It’s do or die time for Jimmy T.
Right: Those were the days my friend…
AP Photo
After two embarrassing losses in the BCS National Championship Game, could the idiom, “a third time’s a charm,” apply to Saturday’s game?
USC enters the much-anticipated battle as the consensus No. 1, while Ohio State, previously ranked No. 2 in the preseason, dropped down to fifth in both polls after narrowly defeating Mid-American Conference member Ohio, last Saturday.
Granted, the Buckeyes have played in a big non-conference games on the road before, taking on the Texas Longhorns in Austin back in 2006 and winning 24-7. But that was not quite the same UT team that defeated USC in the Rose Bowl eight months before. Texas was minus Vince Young.
The 2006 Longhorns eventually finished the season ranked 13th in both polls with a record of 10-3 and played in the Alamo Bowl.
Newsflash, the 2008 Trojans are a much better team. In fact, they are loaded.
Sure, there were question marks for the Trojans at quarterback after John David Booty used up all his eligibility. Three quarterbacks battled for the position, including Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain, but even after battling an injury in preseason camp, the favorite to win the job eventually did and that’s junior Mark Sanchez.
Sanchez was the backup quarterback last season and started three games when Booty went down with a wrist injury. Overall, he played in eight games and completed 69-of-114 passes (60.5%) for 695 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
Nearly two weeks ago against Virginia, Sanchez threw for 338 yards on 26-of-35 passing and three touchdowns.
Sanchez has plenty of speedy receivers to throw the ball to and the Trojans have four running backs who will split time and could start for most of the other 119 Division I-A (FBS) teams.
And that’s just the offense. I haven’t even mentioned the defense yet.
The Trojans sport four potential first round picks in the 2009 NFL Draft next April that include linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, along with defensive tackle Fili Moala and free safety Taylor Mays.
So my question to Buckeye fans is this, do you still think your defense is better?
Sure, Ohio State also boasts four legitimate first round selections, two on each side of the ball with tackle Alex Boone, running back Chris Wells, linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.
Another newsflash, Laurinaitis is OVERRATED.
I might not be the first Buckeye fan to think that, but I’m sure I am the first to publicly say it.
From Rivals.com on Laurinaitis:
The only knock from scouts is that he needs to become more physical. Some teams were able to run the ball right at him last year.
On Ohio’s only touchdown, a 15-yard run by Donte Harden, Laurinaitis was a complete non-factor.
On the second-and-10 play from the OSU 15 yard line, Laurinaitis was in his usual middle linebacker position five yards off the line of scrimmage. As the play goes to the left, Laurinaitis slides down to where the ball carrier is going to be near the far hash mark at the 10, only to be lightly pushed out of the way by a pulling guard and Harden ran right by him and into the end zone.
In fact, the entire defense was flat-footed on the play, which is something the Buckeyes can ill afford to do on Saturday.
The vaunted Ohio State defense has given up 41 points per game on average against SEC opponents in the last two BCS title games. Will that change against a Pac-10 foe? My fear is that it won’t.
One of the things that made Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team so good was the defensive line with Will Smith, Darrion Scott, Tim Anderson and Kenny Peterson. Then you had guys like Simon Fraser and Mike Kudla coming off the bench. Against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, OSU had four sacks. In the last two BCS title games, the Buckeyes recorded just two sacks and have been manhandle at the line of scrimmage.
I don’t think that the 2008 version of the defensive line has the horses to do that. But I could be wrong.
Offensively, Ohio State has to play much better than it has in the big games, and specifically, the offensive line. Against the likes of Florida and LSU, the O-line looked slow and unathletic. In both games, they surrendered five sacks and both the Gators and the Tigers were able to get consistent pressure on the quarterback.
A healthy Beanie Wells would help tremendously, but he’s listed as 75 percent as of Wednesday. His three backups are decent, senior Mo Wells, sophomore Brandon Saine, and redshirt freshman Boom Herron, but are nowhere near in the same class as Beanie. If he’s limited at all because of the injury, it’s going to be a long night in Los Angeles for the Buckeyes.
It’s really about time for Coach Tressel to loosened up the tie and start rolling the dice. The ultra-conservative play-calling is not going to work in the big games anymore. Granted, we have not seen what the Buckeyes are capable of doing yet, but how can you expect someone like true freshman Terrelle Pryor to come off the bench and perform well when he played sparingly one game ago?
Does Todd Boeckman have what it takes? In watching him go through his progressions, after receiver No. 1 and receiver No. 2 are covered, he gets that “deer in headlights” look then he holds onto the football way too long which results in being sacked. He has to be more poised to be effective against USC.
The bottom line is this, if Ohio State wants to play for a national title this year they have to win against USC. If the Buckeyes lose, the national perception is that the Big Ten is a weak conference, so even if OSU wins out, they will go to a BCS bowl game, but that’s it.
