In week one, USC looked strong, as they pummeled a hapless San Jose state team, but Ohio State struggled mightily against a weak Navy squad, squeaking out a victory in the last seconds of the game.

So it's obvious, USC goes into Columbus and beats down yet another out of conference opponent, right? Well, in the immortal words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friends".

USC starts a Freshman quarterback against a team that is decidedly NOT San Jose State. Yeah, I know it's Matt Barkley, but still playing in Columbus is a daunting task for anyone, let alone for a player in just his second start ever.

On both sides of the ball, Ohio State returns nearly everyone, including sophomore quarterback Terrell Pryor, as super fast QB who can pass the ball accurately, but whose biggest weapon is that he can break down a defense with his speed.

Ohio state is a team that is begging for just one quality win. In a weak Big 10 division, Ohio State is a team whose last five games on a big stage consists of 24-21 (loss to Texas), 35-3 (loss to USC), 38-14 (loss to LSU), 41-14 (loss to Florida), 24-7 (win against Texas). To add, Ohio State is 1-3 in their last four bowl games (with their only win coming against an annually over rated Notre Dame team). Conversely, we all know what to expect what USC plays on the big stage.

Basically, we should be able to expect more of the same.

Yet, despite all of this logic, I find myself inexplicably drawn to a let down by USC. I find myself thinking that Ohio state basically hid their entire play book against Navy and when they get USC in Columbus this week, we'll see a different OSU than we saw last week. They had better be different, because we know we'll get the same old USC squad.

Every time I go against USC, it bites me in the butt, but just this once...

USC has to lose one of these games sometimes, right?

Purdue @ Oregon

DM14