Ohio State are 10 point underdogs at USC tomorrow, and frankly I think the odds makers are being generous. I'd go 17, and in all likelihood the game will be over by halftime (who am I kidding? 21. It's not as if the Trojans are going to be kicking field goals in this thing).
As a longtime Ohio State fan and alum, I can tell you that everything about the team this year feels overrated. They aren't as explosive as the woulda-coulda-shoulda team of 2006 (Smith & Ginn), and the defense isn't as bend-but-don't-breakable as the Champs of 2002.
And no offense to Laurinitis, but A.J. Hawk he ain't. He's fast and tough, but he's not big. In both the Florida and the LSU debacles he sort of disappeared and didn't make a lot of plays.
For what it's worth, I'm not a big believer in Terrelle Pryor either. Unless Tressel plans to put him in the backfield for direct snaps, or send him out as a wide receiver to confuse the heck out of the Trojans defense, he's just not going to be able to add much. So far he's been pretty tentative in the playing time he's gotten.
I'm still hoping that Beanie Wells's injury is a big Mike Shanahan style fakeout, but if not, he'll be our built-in excuse (shades of Keith Byars 1985).
On the other hand, the cynic in me says that there's no reason to want to win this game. If we win, we could still slip up later in the year and get killed in the polls. OR, if we were to miraculously go undefeated, a loss in a BCS bowl would equal MASSIVE FAIL. It might be better to lose this one and fly under the radar the rest of the year.
Alas, and alack. Go Bucks!
