Preview: Ohio St @ USC - Sept. 13, 2008
By Tom Hatfield of Razor Sharp Sports
As we head into week 3 of the college football season, we kick things up a notch. From what I have seen so far, I don’t expect we saw anything that will affect the BCS Championship Match-up! That all changes this week as the Ohio St Buckeyes head out to the west coast for a prime time battle with the USC Trojans. There are still alot of games that will eventually lead to the title game, but this will be a big one.
First you have the Ohio St Buckeyes. Jim Tressel’s team has gone to back-to-back National Championship games, just to be blown out, but at least they were there. This year the Buckeyes have plenty of talent to return to a third title tilt, but can they do it. RB Chris “Beanie” Wells was injured in their season opening win over Youngtown St. His missed last weeks game against Ohio University and it looked like the Buckeye offense missed him. They came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Bobcats 26-14. Wells looks like he will be ready for this weeks contest. Ohio St may also end up with a QB controversy before all is said in done. Returning starter Todd Boeckman is being pushed by huge and athletic freshman Terelle Pryor. The one place they don’t have problems is on defense. Butkus Award winner LB James Lauriniatis anchors one of the best units in the country.
On the other side of the ball we have the #1 team in the country in USC. The Trojans have missed out on the BCS Championship Game the last two years. Prior to that they lost to Texas in 2006 and won the title in 2005. The 2008-09 version of the Trojans are led by QB Mark Sanchez. Sanchez had a few questions heading into the year because of injury, but in the season opening 52-7 victory over Virginia he showed no signs of that injury. Sanchez was 26-35 for 338 yards and 3 scores. It wasn’t just Sanchez that looked good. The whole team dominated the Cavaliers. They outgained Virginia 558-187 in yards. USC had an off week last week so they have an extra week to prepare.
The Buckeyes may have gotten caught looking ahead last week, but I expect them to be ready here. The Trojans may be the most talented team in the country and the extra week may make the difference. The great coaches in Jim Tressel and Pete Carroll and their staffs will have both of their teams ready. I expect the defenses to shine. As a free winner for this week take the Ohio St/USC game UNDER the total. We are already 2-0 this football season here. Don’t forget you can always get a free winner each and everyday from us by going to www.feeplays.com and clicking on Razor Sharp Sports or you can alwasy call the Razor Sharp Free Pick Phone at 1-800-549-7111.