Kickoff: Saturday @ 8:00 PM ET, ABC
Records: Ohio State (2-0); USC (1-0)
Spread: USC –12.5

Game Matchup:
The biggest question surrounding this game is whether or not Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie� Wells will see the field. Wells injured his leg in the opener, missed last week’s win over Ohio and has been deemed “doubtful� by Buckeyes’ head coach Jim Tressel for Saturday night’s grudge match. If Wells can’t play, Daniel Herron, Mauirce Wells (who struggled against Ohio last week) and Brandon Saine will all see action Saturday night.
The Trojans are coming off a bye after dismantling Virginia 52-7 in the opening week of the season. QB Mark Sanchez threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, but he’ll face a much greater challenge against a talented, and highly experienced Buckeye defense. One thing to keep an eye on is how Sanchez and an inexperienced USC offensive line holds up against the pressure OSU will likely bring for the entire game.

Prediction:
Don’t make the mistake most will in assuming that just because Ohio State struggled with Ohio last week that they’ll get smoked by USC. The Trojans looked good against Virginia, but the Cavaliers’ talent level has dipped dramatically from last year and the Buckeyes match up very well against USC’s pro-style offense. The issue for OSU is whether or not their run game can be effective without Beanie Wells. The Trojans have the best linebacker corps in the nation and an outstanding front seven. If they shut down the Buckeye running game and force QB Todd Boeckman to beat them through the air, OSU is going to be in trouble. Pete Carroll’s Trojans are also incredibly tough to beat at home, but forget the blowout; this should be a tight game. USC 24, Ohio State 20.

Also be sure to check out our official Ohio State-USC smack talk thread.

Kansas vs. South Florida
Seeking a repeat of their 2007 season, Coach Mark Mangino leads the 13th-ranked Jayhawks into Miami’s Raymond James Stadium on Friday night, when they face-off against #19 South Florida. This will be the second meeting between the two schools, the other was in 2006, a 13-7 Jayhawk victory in Lawrence. (click here for Anthony Stalter’s game preview)

Ohio State vs. USC
This game is being billed as “The Collision at the Coliseum,� but the Jaws of Life might be needed to save the Buckeyes if they do not bring their “A� game to Los Angeles. The key to this matchup is for OSU’s offensive line to get physical with Southern Cal’s defensive front. If they do not win the battle at the line of scrimmage, it will not matter who is running the football for Ohio State (RB Chris “Beanie� Wells, ankle, is a game-time decision). Road wins against the Trojans are a scarce commodity in the Pete Carroll era, as they hold a 39-3 mark at the Coliseum. This contest will played on Saturday night in front of a nationally-televised audience on ABC at 8:00 PM EST.

Wisconsin vs. Fresno State
The Badgers will travel to Central Valley, California to play in the most important game in Bulldog football history. Fresno State dominated Rutgers in their season opener, but they will need a victory Saturday night to keep their hopes of a BCS bowl berth alive. Wisconsin just needs a win to stay in the national title hunt. Tune in Saturday night at 10:30 PM EST on ESPN2 for this pivotal non-conference game.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The Brewers are trying to avoid another late-season collapse after coughing up an 8 ½ game lead in the NL Central last season. The Phillies will try to use this series as a springboard in getting back to the post-season. This is a key four-game series for both teams, with the Brewers three games ahead of the Phillies in the NL Wild Card race after losing the series opener last night 6-3 in Philadelphia.

San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos
Too many injuries for the Chargers to overcome this week, with Shawne Merriman on the mend until 2009 and now LaDainan Tomlinson and Antonio Gates each nursing injured big toes. (But both are expected to play on Sunday.) The Broncos offense appeared to be in mid-season form in their opener on Monday night.. Were they that good or were the Raiders that dreadful? That question will not be answered for at least another month, but a victory in this game could go a long way in establishing the Broncos as an AFC contender. Check your local CBS affiliate to see if they are televising this game at 4:00 PM ET.

Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said Thursday that running back Chris “Beanie� Wells (foot injury) is now doubtful to play against USC this Saturday. Just two days ago, Tressel said Wells would play this weekend.

Tressel said there was lingering soreness for Wells in his right foot after he worked out on Wednesday night. Wells did not practice with the team Thursday morning just before it departed for Los Angeles.

“We were hoping he’d wake up this morning and feel even better than yesterday,” Tressel said shortly before boarding the team bus to the airport. “But it didn’t happen. We’ll see from here.”
Tressel did not rule out the possibility of the junior seeing action, but did not sound optimistic.

“Beanie practiced about 20 carries yesterday, and maybe 20 percent of the practice,” Tressel said. “We didn’t have him work today. He had more soreness this morning than we had hoped for. A late afternoon practice followed by a morning practice, we’re hoping that’s a little bit of the reason why. So we’ll just have to play it by ear.”

Obviously this is a huge game, but Tressel has to keep Wells’ best interest in mind. If he plays hurt and further injures his leg, the Buckeyes could lose Wells for the entire season or worse, possibly screw up his career. But as a college football fan, it’s incredibly disappointing that Wells might not play Saturday night. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Tressel sticks with Maurice Wells, who was incredibly ineffective last Saturday against Ohio.

For someone who stands 6’1� and 235 lbs., Chris “Beanie� Wells rushes with the speed of a 100-meter sprinter and the finesse of a rhythm gymnast. He’s able to see the tiniest of pockets in a defensive line, or seems to have a sixth sense for where they’ll open up. After using this intuition to map his route, he exploits his opposition’s vulnerability like no other. He spins out of tackles using his craftiness, burrows through them with his strength, and gathers extra yardage with his exceptional speed.

Wells once told his father that he wanted to be the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. Though this did not come true, Wells was a true freshman in his first year at Ohio State, playing in all 13 games. Even though he was just one player on a talented offense, Wells still finished second on the team in rushing with 576 yards on 104 carries.

By his second year, the spotlight was officially on Wells, and he was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates. Wells rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns, which ranked him fourth among all-time OSU single-season running backs and first among sophomore rushers.

But a memorable 38-24 loss to LSU in the 2008 BCS title game still haunts Wells and the Ohio State campus. In his third (and likely final) college season, Wells is projected by many to win the Heisman. Along with quarterback Todd Boeckman and an outstanding defense, Wells is expected to lead the Buckeyes to yet another BCS national championship.

An Ohio boy through and through, Wells was raised by his parents in Akron, Ohio along with his ten siblings. Ohio State was always the first choice for Wells, who was scouted by many prestigious schools after his time at Akron Garfield High School. It’s only been two years at OSU, but former Buckeye and two-time Heisman Trophy Winner Archie Griffin is already comparing “Beanie� to Jim Brown.

Obviously, this young man has boundless potential. If he can get over his nagging ankle and wrist injuries, he’ll likely fulfill it.

Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 3.

Top 25 Action:
No. 5 Ohio State (2-0) at No. 1 USC (1-0), Saturday 8:00 PM ET ABC
OSU head coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday that Heisman candidate Beanie Wells will play Saturday in Southern Cal. The Buckeyes are going to need all the offensive firepower they can get against one of the best front sevens in the nation. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez shredded Virginia for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1, but OSU’s defense is loaded with experienced talent. This is one of the most anticipated college football games of the year and should be a tight contest, although oddsmakers have made the Trojans 10.5-point favorites. (Check out our offical Ohio State-USC smack talk thread as well.)

No. 13 Kansas (2-0) at No. 19 South Florida (2-0), Friday 8:00 PM ET ESPN2
This is a tremendous matchup to kick off the Week 3 schedule as Kansas and its high-powered offense take on South Florida, which has the No. 1 ranked defense in college football. In their two wins, the Jayhawks averaged over 450 yards a game, but they go up against a Bulls’ defense Friday night that has only allowed an average of 161.5 yards per game. Oddsmakers have listed South Florida as a 3-point home favorite.

No. 10 Wisconsin (2-0) at No. 21 Fresno State (1-0), 10:30 PM ET ESPN2
Marshall rolled out to a 14-0 lead on the Badgers last week before Wisconsin eventually settled down and hammered the Thundering Heard 51-14 to improve to 2-0 on the year. Fresno State dismantled Rutgers 24-7 in New Jersey in Week 1 and should be well rested coming off a bye last week. One thing to keep an eye on is the health status of Wisconsin TE Travis Beckum, who missed the Badgers’ first two games this year with a bad hamstring. Beckum is highly regarded as one of the top tight end prospect in college football and is expected to play this weekend.

No. 2 Georgia (2-0) at South Carolina (1-1), Saturday 3:30 PM ET CBS
Before being upset by Vanderbilt last week, the Game Cocks were supposed to be Georgia’s first real test of the 2008 season. One has to assume that South Carolina is going to come out fired up after being bounced from the top 25 following their loss to the Commodores. The Bulldogs absolutely hammered Central Michigan last week, but can’t take anything for granted this Saturday playing a pissed off Steve Spurrier squad. SC is a 7.5-point home underdog.

Upset Watch:
UCLA (1-0) at No. 18 BYU (2-0)
Washington gave BYU all it could handle in Week 2 before the Cougars eventually eked out a 28-27 win. And the last time we saw the Bruins, they were upsetting Tennessee in the first week of the season. While this wouldn’t be a huge upset, it would be the second time in two chances that UCLA knocks off a ranked opponent. And with Fresno State, Oregon, California, ASU and USC on their schedule, the Bruins will have plenty of opportunities to make some noise and possibly become one of the best surprises of the season. BYU is currently an 8-point favorite.

Other notable games:
No. 14 East Carolina at Tulane – Saturday, 3:00 PM ET
No. 3 Oklahoma at Washington – Saturday, 7:45 PM ET
Arkansas at No. 8 Texas – Saturday, 3:30 PM ET

Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel says that injured running back Chris “Beanie� Wells will play against USC this Saturday. Tressel will evaluate Wells’ progress throughout the week to determine how much the Heisman candidate will play.

Ohio State’s co-captains said Wells did individual work Monday but did not participate in team drills at practice.

Wells missed the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ Week 2 matchup against Ohio. He sustained an injury to his right big toe in the season opener against Youngstown State.

“I saw him on the side a little bit running,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said on a conference call with reporters Monday night. “He looked good, kind of doing drills, testing it out. From what I could tell he looked really great, but who really knows but him?”

Wells wasn’t in a walking boot and seemed to be moving well as he watched the Ohio game from the sidelines.

“He’s doing a lot on his own right now,” wide receiver Brian Robiskie said. “I’m hearing that he’s doing pretty good and everything with him is just day-to-day right now. If he gets the OK and they tell him he’s ready in go, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to play.”

This is obviously outstanding news for the Buckeyes and for college football fans in general who are anticipating such a great matchup. But it’ll be interesting to see how much the injury will affect Wells’ mobility. Ohio State didn’t have the same offense last week with Maurice Morris in the backfield and will need Beanie to be close to 100% going against one of the best front seven’s in the nation.

One of the most anticipated games on the 2008 college football schedule is now only days away as No. 5 Ohio State (2-0) travels to Southern Cal to take on Pete Carroll’s No. 1 USC Trojans (1-0). Kickoff is set for 8:00 PM ET Saturday on ABC.

The biggest question surrounding this game is the health of OSU Heisman Trophy candidate Chris “Beanie� Wells, who sat out the Buckeyes’ win over Ohio last week with a leg injury. Wells has been able to run in practice and is expected to play, but the team is still being cautious with their top offensive weapon.

The Trojans come into this game well rested after having last week off. In Week 1, they routed Virginia 52-7 and promptly climbed into the No. 1 spot in the polls. Quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns on 26 of 35 passing.

The smack talk for this game started back in July when former USC quarterback Carson Palmer ripped the Buckeyes despite playing professionally in the state of Ohio. A Los Angeles radio station was interviewing Palmer when he had this to say about OSU:

“I cannot stand the Buckeyes. It’s amazing to hear what those guys think about that university and what they think about that football program and Tressel and all the crap I gotta put up with being back there.

I’m really getting sick of it, and I just can’t wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience LA and get an old-fashioned Pac-10 butt-whoopin’ and go back to the Big Ten.�

Palmer backpedaled a bit, but the damage was done. His comments set the stage for an incredible matchup. Below is a complete list of Ohio State and USC blogs and information sites to get you primed for the matchup.

Top Ohio State Buckeyes Sites
Bucknuts
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Around the Oval
BuckeyeBanter.com
The Buckeye Blog

Top USC Trojans Sites
LA Times: USC Trojans Page
Conquest Chronicles
WeAreSC.com
USC Trojans.com
FAN Nation: USC Trojan’s Blog

The storied programs have played each other a total of 21 times, but it’s been 18 years since their last meeting. USC beat OSU in back to back seasons in 1989 (42-3 in Los Angeles) and 1990 (35-26 in Columbus), as well as holds an 11-9-1 series edge over the Buckeyes. At the Coliseum, USC is 4-2-1 against OSU.

Oddsmakers have made USC a 10.5-point home favorite for Saturday night’s game.

Ohio University was 15 minutes away from pulling off a massive upset but the Bobcats couldn’t hold on and fell to No. 3 Ohio State 26-14. The Buckeyes played without Heisman candidate Chris “Beanie� Wells, who was resting a leg injury. Wells could be ready to play next week at USC.

It was over when… Ray Small returned a punt 69 yards to lift the Buckeyes lead to 26-14 late in the fourth quarter.
Gameball goes to… Ohio: Cinderella almost found a slipper in the Shoe. The Bobcats gave the Buckeyes a very big scare.
Stat of the game… 9-17: Ohio converted nine of 17 third downs against Ohio State. OSU D will have to improve that stat vs. USC.

Not having Wells certainly didn’t help the Buckeyes, but his absence wasn’t the main reason the game was so close. Ohio State still rushed for 162 total yards, but the Bobcats just flat out came to play. Ohio produced a couple of big plays, including a sack and fumble recovery of OSU quarterback Todd Boeckman in the end zone that gave them a 14-6 lead in the third quarter, as well as moved the ball effectively on the ground against the Buckeyes’ usually stingy defense. But in the end the OSU defense stepped up and Small’s punt return allowed the Buckeyes to avoid a huge embarrassment.

Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 2.

Top 25 Action:
None. Nobody in the top 25 plays each other this weekend, which must have the television networks really, really excited.

Keep your eye on:
Ohio (0-1) at No. 3 Ohio State (1-0)
The Buckeyes should have no problem with instate rival Ohio this weekend, but it’ll be interesting to see if head coach Jim Tressel plays injured running back and Heisman hopeful Chris Wells. With a trip to Southern Cal on the docket, there’s no reason to play Wells this week against a cupcake like Ohio. (Although I’ll be the first to note that the MAC deserves more attention than what it gets. See the “Upset Watch” section for proof.) A running back-by-committee of David Herron, Maurice Wells and Brandon Saine should be more than enough for OSU to roll the Bobcats, so there should be no reason for “Beanieâ€� to even dress.

Upset Watch:
No. 8 West Virginia (1-0) at East Carolina (0-1)
While it’s true that I wouldn’t even have mentioned this game had it not been for the Pirates knocking off VA Tech last week, East Carolina has proven that it can hang with top programs. ECU will be looking for its third straight win over a ranked opponent, although West Virginia has won seven straight over the Pirates coming into this contest. Oddsmakers clearly feel that ECU can hang with the Mountaineers given that WVU is only an 8-point favorite.

Central Michigan (1-0) at No. 2 Georgia (1-0)
Yes, outside of the MAC last year the Chippewas got smacked by Kansas (52-7) and Purdue (45-22). But as Bowling Green proved by beating PITT last week, the MAC has some talented teams and CMU is currently the class of the conference. They have a Hesiman candidate at quarterback in Dan LeFevour and a playmaker at running back in Ontario Sneed. There’s no doubt Georgia has better and deeper talent and it’s tough for any team to win between the hedges (let alone a MAC team), but could UGA overlook little ol’ CMU with a trip to South Carolina on the schedule next week? Obviously oddsmakers don’t think so as they’ve made the Dawgs a 24-point favorite.

Other notable games:
Miami (FL) at No. 5 Florida – Saturday, Sept 6, 8:00pm ET
No. 15 BYU at Washington – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:00pm ET
Mississippi at No. 20 Wake Forest – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:300pm ET

ESPN is reporting that Ohio State running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Chris “Beanie� Wells left the Buckeyes’ game against Youngstown State with an apparet foot injury.

Wells fell to the ground in pain before he was even hit, fumbling the ball away on a first and goal at the Youngstown State 2 before grasping for his foot.

Wells writhed on the ground in pain while he was attended to by several doctors and trainers, with his teammates standing around him watching. Coach Jim Tressel also ran onto the field.

The junior had 111 yards on 13 carries, including a 43-yard touchdown burst as the Buckeyes rolled to a 26-0 lead at the time of his injury.

This would be a massive blow to No. 2 Ohio State if Wells’ injury is serious. Hopefully it’s not and he won’t miss anytime, but Buckeye fans have to be incredibly concerned.