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

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Ohio State has a lot to prove Saturday at USC By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Friday, Sep 12, 2008
Win or lose, Ohio State and the Browns will force Northeast Ohio fans to come down from a serious self-induced football buzz Monday morning.
This is one of those weekends that would have been perfect had the games been played in mid-October with an ever-so-slight chill in the air, but who the heck am I to quibble with near perfection?
The most pressing question of the weekend for both teams: which team will show up?
With the Buckeyes battling No. 1 Southern Cal at 8 p.m. Saturday (actual kickoff is slated for 8:20 p.m.) on ABC (WEWS Channel 5), fans don't know if a championship caliber team will thrash the Trojans or bow to their will.
Why the uncertainty?
All you have to do is look to that performance against Ohio University last week in a game Ohio should have won. Given what the OSU football program has done the past two years, you would think that it would be able to swoop into this game with the wind at their backs, but no. They find themselves with more pressure, former Buckeyes receiver Cris Carter said.
''They lost the last two national championship games, so this is important, not only for their program in terms of this year and trying to get to the national championship, but I also think in their national recruiting,'' he said.
In Ohio State's case, perception is reality, and the reality is ? whether right or wrong ? a lot of college football fans are not too keen on seeing the Buckeyes playing in the national championship game again. Witness the drop in the polls from No. 3 to No. 5 after the pathetic showing against the Bobcats.
Is there a bias against OSU?
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Showcase showdown: USC's Maualuga, OSU's Laurinaitis share linebacker spotlight

by Doug Lesmerises Thursday September 11, 2008, 8:41 PM


Marvin Fong/The Plain DealerJames Laurinaitis has made a name for himself in his ability to make big defensive plays in pass coverage --- as he did on this interception against Illinois in 2006. Fellow linebacker Marcus Freeman (1) looks to make a block on the return.
COLUMBUS -- Ohio State receiver Brian Hartline knows he's been preparing for USC's linebackers his whole career. When he watches the Trojans on film, whether they're blitzing quarterbacks, cracking running backs or tracking receivers, he's seen it all before, watching his teammates at linebacker in every Ohio State practice. "That was a great gauge, because a lot of times on film you're so eager to jump on someone and say they don't look very good, they don't look very fast," Hartline said. "But now I can say, 'How does James look on film?' and compare them. And they're a good defense."
The most obvious comparisons are between Ohio State middle linebacker James Laurinaitis and USC middle linebacker Rey Maualuga. The son of a professional wrestler and great-great grandson of a Samoan chieftain met and befriended each other before the season as Playboy All-Americans and now will share the field at the Coliseum.

Analyst Rob Rang of NFLdraftscout.com said Thursday that he considers both players to among the best five to seven seniors in the country and each a top 15 pick in the NFL Draft when inside linebackers going in the top 10 is almost unheard of. Outside linebackers Marcus Freeman of Ohio State and Brian Cushing of USC also have shots to go in the first round, according to Rang, and are generally considered to be at least second-round locks.
"To have all these linebackers in just one game," OSU cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said, "it'll be amazing to have this much talent on one field, especially at that single position."
"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 rare that you would get this many guys that will have big futures and upsides as you see in this game."

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[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State football: When we'll know more on Wells

by Doug Lesmerises Friday September 12, 2008, 3:18 AM


Arrived here in Los Angeles, now finishing a story on Beanie Wells' left foot getting jealous over all the attention lavished on his right foot. Heard the left foot is considering a transfer.
While I was in the air, Brentt Musburger went on ESPN and said the Buckeyes were more encouraged about Wells' status than they were when they left Columbus. Musburger also reported that when Tressel said Thursday that Wells was doubtful, he actually meant doubtful if the game had been played Thursday.
That I don't get. Sometimes questions are asked that way, a could he play today type of question. This was the exact wording on the question and answer this time.
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[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State Insider: With Wells hurting, Tressel ponders options (and hopes for better news)

by Doug Lesmerises Thursday September 11, 2008, 9:02 PM

OSUOSU running back Chris "Beanie" Wells.
COLUMBUS -- Jim Tressel was hoping for the best with Beanie Wells Thursday. He didn't get it. Now Ohio State may have to figure out how to beat the No. 1 team in the country without its No. 1 offensive player. The Buckeyes' top running back did not practice Thursday morning after experiencing too much soreness in his injured right foot after practicing Wednesday night, and Tressel said Thursday afternoon he considers Wells doubtful for Saturday's game against USC.
"He had more soreness this morning than we had hoped for," Tressel said before the Buckeyes headed to the airport for their 2 p.m. flight to California. "A late afternoon practice followed by a morning practice, we hope that's a little bit the reason why. So we'll just have to play it by ear. We're hopeful, but he didn't work this morning."
Asked whether the decision for Saturday's game was about how much Wells would play or whether Wells would play, Tressel said, "Probably whether he plays."

All along, however, Tressel and other coaches have said that Wells would not risk any further injury by playing on the foot. While it's reasonable to assume that if this wasn't USC week, the Buckeyes wouldn't even attempt to get Wells ready, Saturday might be worth a shot.

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[osugrad21]

Canton

Buckeyes' Wells is doubtful for USC
Tressel will wait until Saturday to see how star back feels
Friday, September 12, 2008
By TODD PORTER
[email protected]

COLUMBUS California dreaming is easy in Hollywood. The Buckeyes left for Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon and Saturday night's winner-take-all blockbuster football game against No. 1 USC with lofty dreams and a possible nightmare of an injury report.

OSU left for LaLa-Land with its Beanie. Whether the Buckeyes get to use him depends largely on what the bruising Buckeye running back's right foot feels like Saturday. Head Coach Jim Tressel, moments before boarding the team's charter for Los Angeles, listed Chris Wells as doubtful.

"We've just got to see how the next 24 hours feels and if he can move around," Tressel said.

"Being able to move around and being functional at the job you have to do are two different things. We've been reminding him it's September. We've got to treat things as they should be. ... Hopefully he wakes up in the morning and he's feeling better."

Tressel then clarified Wells' status for the game and listed him as doubtful.

Wells took about 20 snaps in practice Wednesday and the team wanted to evaluate him on Thursday. Tressel said Wells' right foot was sore.

"We were hoping he'd edge up closer to 90 percent as opposed to 75," Tressel said.

Wells hurt his right foot, likely the ball of his foot under his big toe, in the season opener against Youngstown State. He sat out last week's win against Ohio University and the Buckeyes struggled to move the football against a mediocre Mid-American Conference defense.

Wells has spent the last 10 days or so getting treatments on his foot. OSU, despite winning its first two games against lesser opponents, has dropped in the polls. Perhaps the Buckeyes' only shot at making a third straight national title run is beating USC and gaining respect around the country.
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[osugrad21]

Canton

Coliseum has a new look
Friday, September 12, 2008
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles Coliseum will have a new look, and a new sound, when No. 1 Southern California and No. 5 Ohio State meet Saturday night.

Among the improvements are two high-definition video boards and a state-of-the-art sound system. In addition, the turf and drainage systems have been replaced; the peristyle end has been refurbished and all the plaques at the peristyle end have been renovated; several concession stands have been added; 1,600 seats have been added at field level, raising the capacity to 93,607; trees and bushes have been trimmed; much of the facility has been painted, and a press elevator has been installed.
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[osugrad21]

Blade

OSU has tough road with voters
By DAVE HACKENBERG
BLADE SPORTS COLUMNIST
Idle thoughts from an idle mind ? while ignoring another birthday. Don't ask how many. Ohio State probably deserved to take a dip in the polls after struggling to a victory over The Ohio University, but the human voters, biased by the Buckeyes' two straight lopsided losses in the BCS championship game, may have had an ulterior
motive in sliding OSU into the No. 5 poll slot. If Ohio State should somehow beat Southern Cal tomorrow night, the pollsters won't have to vault the Buckeyes back to No. 1. And if they lose, well, how low can the voters go? The Buckeyes will have to be perfect from here on to negotiate a mine field back to the BCS title game. That means injured Beanie Wells needs to produce big numbers, Terrelle Pryor has to play more than the eight snaps he saw against Ohio, and the defense will have to put all kinds of pressure on USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. I don't see OSU winning, especially if Wells can't go, but I also don't see last week having anything to do with this week. The Trojans in a 24-20 squeaker sounds right.
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[osugrad21]

Blade

USC, OSU defensive leaders will play key roles
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
LOS ANGELES - A large outdoor amphitheater has long been an ideal place to stage an epic battle between gladiators. It worked for the Roman Empire, and it will work for two of the elite teams in college football tomorrow night. The Los Angeles Coliseum is where No. 1 Southern California and No. 5 Ohio State will play the most-hyped nonconference game of the season. The winner locks in the first solid nomination for the national championship. The loser will have to bandage its wounds, and then pursue lesser crowns. The fortunes of both USC and Ohio State will likely hinge on a number of individuals, but none will play a bigger role on the defensive side than the linebackers. Two of the best in all the land will strap on their armor and engage in battle in this historic arena, which has hosted the Pope, Billy Graham, two Olympiads, two Super Bowls, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones. Ohio State's James Laurinaitis is a returning All-American, and a recipient of both the Butkus Award and Nagurski Award - the champion's belts of the linebacker division. Southern California's Rey Maualuga is the primary challenger to the status of Laurinaitis as the premium player at the position. "He plays with all the passion and enthusiasm," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said about Maualuga, using the precise words he has attached to Laurinaitis many times. "He always has his hips flipped the right way. When he brings it, he brings it." Tressel said Maualuga, a two-time All-Pac-10 first-teamer who is USC's starting middle linebacker for the third season, is a significant presence on the field, and one of those playmakers who continually stands out on game films. "He'll hit you now, and you'll go backwards," Tressel said. "I guess I don't look at it as scary, because I don't have the ball, but he's a good one."
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[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Thursday, September 11, 2008
Carroll says seeing OSU legend Hayes memorable
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
LOS ANGELES - It was almost 30 years ago when a young and ambitious football coach sat in his broom closet of an office on the Ohio State campus and maybe was just daydreaming about where all the 18-hour days and the late meals of cold pizza might lead. As this unseasoned assistant gazed out the window, there appeared one of the greatest of all time. A 28-year-old Pete Carroll, Ohio State's secondary coach who was just a few years out of the college classroom at the time, saw Woody Hayes walking down the sidewalk across the parking lot.

"That's one of my favorite memories," said Carroll, now head coach of No. 1-ranked Southern California. "I'm sitting up in St. John Arena, the old basketball place. I was looking out the window and I saw coach Hayes. I'd never seen him before."

Hayes was the legendary coach of the Buckeyes from 1951-1978. He brought five national championships to Columbus and 13 Big Ten titles but he was fired after the Gator Bowl loss to Clemson in 1978 after hitting a Clemson player. Carroll, who had been on Earle Bruce's staff at Iowa State, came along with Bruce when Bruce was hired to replace Hayes. "I just dropped everything and took off, ran across the parking lot and met him about halfway," Carroll said about his chance encounter with Hayes.
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[osugrad21]

BN$--BBC Sept. 12 Edition: Scouting The Trojans

In-depth breakdown of USC roster.

 

[fourteenandoh]

Tress said it before the year started on College Football Live. Some of the criticsm is not unfair. If you want that respect you have to win your big games. He said recently we have not won those big games. Well, this is "one of those games".

As far as posters predicting a loss, at least you aren't talking football with a bunch of blind homers when you come on BP.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings

Friday, September 12, 2008 3:04 AM
By Bob Hunter


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is being coy about how he plans to use freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor against Southern California. But signs run counter to the notion that last week's close game with Ohio University kept Tressel from using Pryor as much as he would have liked. Tressel still raves about Pryor's abilities and makes it sound as if he's ready for anything, and senior starter Todd Boeckman admits that his understudy adds a dimension to the offense.
Some insiders believe Tressel might have been reluctant to show USC too much of Pryor last week because he has big plans for him this week.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Trojans' fan base doesn't dig losers

Friday, September 12, 2008 3:05 AM
By Bill Rabinowitz


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
LOS ANGELES -- This is a city that doesn't so much complain about mediocre sports teams as it ignores them. Imagine Ohio Stadium half full. Imagine Columbus on an autumn Saturday when football isn't the biggest thing in town.
But in Los Angeles, why grumble about a nothing-special team? After all, the beach awaits. So do the mountains. Hollywood is right there, as are plenty of other sports teams.
"Los Angeles is different than Columbus and Cleveland and other places in the Midwest," said Paul McDonald, a former University of Southern California (and Browns) quarterback, who is now a USC radio broadcaster.
"There are many things to do here. If you ain't winning, they ain't coming. If it's a sunny day, you're going to the beach or can do a thousand other things you really can't do in Cleveland or Columbus in November."
It is with this backdrop that USC rises or falls in public affection. In 2000, the Trojans drew fewer than 55,000 fans to four of their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum, which seats more than 93,000.
But just as L.A. has little use for a loser, it embraces a winner. These days, USC football is as big as it gets, thanks to coach Pete Carroll, who arrived in 2001.
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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Ohio State football
Wells' status still in question
Tailback must be dying to play, George says
Friday, September 12, 2008 3:05 AM
By Tim May


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells could learn today whether he will play Saturday night at Southern California -- or coach Jim Tressel could make it a game-time decision. Either way, Eddie George is certain about one thing.
"I am sure Beanie wants to play," said George, who won the Heisman Trophy at Ohio State in 1995.
The USC game has been singled out for months as one that could make or break Ohio State's bid for a third straight trip to the national championship game after consecutive losses to Southeastern Conference schools. And it has been seen as equally important for Wells, a preseason contender for the Heisman Trophy.
"More than anything, these are the games you live for," George said. "These are the games you want to play in, the thrill of playing against a team like USC, in their place, the Los Angeles Coliseum. That's an experience that can't be duplicated."
Tressel described Wells' status as doubtful yesterday before the Buckeyes left for Los Angeles. But after they arrived, an Ohio State representative told ESPN that Tressel meant Wells would have been doubtful only if the game had been yesterday. The team is "a little more optimistic" he could play Saturday, the representative said.
The Buckeyes are looking for a boost after their offense played lethargically last week in a 26-14 win over Ohio University. Even though Ohio State has other options on offense, Wells is the slugger.
"The reason he wants to play in this game is his team desperately needs him," George said. "He has emerged as the face of the Ohio State Buckeyes for this year. He is the leader, the force that will set the tone for this team."
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[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Ohio State notebook
USC, OSU bringing different celebrities

Friday, September 12, 2008 3:01 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Tracy Bennett Associated Press
Denzel Washington, who played a football coach in Remember the Titans, will have one of more than 150 sideline passes for the Southern California-Ohio State game.



Southern California officials are promising a star-studded sideline Saturday in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Los Angeles Times reports that between 150 and 200 sideline passes have been issued to fans for the game against Ohio State. Not surprisingly, there are some big names -- led by actors Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx.
The Buckeyes, though, can counter with some celebrities, as well: Earle Bruce and John Cooper.
Coach Jim Tressel said yesterday that the two former coaches are accompanying the team on the trip. The Buckeyes left yesterday afternoon.
"We need everybody," Tressel said. "And I told them we need to have our top squad with us and asked them if they'd come, and they're both ecstatic."
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