Game Thread Ohio State 3, Southern Cal 35 (Sept. 13)

[muffler dragon]

One could make the argument that it was BECAUSE of the beating USC gave them, that they could never recover and turned about to be such a bad team. That is the caliber of team we are dealing with here after all.

And "one" would be wrong. Believe it or not, two football pundits on ESPN radio were talking about just Virginia was worse than expected. This was done after one of them "justified" USC jumping up to #1. The reasoning according to this guy was that USC traveled across country against a BCS conference team. Yes, Virginia sucks, but still...

Most people who know their football (and even those who do not) realize that Virginia sucks horribly this year.

 

[BuckeyeGanoosh]

So what are the biggest non-Beanie, non-Pryor conclusions from the YSU game?

Devier Posey as going to be a star and our OL is as deep as anyone in the country now.

 

[Poe McKnoe]

I would say it is that we still haven't figured out how to convert on 3rd and 3s and 4s on a consistent basis. The empty backfield look, especially if SC's defense is backed up inside the redzone, is going to kill us. I could see SC blitzing us from LBer and safety all day if we continue to do that. If it was up to me, I'd have Prior hand it off to Beanie from the Piston. And if we don't get it, we'll just QB sneak Prior, who is 6-6, has long arms and good ball control.

Enough with the OSU questions. How about you tell us what kind of roles Rojo and Damian Williams will play and how good the OTs are?

Who's Prior and what's a Piston?

 

[WyoBuck]

At the moment, I can't argue with that. If the Illini and MSU would've pulled out W's, we'd have an early argument. What's surprising is that we don't play each other more often in the bowl season.

Actually, its not That suprising, considering that in the past 5 or 6 years (depending on how you want to look at it) either one of us has been in the championship game, and given how hard it is to make it there anyway, it stands to reason that we probably wouldn't make it there together. Plus, the past few years, especially after Auburn bitching about being slighted, there has been a definate SEC slant to the bowl pairings. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that the championship game is going to boil down to an SEC team, and whoever wins the Big 10, Pac 10 or Big 12.

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

Who's Prior and what's a Piston?

My bad. I was thinking of John Prior, the OL recruit. Pryor is the back-up at QB and the Piston is a formation on offense where the QB takes the snap and either hands its off to the RB or fakes the handoff and runs it himself. Quite effective with Pryor running it, especially in short yardage situations.

 

[BuckeyeGanoosh]

My bad. I was thinking of John Prior, the OL recruit. Pryor is the back-up at QB and the Piston is a formation on offense where the QB takes the snap and either hands its off to the RB or fakes the handoff and runs it himself. Quite effective with Pryor running it, especially in short yardage situations.

Certainly preferred over the pistoff.

 

[BuckeyeGanoosh]

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that the championship game is going to boil down to an SEC team, and whoever wins the Big 10, Pac 10 or Big 12.

My vote would be us and a Big 12 undefeated squad. We'll beat USC, and the SEC will cannibalize itself this year.

My point was more on the Rose Bowl since it favors our conferences. We haven't squared off with SC since 1985 there.

 

[generaladm]

Certainly preferred over the pistoff.

We haven't run that since Lydell Ross.

 

[sammyjenkis]

My bad. I was thinking of John Prior, the OL recruit. Pryor is the back-up at QB and the Piston is a formation on offense where the QB takes the snap and either hands its off to the RB or fakes the handoff and runs it himself. Quite effective with Pryor running it, especially in short yardage situations.

No, you're thinking of the spread-option formation. What you probably meant to say was the pistil formation - which is basically a flower's reproductive organs. It's actually quite effective with or without Prior at the Helm. Common mistake.

 

[BUCKYLE]

I heard Richard Pryor was in here waving a pistol around?

 

[BrianO]

Their main argument was because of how USC looked against Virgina, who probably isn't that much better than OU.

Agreed, Virginia was picked by the media to finish fifth place (out of 6) in ACC Coastal Division.

With that said they did look very good, well coached, etc. It will be a test for the boys in Scarlet and Grey.

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

No, you're thinking of the spread-option formation. What you probably meant to say was the pistil formation - which is basically a flower's reproductive organs. It's actually quite effective with or without Prior at the Helm. Common mistake.

I heard Richard Pryor was in here waving a pistol around?

Not the first time spell check has failed me and won't be the last.

 

[MajesticTurkey]

Completely random thought occurred to me at 4:30AM in the morning, the insomniac I am.

While we compare OSU's display of depth against Youngstown State vs USC's sheer flex of muscle against Virginia, we often forget the finer points of the game. Coaches spend hours each day looking over mechanics in game film, how well such-and-such a linebacker covered his assigned gap, or how well the offensive linemen picked up blitzes. However, when you look at two teams the caliber of Ohio State and Southern Cal, it becomes more than just the nuances, simply because at a high enough level of gameplay, the nuances start to cap off. Our players do it better than most others in the country, end of story. And these are two of the best coaches in the country, so saying it comes down to coaching staff is also somewhat moot.

No, dear friends, it has occurred to me that the single most important key to this game is, as a wise man once put it..."The team that scores the most points will win." And now I tip my hat as JO4H bans me for stealing his line. Alternatively he'll just delete it.

 

[614]

That's Austin Carr's line before every Cavalier game

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Tuesday, September 2, 2008
USC's Maualuga won't let finger injury stop him

The Trojans' star linebacker is confident he'll play against Ohio State.

By ADAM MAYA
The Orange County Register
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
LOS ANGELES ? USC linebacker Rey Maualuga said X-rays taken Tuesday morning on his broken right ring finger revealed a bigger break than the one he suffered in practice last week.

He said doctors numbed the finger during the Virginia game but he declined using a cast.
?You should work with the trainers instead of against them,? Maualuga said. ?Me being me, I was just being a hard head.?
He practiced Tuesday with a heavily padded piece of armor that looks like a cast but is not.
?I had X-rays this morning and the doctors said the crack moved,? he said. ?They are really concerned about me using my hands.?
Could it possibly keep him out against Ohio State, which USC plays Sept. 13 at the Coliseum?
?Never,? Maualuga said.
Coach Pete Carroll said he noticed just one instance against Virginia in which Maualuga missed a tackle because of his finger.
Cont...