By: Seattle Post-Intelligencer —
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The potential game of the year takes place in week three, as the fifth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes make the trip out west to battle the top-ranked USC Trojans this weekend at the Coliseum.

Both gridiron powers have their sights set on a national title and the winner of this game will certainly have the upper hand in making it to the BCS Title game.

Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes have played in the last two championship games but did not bring home a national title to Columbus either year. This squad has already had to face adversity with an injury to its Heisman hopeful tailback, but that hasn’t stopped the team from winning its first two games of the season, a 43-0 pasting of Youngstown State in the season-opener, followed by a much harder 26-14 win over Ohio University last week, the team’s 800th all- time.

Pete Carroll’s Trojans not only get this game at home, but also have the luxury of being well rested, as USC sat idle a week ago. The Trojans opened the season with a cross-country trek to Charlottesville and left with an eye- opening 52-7 thrashing of Virginia. The lopsided victory pushed USC ahead of Georgia in the national polls and into the top spot, a place the Trojans are very familiar with.

USC holds an 11-9-1 series advantage and have taken the overall lead thanks to wins in each of the last five meetings. This is the first meeting since 1990 (a 35-26 USC win in Columbus) and Ohio State hasn’t beaten USC since the Rose Bowl following the 1973 season (42-21).

The good news for the Ohio State offense this week is that standout tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells looks like he will return to action following a foot injury suffered in the opener. Coach Tressel is optimistic that that will indeed be the case.

“I thought Beanie ran well yesterday (Tuesday). “In fact, I thought he ran better than I thought he might.

“I have a lot of confidence in our doctors and trainers and strength guys and not only was he running well, then they put him on the bike and wore him out. So they’re trying to do all the things…and anything we can do, we’re doing and I feel good about him.”

At 237 pounds, Wells is a load and is instrumental to what Ohio State likes to do offensively. The team runs the football, as evidenced by its 206.5 yards rushing per game thus far.

What the team hasn’t done a whole lot of in the early going is pass the football (177.0 ypg), but quarterback Todd Boeckman is more than capable of lighting it up with his arm.

The 6-4 senior has completed just over 66 percent of his attempts in the first two games, for 297 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. The team also has ultra-talented Tyrelle Pryor waiting in the wings and will certainly find a way to get the 6-6 freshman on the field against USC whether it be under center, or in the backfield.

Also expect wideouts Brian Robiskie, Ray Small and Brian Hartline to test USC’s secondary downfield.

The Ohio State defense is once again chock-full of talented playmakers. The unit opened the season with the third shutout in the Tressel era and followed that up with a strong effort against the Bobcats last week. Thus far, the unit has recorded six takeaways, including four INTs.

The strength of the defense is in the linebacking corps and it is no surprise that Butkus Award winner and All-American James Laurinaitis leads the way. The 6-3, 240-pound senior is regarded as the best linebacker in the country and has gotten off to a fast start again this year, recording 14 tackles thus far, including a sack. He is flanked by fifth-year senior Marcus Freeman (12 tackles) and sophomore Ross Homan (10 stops).

USC wasn’t without its own adversity coming into the season, as quarterback Mark Sanchez dislocated his knee cap late in the summer. However, any worries Pete Carroll may have had heading into the season-opener, disappeared, as Sanchez was masterful in leading the offense. The 6-3 junior torched the Virginia defense to the tune of 338 yards and three TDs, completing over 74 percent of his passes (26-of-35).

After testing the knee against Virginia, Sanchez declared himself back.

“It’s exciting to know I got one under my belt with this whole knee deal,” he said. “I’m back to 100 percent. I feel good and we’re ready to start preparing for Ohio State.”

Coach Carroll knows he has something special in his signal-caller.

“You can just sense that if you give him time back there, he’s going to find guys and he’s got a real attitude about him to take advantage of it,” Carroll said. “It’s his nature.”

It certainly helps to have a full array of weapons at his disposal. Sophomore Damian Williams caught everything in sight against Virginia, hauling in seven balls, for 91 yards. Senior Patrick Turner (two receptions, for 62 yards and one TD) and junior Vidal Hazelton (five receptions, for 33 yards) are tough to cover downfield as well.

The ground game also got it going against the Cavaliers, churning out an impressive 208 yards, led by tailbacks C.J. Gable (8.1 ypc) and Joe McKnight (10.0 ypc).

It is tough to gauge the USC defense after just one game, but the unit was a force against both the run and the pass in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers struggled in every aspect of their offensive game, being limited to just 32 yards rushing (1.5 ypc) and 155 yards passing. In addition, the Trojans also forced four turnovers, including three fumble recoveries.

The real strength of this unit is in its back seven. The linebacking corps has plenty of veteran leadership, highlighted by seniors Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing. The secondary features its own standout in junior safety Taylor Mays.

The lone weakness perhaps is along the defensive front, where USC will need someone to step up and take charge. The likely candidates include sophomore end Everson Griffin, senior ends Clay Matthews and Kyle Moore and senior tackle Fili Moala.

Getting this game at home is a huge plus for USC, something Pete Carroll is fully aware of.

“We get to play this game at home, our first home game. For our young guys, our young players that haven’t had this experience, have been dreaming about it, what a way to do it. We’ve all heard nothing but excitement and enthusiasm for this game. I know that the Coliseum is going to be rocking. It’s going to be a huge event. You know, it’s going to be really fun for us. So we’re looking forward to it.”

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