USC solidifies #1 ranking with blowout victory over Ohio state

At least Ohio State has the injury to star tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells as a readymade excuse for their lopsided loss to #1 USC. The reality, however, is that even if Wells had been in the lineup it’s hard to envision a much different outcome. USC is just a better team—in fact a *much* better team and could very well be without peer in the whole of college football. Saturday’s 35-3 shellacking of Ohio State is just the latest piece of evidence to support Southern Cal’s case for being the best team in college football.

After the game started with a “feeling out” process that lasted nearly the entire first quarter, Ohio State got on the board first with a 29 yard Ryan Pretorius FG with 3:06 left. That was to be OSU’s lone “highlight” for the game as the Trojans responded with 35 straight points before taking their foot off the Buckeyes’ throat in the 4th quarter and coasting to the final gun. USC QB Mark Sanchez ended up with 172 and 4 TD passes. His OSU counterpart Todd Boeckman had a miserable game, with only 84 yards and 2 interceptions.

More specifically, the entire OSU offense had a miserable game against a suffocating Trojan defense that is threatening to overshadow their efficiency on the other side of the ball. The Buckeyes could only muster 71 yards on the ground in “Beanie” Wells’ absence, and added only 136 yards through the air. 3 costly turnovers further complicated matters.

The Trojans now have some time off to prepare for a Thursday game on 9/25 at Oregon State, followed by what could be their toughest remaining test on 10/4 at home against the University of Oregon. With the footnote that in-state rival California always plays them tough regardless of their record, Oregon also represents the last currently ranked team on their schedule.

Ohio State, meanwhile, has a home game against Troy State next weekend which they’ll almost certainly play without “Beanie” Wells regardless of his actual condition. He’ll be needed soon enough, as the Buckeye’s jump into the Big 10 schedule the following week with a game on 9/27 against Minnesota and a tough challenge the following week as they travel to #8 Wisconsin on 10/4. At least OSU can take some solace from the fact that no one they’ll face the rest of the way is in the same class as USC.