By: Steve Kaczynski (labownstown.com) –

It never fails to amaze me how fickle people can be when it comes to college football.  This week Ohio State will face USC, but if you believe everything you hear, the game is already over.  Pundits in Columbus and around the nation alike have already buried the Buckeyes, crowning USC as winners in a blowout victory.

Ohio State fans: WHERE HAS YOUR SWAGGER GONE?  Just two years ago, the Buckeyes were world beaters and the confidence of Buckeye Nation was sky high.  As we approach the USC game, try and remember a better time, before January 8^th, 2007.  Jim Tressel was 4-1 in bowl games, 3-0 in BCS games, and had a national championship under his belt.  In five years as head coach, he already had more wins over Michigan than John Cooper did in 13 seasons.  Ohio State was unstoppable, and Jim Tressel was the hottest coach in college football.  Don’t let two tough years get you down, better things are ahead, and it starts on Saturday.

Here are 5 reasons why I believe the Buckeyes can, and will beat USC on Saturday.

1) Ohio State is 6-2 in night games at home.  Obviously, 105,000 screaming cheap drugs fans will help your cause.  USC is playing against history here, trying to do something that only the Texas and Penn State have accomplished.  After the 2005 national championship game, a reporter asked Vince Young if it was tough to play USC in the Rose Bowl, because it was essentially a home game for USC.  He answered, “The Rose Bowl ain’t nothing.  I played [against Ohio State] in the Horseshoe.”

2) Keeping with the Vince Young theme, Terrelle Pryor will give USC fits.  At just 20 years old, he’s 9-2 as a starter, with three wins against ranked opponents.  His two losses were both closely contested games against Penn State and Texas, who were ranked in the top five in the country.  Taking over such a talented OSU squad after the USC loss last year allowed him the opportunity to face top competition in and out of conference, and that will prepare him for a game like this.

3) Speed kills, and this year, the Buckeyes actually got faster. Dane Sanzenbacher, DeVier Posey, and Duron Cater all boast faster 40-yard dash times than Robiskie and Hartline.  Brandon Saine and Terrelle Pryor both bring world-class speed to the backfield.  On the defensive side, Chimdi Chekwa is a track star, and was part of the winning 4×100 meter relay team at the 2009 Big Ten track and field championships.  Thaddeus Gibson is remarkably fast for a defensive end, boasting a 4.5 40-yard dash time. This USC team will have a rude awakening if they expect a similar team to last year, where they described OSU as “running in slow motion.”

4) USC’s overconfidence is scary.  Matt Barkley laughed at the idea that 105,000 fans will hurt his game.  So did Taylor Mays, saying, “It’s just noise.  I like hearing it and I like hearing it get quiet.”  Overconfident teams tend to come up short in big games.  We’ve seen it with Alabama against Utah, Oklahoma against Boise State, Florida against Michigan, and yes, Ohio State against Florida.  An air of arrogance can be the death of a team, especially when you’re facing an OSU squad who’s been backed into a corner by the national media.

5) Finally, Barkley has his work cut out for him as a true freshman.  Remember what Ohio State did to true freshman Colt McCoy in 2006?  Barkley struggled to get his footing against San Jose State last week, and it took him a quarter to get adjusted.  He won’t have that luxury against the Buckeyes, who will move the ball with Pryor at QB.

Go into this game with confidence Buckeye fans; don’t let two tough years get you down.  Ignore the fact that OSU is a seven-point underdog.  If USC can lose to Oregon State on the road, they can certainly lose to Ohio State.  For this one game, try and channel those feelings you had before January 8^th, 2007, and remember what it was like to have that swagger.

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