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  Week 3: (16-3)


This weekend is headlined by the Buckeyes and Trojans epic duel for ...NFL supremacy. That's not a misprint. The two teams in this contest are so talented that the winner should get more than a helmet sticker from Mark May.

I'd rather see the San Francisco 49ers get relegated to the Pac-10, and have the Trojans finish out the NFC West schedule if they win. If Ohio State pulls the upset, the Buckeyes should swap buses with the Detroit Lions.

The Trojans and Buckeyes rosters include a litany of high school All-Americans and future NFL first round talent. Mark Sanchez, Fili Moala, Joe McKnight, Patrick Turner, Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gables, Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, Taylor Mays, Ronald Johnson and Kevin Ellison have already got serious buzz. Receivers Vidal Hazelton, Ronald Johnson, Damian Williams, center Kris O'Dowd as well as linebackers Everson Griffin and Chris Galippo are expected to reach household name status if they live up to expectations.

Ohio State trots out it's own brigade of skillful athletes, especially on the defensive end including Marcus Freeman, Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, receivers Brian Hartline, Brian Robiskie senior quarterback Todd Boeckman, running back Chris Wells and the first backup quarterback with a cult following since Tim Tebow in freshman phenom, Terrelle Pryor. The jury is still out on defensive ends Lawrence Wilson, Cameron Heyward and safety Nick Patterson.

It's difficult to get a read on which team has the advantage under center.  Boeckman has a longer, albeit ordinary resume.  Conversely, Sanchez's thin rap sheet is short but brilliant.  Todd Boeckman has managed Ohio State's offense with pinpoint efficiency.  Mark Sanchez  who started a few games in 2007 directed a full fledged aerial assault on Virginia.  For Ohio State excruciatingly efficient won't cut it.  Boeckman will have to orchestrate a herculean performance to offset Sanchez's offensive weapons.   

Each teams backfield differ significantly.  Chris Wells was the Buckeyes workhorse back but is a gametime decision for Saturday.  Meanwhile, the Trojans trot out a murder's row 6 pack platoon.  All six were Parade or USA Today All-Americans in high school.  With Wells' effectiveness diminished by a foot injury, the Buckeyes will have to rely on Maurice Wells and Brandon Saine.

Is it plausible that the severity of Chris Wells' injury and the ineptness of the Buckeye offense against the Bobcats was an intentional effort to lull the Trojans into a false sense of security?  Think about it.  If Pete Carroll's defensive gameplan takes a cavalier attitude towards Ohio State's apparent conservativeness, it coul backfire. 

It's the perfect red herring.   Or it could just be Ohio State's Willis Reed Moment.  All Wells needs is one devastating stiff arm on a ten yard gain to put the momentum on their side. 

Meanwhile, the hypothetical Terrelle Pryor impact has received endless promotion. There's been this unsubstantiated theory that Tressel has cooked up an impossible to defend scheme involving Terrelle Pryor but if Tressel does not open up the playbook when Pryor is in the game it'll become predictable. USC's mythical trio of linebackers will stuff Pryor at the line or put him on his back in the backfield on his designated scrambles and quarterback draws.

Pryor's biggest advantage should come when Tressel gives Pryor the option to let fly. This puts the SoCal defense on it's toes and opens up the vertical passing game.

USC has suffered setbacks against mobile quarterbacks such as Juice Williams, Vince Young and Dennis Dixon but Ohio State doesn't implement a spread offense. In addition, Vince Young, Dennis Dixon and Juice Williams each had at least 3 seasons to progress as passers. 

USC should be wise not to blitz  trying to disrupt the freshman, unless they want Pryor to mirror Vince Young and tuck & run right by them for large chunks of yardage.

The coaching chess match will feature more mental warfare from the most coveted minds in college football than Professor X. They exude polar opposite personalities but parallel success.

Tressel is the consumate professional with a steely expression in contrast to Carroll who embraces the playground child within.
Tressel meticulously color coordinates his sweater vests, and Carroll disheveled hair remains uncombed. Jim Tressel is a drab, middle aged man who's about as exciting as  in sharp contrast to Carroll's constant state of mid-life crisis. He regularly lightens the mood at team meetings with elaborate pranks involving, actors as well as campus police and has given Snoop Dogg an all access pass to his practices.

This summer Jim Tressel wrote a book.  Pete Carroll opened an account on Facebook.  Despite these differences, since 2001, when they were both hired Carroll is 77-14 with two national titles another championship game appearance. Tressel is 75-16 with one BCS crown and two consecutive title-game drubbings.

A landslide victory will be an indictment of the Big 10 and a proclomation that these Trojans are setting the pace in the championship race.  USC wins 28- 36.

     Kansas takes a break from it's non-conference gauntlet against Florida International and Louisiana Tech before playing Sam Houston State to lock horns with the South Florida Bulls. Pun intended. Hopefully Kansas dons the "matador red" uniforms.

     This will be the 2nd installment of the emotionally charged Jay-Bulls series. "Todd Reesing, Matt Grothe. This time it's personal..."

      This may be a marquee matchup for devout fans but for the casual, bandwagon novice it's like getting sold prune juice from your meth dealer.   It might be good for you, but nobody wants to hear it.  Offensively, this game should administer shots of adrenaline.  Until last season when both teams embarked on magical runs, Kansas and South weren't even the laughing stock of the nation, they were enigmas. But even now they don't get the recognition they probably deserve.

     The Jayhawks and Bulls have both enjoyed a meteoric rise by riding their diminutive quarterbacks to temporary #2 overall rankings.  Kansas eventually earned a victory in the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech.   

South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe is the most agile and exciting dual threat quarterback in the nation, surpassing Pat White.  If Matt Grothe can consistently improve at this pace as a passer, he could challenge Reesing for the right to the unofficial moniker as the football fraternity's "Verne Troyer".

As I type this I still dont know which offense will buckle first.  However, USF struggled a little more than expected against Central Florida last Saturday therefore I'll take the Jayhawks 37-41 in overtime. 

#2 Georgia at South Carolina Steve Spurrier has yet to assemble a consistenly competitive SEC team with the Gamecocks but they have a propensity for playing spoiler. They can lose to Mississippi State one week, and play like the other USC the next. In 2006, South Carolina literally came a fingertip away from halting Florida's unlikely ascent to the throne. In an early season win last year, the Gamecocks delivered a crushing blow to Georgia's national championship aspirations. and later drilled the nail into the crystal trophy Kentucky had in their sights. This is a payback game for Georgia. Considering their bad luck with injuries, they'd better put this game away early to save their bodies for Arizona State.  34-10.

#3 Oklahoma at Washington- .Oklahoma has looked like a juggernaut at home and usually saves their inexplicable collapses for the 2nd half of the season.  Everyone knows about Sam Bradford but Oklahoma's newly implemented no-huddle offense has added another dimension to their formadability.   DeMarco Murray runs north south effectively between the tackles, line up as a slot receiver or make defenders miss running east to west.  Washington's pride and joy is Jake Locker, an unproven backfield and a youthful defense.  Oklahoma wins 41-17.

#16 Oregon at Purdue-   A win by Joe Tiller would make him the winningest head coach in Purdue football history.  All those wins and his only accomplishment was development of Drew Brees. Oregon wins 30-24.

UCLA at #18 Brigham Young- This is the 3rd meeting between the Cougars and Huskies in 310 days. The Cougars enter with the longest winning streak in the nation at 12 games. Judging by the name on the front of the jerseys, you'd assume UCLA has the historical advantage. Not so. BYU owns this rivalry by a lopsided margin with 7 wins out of 9 all-time meetings.

Michigan at Notre Dame- What was once a matchup of perennial powerhouses and a sexy matchup has turned into a cellar dwellar fashion show on "The Runway That Rockne Built".  Notre Dame wasn't convincing against San Diego State but they appear more comfortable in their offense then Michigan does in the spread.  The tiebreaker is the quarterbacks.  Nick Sheridan v. Jimmy Clausen.  Charlie Weis sweats out a nailbiter and shows up at the post game press conference 2 sizes smaller.  Notre Dame wins  23-27.  

Southern Methodist at #12 Texas Tech - June Jones offense finally comes face to face with it's replicate at Texas Tech.  However, Texas Tech is much too strong and fast for SMU and wins 42-24.

#10 Wisconsin at #21 Fresno State. ZZZZZ... Sorry I fell asleep just thinking about it.  By ranking alone this game deserves some hype.  The product on the field won't merit the rankings.  Since 2000, Fresno State has 13 wins against BCS conference teams, which is just one behind Utah for the lead among non-BCS teams.  However, this won't be one of them.  Wisconsin wins 37- 17.