This season USC will come to Ohio for the first time in recent memory. The perennial Pac Ten powerhouse will visit the five time Big Ten champions with national championship implications.  USC has extra motivation, the BCS Championship game is played at their virtual home stadium in Pasadena, CA.

Should USC win their match up with the Buckeyes, and assuming they hang on to an undefeated record the rest of the season, they would likely get an invite to the BCS Game. They would still have to face two more [pre-season] ranked teams in Oregon and Oregon State on the road and at home respectively.

However a loss to the Buckeyes would all but squash their chances and they would have to settle for the Rose Bowl.

Were Ohio State to win the September contest they would still face a very tough Penn State team in Happy Valley.   This sets up another BCS shaping scenario.

Assuming no Iowa upset of Penn State this year and they survive their cupcake non-conference schedule then the Nitany Lions, with a win over Ohio State could be poised to head to the Rose Bowl for the BCS title game.  Despite a recent aversion by the pollsters to put Big Ten teams at the top, it would be hard to deny an undefeated team the chance to play in Pasadena.

That would be a worst case scenario for the Buckeyes. Ohio State as a two loss team would Buy Ampicillin then be relegated to playing in late December and destroys some above average ACC school.   At least they would break the streak of bowl losses.

The second possibility is if Ohio State beats USC, but looses to Penn State. These two one-loss teams could very well meet for the third time in two years at the Rose Bowl.  This game would be a huge ratings grab and expect the selection committee to want this very badly.  The game would be hyped as a rubber match in a three game series that determines the better team once and for all (or at least until next bowl season).

If Ohio State looses to USC and to Penn State and the Nitany Lions could still be denied a trip to California based on strength of schedule.

Finally there is the possibility of Ohio State completing a perfect season.  As hard as they would try, it would be difficult for the BCS Selection committee to deny the Buckeyes a chance to play for the national title, probably against the SEC champions (the SEC has been represented in four of the last six BCS games).

There are still an infinite number of variables to consider, both inside the Big Ten and in all the other conferences.  But generally speaking these two games will have enormous impact on the championship series. Then again any one of the three contending teams written about here being upset by an unranked opponent will undoubtedly end their chances at a national championship, and could even be a roadblock toward their respective conference championships.