The game between OSU and USC

My topic for the week is on the football game played by the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Trojans from the University of Southern California. Yes, this is my second time writing about an NCAA football game but there was no other topic interesting enough for me to cover. College football is my most favorite sport, by far, to watch and enjoy and the games played this Saturday received my attention. With that being said, let’s move on to discussion.
The games that were played on Saturday received my attention. There were the blowouts that weren’t even close such as when my school (Virginia Tech) completely dismantled Marshall University by a decisive score of 52 points to their 10 points as well as the top-ranked University of Florida doing the same against the University of Troy by a score of 56-6. There were the upsets that took all viewers by surprise such as the University of Houston defeating the fifth ranked Cowboys from Oklahoma State University or the University of Central Michigan beating Michigan State on a last-second field goal. There were close calls from teams who were nearly upset such as Florida State University nearly losing to Jacksonvile State University or the University of Maryland needing overtime to defeat James Madison University. There was, however, also the game between the University of Southern California (USC) and Ohio State University (OSU), the game of the week and considered by many to be one of the biggest games of the college football regular season.
The game was nearly a year removed from the last meeting between these two teams. That game was played on the home turf of the USC and that game was too considered one of the biggest games of the year. That game was also a chance for OSU to prove itself after being humiliated in the national championship games of the last two seasons (to Florida in 2006 and LSU in 2007). In the end, however, OSU couldn’t keep up with the Trojans’ extraordinary talent and they ultimately lost by a lopsided score 35 points to 3 points. It was a game that haunted OSU for the remainder of the 2008 season and well throughout this past offseason. This game was seen as a chance for redemption for OSU and to show that they could win games against elite teams like USC.
Ohio State is said to be one of the stronger teams in the conference that it plays in (The Big Ten Conference). However, OSU does not receive much respect as the Big Ten can be considered as one of the weakest major football conferences in the nation. Their teams do not have the talent or the competitiveness of some of the other conferences such as the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Twelve Conference (BigXII), and the Pacific Athletic Conference (or Pac-10, as there are ten members). There are only two or three good teams in the big ten, the rest are also-rans or flat-out punching bags. As a result, the conference winner usually doesn’t have to put up with a lot of competition and that is why OSUhas received a lot of heat for the past 2 or 3 years. They have been named the Big Ten conference champions or co-champions for 5 of the last 7 years, thus showing they are one of the better teams of the Big Ten. As a result, they find themselves pitted against a team far more talented than that of their own and are ultimately defeated by a large margin. This has happened quite a few times to OSU in recent years, which leads to critics saying that OSU cannot compete with the bigger teams.
USC, on the other hand, has been the dominant force in their conference (the Pac-10) as well, winning the conference title (or at least a share of it) for the past 7 years and have been picked to win it again this year. They have always done well against non-conference opponents, never having lost to one since the 2002 season. This, as well as the memories of the crushing defeat of OSU, proved to be intimidating and ominous for OSU. Many people thought that OSU could not keep up with a high-powered USC team that had dealt with them thoroughly last season.
The circumstances this year, however, were quite different than those of last year’s game. Last year, USC, which had a solid defense and a talented backfield, was ranked first in the country and had a week to rest up for the game. OSU did not have a week off before that game; they had to play another opponent with whom they struggled. To make matters worse, their top running back had injured himself and wasn’t eligible to play in the game against USC. On top of that, their players weren’t as talented and USC’s were, giving USC a clear advantage in the game. This year, however, the roles were reversed a little despite the fact that USC gets the better recruits and reloads with talent every year. This year, USC was without their best defensive players and their quarterback decided to leave a year early for the NFL which left them searching for a new quarterback. OSU had a quarterback with experience and was considered a key player for OSU that game. Their chance of defeating USC would be much better than they were last year. USC and OSU both played a game last year which meant that USC didn’t have an extra week to practice more, making the preparation time between the two teams equal. Nonetheless, USC, having more talented players at most positions, was still seen as the better team despite OSU’s improvements.
The game started ominously for OSU as their quarterback threw an interception after only a few plays which led to a USC touchdown. Unlike last year, however, OSU would not back down and bow out. They responded with a score of their own to tie the game up. They went on to pressure USC into making mistakes and took control for most of the game. Unfortunately for OSU, it wasn’t meant to be. USC put together a final drive in the waning minute with just over a minute to play in the game. OSU tried to make a comeback but it was too late, they turned the ball over on down and USC won in dramatic fashion. Even though they lost, OSU performed remarkably better than they did against USC last year. It shows that even though they lost, they were closing the gap on the bigger teams.