think the simple answer is that they were looking ahead. I honestly think Ohio gave them a great game and some of our guys looked tired, if not hungover. Honestly I thought our team looked like it had went out drinking the night before, like it was a January 1st bowl game. Outside of that it looked like the running game was not getting established with Mo' Wells and they quickly went to the pass, and the passes were short. Boeckman and the receivers were not on the same page, with timing off, and catchable passes being dropped. It didn't help that many passes were short making them easy to cover. I was really bothered by the fact that Pretorius missed a FG and PAT. The FG would have been a career long of 53, and it wasn't even close.

Some key points to this game, Beanie Wells will likely play, USC has struggled to prepare, USC is over confident, OSU returns some key players, and OSU is the underdog. Unless I hear something dramatically different from Tressel today or tomorrow morning, I think Beanie will play. His coaches said he was 75% on Wednesday, but that number went down Thursday morning. Honestly do you think Beanie would not play if he was at least 50%? This game is too big for him and the team, even if it is early in the season. OSU gets some key players back with Washington at corner and safety O'Neal returning after a two game suspension. Don't expect Washington to start, as Tressel will continue the punishment, but he will make some major contributions as will reserve O'Neal. USC has struggled to prepare, because they do not know what to expect out of OSU, in regards to Beanie or Pryor. There is not one simple gameplan to prepare for, because the Buckeyes could be one of three different personalities on Saturday. The first personality being the team that barely won on Saturday without Beanie or Pryor having an impact. The second being a team that has a hard nosed running game with Beanie and some passes sprinkled in by Boeckman. The third being a team that has Pryor going in to change things up. Due to the struggle by OSU last weak, USC may be a bit over confident, which is fine, because OSU loves being the underdog. Think about this, when was the last time OSU was the underdog in a big game? Without looking at my records I think this is comparable to the OSU-Miami championship game, and we all know how that went. I still think the Buckeyes will win this one, and if you disagree, please let OSU know so that they can put it up on the bulletin board for motivation.