OHIO STATE VS. USC

[TheSkeptic]

We`ll see....the rest of the USC schedule is soft, SHOCKING....Without Beanie and poor officiating, OSU came up empty..no surprise here...let the season continue on.

Uhh, what??? You're complaining about USC's soft schedule?! Let's take a look at Ohio State's out of conference schedule the last 3 years.

2008-9
Youngstown State
Ohio
@ USC
Troy

2007-8
Youngstown State
Akron
@ Washington
Kent State

2006-7
Northern Illinois
Texas
@ Cincinnati
Bowling Green
----------------------------
Now USC's out of conference
2008-9
@ Virginia
Ohio State
Notre Dame

2007-8
Idaho
@ Nebraska
@ Notre Dame

2006-7
@ Arkansas
Nebraska
Notre Dame


Now first of all, you might say, "Well Notre Dame isn't anything special." Yeah, well these games are scheduled years in advance, yet still USC tries to schedule decent teams...let me know when Youngstown State becomes a title contender...Ohio State hasn't lost to an in-state rival in like 90 years.

The other point is that the PAC-10 is MUCH stronger than the Big-10 which is overwhelmingly slow and nonathletic and will continue to get its butt whooped by the SEC and/or the PAC-10 in bowl season.

There's a reason why Ohio State has been BLOWN OUT in its two BCS title games and now its effort against USC.

THEY are the frauds...

And until Tressle starts scheduling at least decent out of conference games (USC aside...who they hadn't played in 18 years until now), they will continue to be frauds.

[Boone Moone]

Thank you very much 'Skeptic..........it's nice to know that someone out there knows how to evaluate talent and how to watch football without being in denial.............All I can add to that is -- Ohio State could have had Beanie AND Cecil, and the whole officiating crew in their pocket, and it wouldn't have changed a thing..........If "Capper Master" is referring to the two holding calls that negated a touchdown and stalled an Ohio State drive, well that's what you do when your opponent is too fast for you to block...........you hold them instead............As I stated earlier, USC was probably close to 50 points beter than OSU last night, but I like the way it ended because it stayed UNDER, and I was only off by 3 points on my final score prediction............We'll go undefeated this year, but the best thing is, at least we won't have to see an undeserving Ohio State team in the BCS Championship game again this year, only to watch them get blown out again !!!

[CapperMaster]

I don`t care..really..I accomplished what I wanted, to invoke some convo...USC is a decent team, I never denied that....they do have a soft schedule and so doesn`t OSU...I`m a Canes fan, so I have other things to worry about. I never cared for the PAC 10, but...whatever.....USC may not be a fraud...but their fans and spectators are setting them up to implode.

[woodee12]

The only fraud is the Big 10. Besides Penn State, maybe, and Wiscy, maybe, they are weak. I am not sold on Illinois but I think they will surprise actually and contend for the title. Iowa-Definitely not!

Ohio State may regroup but any of the big 10 against most pwer conferences and i will fade the big 10.

Wicsy cashed for me last night but Fresno lacks the disipline needed to win those kind of games.

[Carpet]

There is no fraud with USC they are for
real and the best in the nation hands down

Regarding the Big 10>>>>>

This is Penn States Year the best team in the
conference by far averaging 55 pts a game with
a Monster Defense. Old Joe is back this year
with a very good team. Currently ranked 17
I see a top 5 calling

Wisky is also Solid , very good running game
good defense that will be in every ball game

Illinois WORK IN PROGRESS a ton of talent
but lack finishing the whole 60 minutes.
Coach Zook said today there are some players
here who lack energy and if they dont find it
they need to leave.....

Next up for Illinois is Penn State in 2 weeks
and I cant see Illinois beating them straight up
this early in the year...

Carpet

[hart attack]

USC plays the annual "cupcake" schedule just like all the pac-10 teams.
I'd love to see them spend a few seasons playing a real conference schedule and then on top of that a conference championship game.

They couldn't even fantasize about annual undefeated seasons if they played in the SEC. By the time real teams from the south get finished beating up on each other there likely isnt going to be an undefeated season. Then lets throw a btw conference championship game in there before the BCS fiasco.

Ohio St just plain is over-rated and sucks when it has to play anyone of substance. They prove it annually under tressell getting hammered when it counts.

There is absolutely NO comparison in the schedules of the SEC and any other conference.

[dragon1952]

I wouldn't call Oregon, Cal and Arizona St cupcakes. Yeah the SEC schedule is tough but that's because many of the teams aren't that far off from each other. But if there is a conference that annually has more overrated teams than the SEC I'd like to see it. Mainly Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia...every freakin' year....overrated, overrated, overrated. The only 2 teams in the nation that could even think about competing with USC are Florida and Oklahoma maybe.

[Boone Moone]

I'll admit that the SEC Conference is an exciting conference to watch, but it's only because of the fact that they are all pretty equal in terms of talent and ability........Nobody really stands out from the pack and they just take turns beating each other........but basically, they lack the talent, depth and speed that a team like USC possesses.............They're a bunch of beefeating slowpokes that usually run out of gas by halftime, and thank God they play the likes of Georgia Southern, Louisiana Monroe, Lafayette, and Western Illionois every year, or else they'd probably end up with losing records...........I'll take the S.C Trojans against anybody..........They could probably beat the Kansas City Chiefs right now..........Why not?.........the Raiders did !!

[hart attack]

boone, that might be the dumbest thing ever uttered on these pages in regards to college football. there is no comparison of conference strength when talking SEC.

I don't know the exact number, but I'd be curious to know how many SEC teams have been ranked in the top 10 over the last three seasons compared to any other conference. It would be even easier to list the SEC teams that haven't.

USC might have 1 or 2 tough games in a season, and if they win those they get a free pass to a BCS bowl game. USC appears to have a pretty good club, but how would anyone really know? The conference is terrible. The average score of a pac-10 game is in the high 50s I would think.

Hilarious you say the SEC has limited talent. Ask any knowledgable college footaball analyst which conference is the strongest and you get the same answer. SEC.

[Boone Moone]

Whereas I may have been a little harsh on your SEC Conference, my statements still don't rank as the "dumbest ever uttered on the forum", because your statement was even dumber......that being that the SEC Conference is by far the strongest conference in football..............Let me bring you up to date Mr. Hart Attack, as you've been living in ignorance far too long................SEC teams have been crowned National Football Champions a total of TWICE in the last 10 years.............USC ALONE has accounted for 3 National Championships in that same 10 year span...........OK, I'll give you credit for 2 1/2 titles since USC was forced to share the title with LSU at the end of the 2003 season, and sure - the SEC has won it the past two years, but the other Champs during that 10 year span came from Florida State, Oklahoma, Miami (Fla), Ohio State, and Texas...........None of these teams are from the SEC............So where do we get that the SEC is the strongest conference from?

If USC had to play the SEC Conference schedule for one year, they would undoubtedly cut through it like butter, as long as they were able to play half of the games at home.........The SEC just doesn't match up with a team like USC at this time, they only match up good with each other.............get it?...........Here's hoping that the other half of the BCS Championship Game comes out of your dreaded SEC Conference, so that SC can pummel them too and we can put all of this nonsense behind us............and I can make a few bucks too !!!

[Bettorsworld]

Ok.....I won't call anyones comments dumb......what's that saying, "Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one"....and hey, having an opinion is what these forums should be all about.

With that in mind, put me on the SEC side of this argument. I really don't think USC would cut through an SEC schedule. Let's look at some recent performances.

2007
27-24 over wash
23-24 loss to stanford
20-13 over Arizona
17-24 loss to Oregon - yes oregon was very good
24-17 over cal who lost 5 out of 6 down the stretch

2006
28-22 over wash st
26-20 over wash
31-33 loss at oregon st
9-13 loss to UCLA

2005

2005 was a great year but fresno almost knocked them off scoring 42 points in the process.

Just looking at 2007, which, hey, this argument is about NOW......it's a stertch to think they would cut through the SEC. Imagine Wash, Wash State and Stanford in the SEC?

The fact that USC lost to, AND squeaked by a few lower level pac 10 teams suggests that there's no way they'd survive an SEC schedule unbeaten.

Having said that, put USC in the SEC and they would no doubt be one of the better SEC teams each year right up there with Florida and LSU.

But overall I think the SEC wins out as a conference.

Look at last year......how many SEC teams could beat anyone in the country on any given day last year.

Auburn
LSU
Alabama
Arkansas
florida
georgia
south carolina
tennessee
kentucky

All dangerous.

How many pac 10 teams last year can you match with those 9? 3 or 4 tops........

[Boone Moone]

Right on.......I'll admit I'm a little "over the top" at times.....but in all fairness, we've been talking about this year's version of the SC team being the cream of the crop.............The lousy end of the 2007 season was partially due the the injury of then QB John David Booty who didn't exactly re-write any record books himself.

Im just standing up in defense of everyone saying what an easy schedule we have, when during some of those years you mentioned, the Pac-10 held their own and actually did pretty well during the bowl season..........People just love to hate on USC I guess, just as they did the New England Patriots last year...........Everyone wants to see the best get beaten...........That's all there is to it.

[Bettorsworld]

This is why there needs to be a playoff system in college football. It's the only way to settle these arguments.

The schedule strength argument will always come into play.

The other thing is, it's an impossible question to answer 2 or 3 games into any season.

USC blew the doors off of Virginia and right away there was talk about how great USC was......but then UCONN blew the doors off of Virgina last week. So much for that.

Then the USC/Ohio state argument came......then USC blew the doors off of Ohio State.........now everyone is saying the only reason USC did that is because Ohio State and the Big 10 suck.

Looking at the USC schedule, in all honestly, it's not going to answer many questions if they run the table unless they beat every team 59-0. They'll have a couple of "tough" games and then they have Notre Dame, UCLA, Stanford, the Washingtons and Arizona........

The only way they can prove it is to make it to the title came and hope they draw the other true legitimate contender which is unlikely because that team plays in the SEC and will likely have aloss or two as a result of the damn tough schedule they play LOL


Seriously though, they'll probably draw Penn State who looks like they might breeze through the Big 10 and then come January we still won't have the answers.

[dragon1952]

The lousy end of the 2007 season was partially due the the injury of then QB John David Booty who didn't exactly re-write any record books himself.

Amen...I think you can throw out the last 2 years as invalid examples

[Boone Moone]

..........And the debate will continue........

But why hasn't anyone mentioned the fact that the Mighty Pac-10 UCLA Bruins put the meat to Tennessee from the SEC during opening week?..........Doesn't this count for anything LOL !!!!.............I mean all they did was come back and get plowed by BYU 59-0 !!!!............and Arizona will probably kick their ass at home this weekend too !!!!!!!!........They are pitiful......How in the heck did they ever beat Tennessee?!!!!!!!!!!!!