Over the last few seasons, Ohio State has gone into marquee matchups (whether it be the national championship or other wise) and the coaching staff has held back. For whatever reason, Jim Tressel succumbs to the pressure of big games and often plays not to lose.

Entering their clash Saturday night against USC in Columbus, the Buckeyes had everything to gain and nothing to lose, or at least that’s how Tressel should have approached it. The Buckeyes were embarrassed last year at the Coliseum, but have a much better squad this season, especially at quarterback now that Terrelle Pryor is the full time starter.

Tressel and his coaching staff would have benefited from staying aggressive for four quarters. Instead, Tressel once again played it close to the vest (no pun intended) and the end result was an 18-15 Trojans victory and yet another loss for the Buckeyes in a game big.

Even though it was in the first quarter, one drive from this contest tonight painted a perfect picture of how Tressel game plans against opponents with equal or better talent.

With just over four minutes left in the first quarter, Ohio State marched down the field methodically, keeping the ball on the ground until Pryor completed a 34-yard pass to DeVier Posey that got the Buckeyes to the USC 2-yard line.

From there, Tressel attempted one pass (which fell incomplete), decided it was too dangerous to put the ball in the air again and then rushed Boom Herron consecutive times on 2nd and 3rd down, which resulted in a gain of just one yard. Facing a 4th and 1 from USC’s goal line, Tressel opted to kick the field goal instead of trying to punch it in and take a one-touchdown lead.

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The USC Trojans proved Saturday night why they’re the top ranked program in college football, embarrassing the Ohio State Buckeyes 35-3 at the Coliseum. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez passed for 172 yards and four touchdowns as the Trojan offense amassed 348 yards of total offense.

Sanchez certainly quelled any doubts that he couldn’t win on a big stage. He looked incredibly comfortable picking apart a very good OSU defense and was effective spreading the ball around. It also helped that Joe McKnight (12 carries, 106 yards) shredded the Buckeyes for over eight yards a carry.

Without Beanie Wells, the Buckeyes could do nothing offensively. Jim Tressel’s strategy to rotate quarterbacks Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor backfired, as the Trojans’ defense remained unfazed by both signal callers. (Although the freshman Pryor did flash some of his outstanding potential.)

USC was able to contain the run for the most part and was relentless crashing the pocket. Their overall speed on defense completely overwhelmed the Buckeyes and forced Boeckman into two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by standout linebacker Rey Maualuga.

Even though the score suggests otherwise, OSU’s defense didn’t play that bad; they just wore down in the second half after being left on the field entirely too long. Of course, the missed tackles didn’t help. The Buckeyes also committed 10 penalties, which often cost them vital field position.

You’d like to say that had Wells played, the outcome would have been much different. One would think he would have broken a run or two and kept USC’s defense honest instead of blanketing the pass as much as they did. So much for my prediction that Ohio State would keep this game close. USC made the Buckeyes look like a Pop Warner team.

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.

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.