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

[osugrad21]

Link

Bye weeks have been kind for Pete Carroll and USC

By Michael Lev / The Orange County Register
Thursday, September 11, 2008 - Added 2h ago






LOS ANGELES ? While Ohio State was barely defeating heavy underdog Ohio, USC was taking the weekend off. During the Pete Carroll era, bye weeks have been a good thing for the Trojans.
USC has won 10 of its past 11 games after byes under Carroll. The Trojans used last week to get their younger players extra work, to refine their game plan and to heal any lingering injuries.
"I think we?ve taken full advantage of it, and we?re better because of it," Carroll said after practice Wednesday. "That doesn?t mean anything (against Ohio State). We play a really good team. We?ll see what the results are. But we have improved through this time."

The only starter who is questionable for Saturday is receiver Vidal Hazelton, who would have had no chance of playing had USC faced Ohio State last week.
The extra week also gave quarterback Mark Sanchez a chance to make up some of the practice time he lost during training camp while recuperating from a knee injury. When he returned to practice, he had to focus all of his attention on season-opening foe Virginia.
"Now he?s gotten that week of just playing football," USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said.
"He got to work on some fundamental stuff that maybe he missed in training camp, whether it was footwork, some new little wrinkles in the offense, a lot of little things."
There are some downsides to having a bye. The offense looked rusty during Monday?s practice, and Carroll said coaches have to guard against using the extra time to overstuff the playbook.

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[osugrad21]

Link

Mike Kern: A make-or-break game for Ohio State, USC

By Mike Kern
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Sports Writer
THEY'VE PLAYED 21 times, beginning in 1937. But they last met in 1990. From 1968 to '84, they squared off in six Rose Bowls. In three of those, one team was ranked No. 1. In four, both were in the Top 5 (in three, each was among the Top 3). Three times, the winner claimed a national title. In the other, it cost the loser a ring. See Earle Bruce. This month's Game of the Century has old-school roots.
Ohio State-Southern Cal. Prime time, network television, from the Los Angeles Coliseum. Can intersectional get much larger? Particularly for the third week of the season. These programs have made it to five of the last six BCS finals (yet never against each other). The year one of them didn't (2003), USC managed to snag half a crown anyway, while OSU won a BCS bowl and finished fourth in the closing poll.
Did we mention that the Trojans have won the last five collisions, since the 1973 Rose Bowl?
They've been one of the two most prominent programs of the century, with Lousiana State. Now, the Trojans sit atop the polls, once again, while the Buckeyes lurk four rungs back. The survivor can continue thinking about a trip to south Florida for the final game on Jan. 8. The loser will need help getting there, while being forced to navigate the remainder of the schedule without a safety net.
The Buckeyes, who haven't dropped a road game in 35 months, didn't look too worthy against Ohio without Beanie Wells. Whether his injured ankle will be well enough to make a difference, maybe only Jim Tressel knows for sure. His team is a 10 1/2-point underdog. In case you missed it, the Buckeyes have lost the last two BCS finals by a combined 41 points. So, the credibility gap has become a campaign issue.
The last thing the Buckeyes (or even the Big Ten) needs is one more woodshed deal. If they can pull off the upset, the biggest obstacle between them and 12-0 would be at Wisconsin on Oct. 4. Because Penn State never wins in Columbus.
As for the Trojans, a lot of folks thought they were the best team at the end of last season. Except for that not-so-minor matter of losing at home to Stanford, which carried no statute of limitations.
In the Pac-10, they get Oregon, Arizona State and Cal at home. Notre Dame, too, if you think that still matters. They do end at UCLA, where they fell 2 years ago to take themselves out of the title game, but that's still only a bus ride to Pasadena.
USC hasn't lost to a non-conference opponent at home since Sept. 8, 2001 (10-6, to Kansas State), which was Pete Carroll's second game.
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[osugrad21]

Link

DILBECK: It's USC's biggest game of the season -- until the next one on the schedule

By Steve Dilbeck, columnist
Article Launched: 09/11/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT


Biggest non-conference college football game of the season.
A date circled in red for months.
Reeks of tradition and culture clashes and 2008 significance.
It's USC-Ohio State, with the winner on an open path to the national championship game. No. 1 vs. No. 5. Flamboyance and athleticism vs. three yards and a cloud of dust. It's a heart-pounding, big-time, college-football showdown.
Unless you're a Trojan.
Then it's the game of the week.
The biggest game of the year - until the next game.
"We treat every game the same," said USC defensive end Kyle Moore. "You know it's Ohio State, but it's just like when we go into the Pac-10 Conference.
"That's how we have to treat them because we know everyone is going to bring their A game every time they play us because we're the Trojans. We have to treat this like any other game."
That's classic Pete Carroll-speak, and like most, I've tended to roll the eyes and say a lot of private, "Yeah, rights."
Only now I am a believer. I have drunk the Kool-Aid. Am an official Carroll convert. I believe he's actually succeeded in selling this spiel to his players. It's not just talk, but a Trojan way of life.
It doesn't matter if it's true, if you believe it. If it actually works.
That's why USC can go into Virginia in their opener and take care of business in impressive fashion. Why the Trojans don't get caught looking ahead, like Ohio State did against Ohio.

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[osugrad21]

Link

Fili Moala ready to get physical

USC's defensive tackle prefers the Ohio State style after making no tackles against Virginia.
By Gary Klein and David Wharton, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
September 11, 2008
USC defensive tackle Fili Moala wears No. 75, but he cannot escape the attention of No. 1.

That's the overall spot an ESPN analyst shockingly slotted Moala into last April in an early 2009 NFL mock draft.

For nearly the last two weeks, however, Moala has been forced to live with the reality of another number: zero.

That's how many tackles the senior was credited with in the top-ranked Trojans' season-opening victory over Virginia.

"Of course it bugs me," Moala said Wednesday. "But if you beat yourself up over it you're going to be so worried about what happened . . . you're not going to see the chance you have in front of you."


Moala, who sat out part of practice because of back spasms, expects to feel better mentally and physically Saturday when USC plays fifth-ranked Ohio State at the Coliseum.

Unlike Virginia, which ran a spread offense, the Buckeyes traditionally prefer a more smash-mouth style. Ohio State running back Chris "Beanie" Wells practiced in pads Wednesday for the first time since suffering a foot injury against Youngstown State on Sept. 30 and will play against the Trojans.

The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Moala is up for the challenge of playing against a physical offensive line.

"Come straight at me," he said, "and we'll see what's going to happen."

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[osugrad21]

Link

Sideline pass to USC football game is the hottest ticket in town

When the Trojans play host to Ohio State on Saturday, the sideline at the Coliseum will be packed with as many as 200 fans, including actors Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx.[/color]
By Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 11, 2008
Sideline passes for USC home football games might rank second only to Lakers' courtside seats as the ultimate status symbol on the Los Angeles sports scene, even if Kobe Bryant is not a Trojan.

Neither Jack Nicholson nor Leonardo DiCaprio has shown along the sideline, nor have mythical agent Ari Gold and the boys from the hit HBO series "Entourage" filmed a scene on the Coliseum turf, but it seems like a natural setting given the Trojans' sold-out season and Coach Pete Carroll's Q rating in Los Angeles.

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[osugrad21]

Link

KRIKORIAN: USC, Ohio St. rivalry goes back to McKay, Hayes

By Doug Krikorian, Sports Columnist
Article Launched: 09/10/2008 10:56:04 PM PDT


They possess two of the storied programs of college football, and between them have won 1,553 games, claimed 18 national championships, produced 14 Heisman Trophy winners, appeared in 85 bowl games, and earned 69 league titles.
They play in their historic home stadiums in front of massive sellout crowds, and they have been a hallowed part of the autumn athletic scene for more than a century.
Indeed, when you think of college football, USC and Ohio State resonate right there with Notre Dame and Michigan in national recognition, schools with widespread alumni support whose very names evoke legendary coaches, players, games and anecdotes.
And, early Saturday evening at the Coliseum, a most compelling non-conference match will transpire between the Trojans and Buckeyes that has serious recruiting implications, serious bragging rights implications and serious BCS implications.
What such a game has inspired in me is fond remembrances of a long ago time when I was a young sportswriter doing Rose Bowl sidebar stories for the old Los Angeles Herald Examiner on several memorable Jan. 1 meetings between the Buckeyes and Trojans.
The first one came in 1969, and the No. 1-ranked 10-0 Buckeyes of Woody Hayes were underdogs against the No. 2-ranked 9-0-1 Trojans of John McKay and O.J. Simpson in front of 102,063.
It seemed as though the Trojans were destined to win their second consecutive national championship when Simpson broke one 80.


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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Heavy Hitters
USC linebackers Maualuga, Cushing have emerged as a force
Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:20 AM
By Bill Rabinowitz


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Joe Robbins | Getty Images
Rey Maualuga has developed into an outstanding linebacker after learning to channel his emotions.

Joe Robbins | Getty Images
Strong side linebacker Brian Cushing has overcome a litany of injuries, but wears a cast to protect a chipped bone in his left wrist.


http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/podcasts/buckeyextra/xtra022.html

LOS ANGELES -- One was undisciplined. The other was frequently injured. Ohio State wishes that were still the case for Southern California linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing.
Although the Buckeyes point to James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman as difference-makers for their defense, the Trojans say the same of Maualuga and Cushing.
The game Saturday between No. 1 USC and No. 5 Ohio State might hinge on which pair of linebackers shines brighter.
"(It's) really a cool opportunity for people that love football to watch these guys on both sides of the ball," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "It's really rare that you would get this many guys that will have big futures and upsides as you will see in this game."
Maualuga, a senior middle linebacker, is a two-time All-Pacific-10 player. In last season's Rose Bowl victory over Illinois, he had three sacks and an interception, and he forced a fumble to earn defensive player honors. Cushing, who plays on the strong side, took that honor in the previous year's Rose Bowl.
"Our guys are really classic linebackers in their attitude, their approach," Carroll said. "They're physical. They're tough. They run well. They love the game. They're really good all-around athletes that can make plays in space and can make plays in tight areas. They're the kind of guys that their teammates respect and regard highly because of their toughness."
Maualuga's physical gifts have never been in question. Carroll made him a starter as a sophomore because of his obvious ability. But he often played out of control, eager to make a spectacular play but sometimes free-lancing at the expense of the overall defense.
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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

IF U GO: OSU at USC

Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:15 AM
By Tom Reed


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/podcasts/buckeyextra/xtra022.html

IN A NUTSHELL: Everyone knows where Carson Palmer's heart lies in the Ohio State-USC showdown. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback is a former Trojan and proud of his heritage. But Palmer was more than happy to serve as an If U Go special correspondent for Saturday night's game. He's offering OSU fans dining tips and a piece of advice: "They definitely need to check it out, but if they're on campus, don't go off campus -- you're right in the heart of South Central Los Angeles. You've got to be careful." The biggest trip of the season also includes another of Paul Keels' five-star recommendations.
FLIERS' GUIDE

Expedia.com is listing flights for as low as $647 to Los Angeles International Airport and back. Car rental is a good idea; a white Ford Bronco in honor of USC's 1968 Heisman Trophy winner is not so good.
DRIVERS' GUIDE

According to MapQuest.com, Los Angeles is 2,251 miles from Columbus. Travel time: 33 hours, 14 minutes. If Buckeyes fan LeBron James makes the trek in his Hummer H2, it will cost him roughly $1,650 round trip.
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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Is OSU holding back on offense?
Buckeyes could spring a surprise or two on Trojans
Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:20 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


"Personally, I thought we might have held some stuff back," receiver Brian Hartline said of Ohio State's offense in the first two games.


http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/podcasts/buckeyextra/xtra022.html

The offense was so sluggish last week, the game plan so vanilla, that it seemed Ohio State was holding something back for Southern California. Maybe it's a case of fans rationalizing a poor performance -- 272 yards in a come-from-behind 26-14 victory over Ohio University. Surely, this can't be all the Buckeyes have, can it?
Part of the struggle could be blamed on the absence of running back Chris "Beanie" Wells, who sat out because of a foot injury suffered in the opener Aug. 30. Wells returned to practice yesterday for the first time and looked to be about 75 percent healthy, according to several coaches.
His return Saturday will certainly help against the top-ranked Trojans in Los Angeles.
"Beanie's definitely a leader on this team, and I think you miss a guy like that," receiver Brian Robiskie said. "So to see him come out in uniform, it's definitely going to give us a boost."
But that wasn't the extent of the issues Ohio State had last week.
The offensive line played poorly in the first half, getting little push and missing blocks. The timing between quarterback Todd Boeckman and his receivers was off, resulting in several drops and balls delivered off target or late.
"I didn't think we were as sharp, crisp, nor did I think we were as patient from the quarterback position," coach Jim Tressel said.


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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

OSU notebook: Wells looks OK in first work back at practice

Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:12 AM
By Tim May


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
For Ohio State fans, there is reason to be joyful and anxious about tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells this morning, two days before the Buckeyes play at Southern California. Wells practiced yesterday for the first time since he suffered a jammed right forefoot Aug. 30 against Youngstown State. He was at about "75 percent or maybe better," coach Jim Tressel said.
But the question that needs to be answered today is how did his foot hold up to the strain after a night's rest? Tressel might provide the answer at midday before the team leaves for Los Angeles. Wells is expected to go, but will he be going out to watch or to play a major role?
"The key will be how is he (today)," Tressel said during his weekly radio show last night on WBNS-AM. "If he isn't very sore, then he is going to make a big jump (today), Friday and Saturday.
"I know this: No one in the world wants to play in this game more than Chris Wells."
He rejoined the offense for the first time since he was helped off the field in the third quarter against Youngstown State. He sat out a game Saturday against Ohio University.
"I'd say he probably carried the ball 20 times today," Tressel said, adding that the team was running full-contact drills. But he added, "You could see he got a little sore as the practice went."
Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said Wells might have been in a different style shoe than he used before and had protective tape on the foot. As far as Bollman was concerned, any news was good news as it related to Wells.
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[Buckskin86]

Eyes back on campus

Some Falcons have their eyes on the game Saturday between No. 1 USC and No. 5 Ohio State.

Left tackle Sam Baker, a USC alum, doesn?t have any wagers with the former Ohio State Buckeyes on the roster, but he said: ?There?s been a lot of talk.?

He also gave a semi-prediction.

?It?s in the Coliseum,? Baker said. ?It?s hard to beat the Trojans in the Coliseum. That?s all I?m saying.?

Tight end Ben Hartsock, who played at Ohio State, has been monitoring the availability of Buckeyes running back Chris Wells.

?I read that Beanie Wells is going to play,? Hartsock said. ?That makes things even more exciting. Everybody has been talking about Ohio State not doing well against Ohio. I think will be no problem with Ohio State being ready and prepared for this game. It?s something that they are accustomed to, and I think they?ll do well.?

Wide receiver Michael Jenkins, defensive end Simon Fraser and Stepanovich are other former Buckeyes on the roster. Baker is the only former Trojans player.

Falcons lineman back on field | ajc.com

OSU-USC trash talk
Posted by Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
September 10, 2008
Categories: Saints

There was lots of trash talk in the locker room today between former Ohio State and Southern Cal players, of which there was one less with the release of tight end and ex-Trojan Billy Miller.

With Miller temporarily gone, the alumni are split right down the middle, two each from Ohio State and Southern Cal.

Reggie Bush -- a proud Southern Cal product -- and deep snapper and Ohio State alum Kevin Houser traded good-natured barbs for several minutes.

"What's a Buckeye anyway? What kind of mascot is that?," said a jovial Reggie Bush.

Bush tried to lure defensive end Will Smith into the conversation but the former Ohio State standout stayed out of it.

In a session with reporters across the locker room, former Southern Cal All-American Sedrick Ellis picked his Trojans to win "big." Asked for a prediction, Ellis backed off and picked USC to win 24-7.

http://blog.nola.com/jeffduncan/2008/09/osuusc_trash_talk.html

 

[osugrad21]

Scout$--Five Questions: Ohio State at USC

Adjustments, Beanie, new wrinkles...

 

[Tlangs]

The hardest part of this week will be the wait on Saturday.
Go Buckeyes

A round of golf on Saturday should knock a chunk of that wait off.

 

[morbitzerker]

A round of golf on Saturday should knock a chunk of that wait off.

I was thinking it would be funny to start a thread with a list of things that one could do on Saturday to pass the time.

I'll be playing Cornhole on my tOSU set, drinking heavily.

 

[kc286496]

Yeah, that little dink pass that LSU threw to the TE a couple of times in the MNC game has had me thinking it's about time we add that to our playbook.

It's not like our TEs don't have hands, and God knows that if JT were to call that kind of play there's no flipp'n way that SC would be looking for it.
Maybe that old lady who wrote to JT about the Statue of Liberty should get on the horn again


In general, I'd like to see our TEs getting balls thown to them way more often, for no other reason than to mix it up a bit. Hell, I'd even be down with a tackle elgible play.

Well, we do have a dropped Ben Hartsock pass in the 'Shoe against Texas to thank for his reluctance to use the tight end in big situations. Great player, Hartsock was. But I still wake up sweating sometimes with that image going through my mind.