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Thursday, September 10, 2009
Odds and Ends: Helping you understand Ohio State-USC
Consider this …
— USC tailback Joe McKnight can run the 100 meters in 10.4 seconds (he was Louisiana state champ in 2006 and second in 2007). Taylor Mays, the superb safety, has run a 4.25 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Those are two seriously fast people to watch.
— The Buckeyes have caught plenty of grief for their performance in night games. Under Jim Tressel, OSU is 2-2 in home night games and 14-9 overall in night games (the USC game is set to kick off shortly after 8 p.m.).
— During Pete Carroll’s nine seasons at USC, he has played 91 first-year freshmen. Ninety-one. That includes five already this season. Of course, Buckeyes fans are really only concerned about on Saturday, quarterback Matt Barkley.
— Under Tressel, Ohio State is 24-1 at home against non-conference teams. Bad news, though. The only loss came against another Top 10 team, No. 2 Texas in 2005 (25-22). Anyone else still think Justin Zwick would’ve been the starter for the year if Troy Smith hadn’t entered the game and screwed everything up? But, it worked out OK. Just not that night.
— Of the 15 losses USC has suffered under Carroll, 14 have come by a touchdown or less. The other was a margin of 11 points. Close games are no stranger here.
— Tressel’s teams have gone 51-6 at home, 32-12 against the Top 25 and 8-7 against the Top 10.
— There have been 11 opposing runners to gain at least 100 yards against USC in the past 87 games. Carroll, meanwhile, is 52-2 when his teams hold opponents to 300 yards or less. Keep that number in mind.
— Carroll is 6-0 against the Big Ten.
— Facing that kind of rushing defense, Ohio State will need some passing success against USC. Remember OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s best passing game: 16-of-25 for 226 yards against Penn State, another very strong defense. I’m just saying, it’s possible.
— If you’re an OSU fan, don’t feel too great about a halftime lead. In Carroll’s tenure, USC has outscored opponents 1,860 to 809 in the second half.
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USC offensive line: Big, mean, boring
Much has been made this week about USC’s offensive line, its experience and its ability to be a leading force in the Trojans beating Ohio State on Saturday.
So who are these guys? Let’s see what USC has to say about them. (There are six of them, because two of the positions have two players listed as possible starters.)
LT Charles Brown, 6-6, 285, Sr.: “Brown started all season at left offensive tackle and did a commendable job as a junior in 2008.” Commendable. Ouch.
LG Butch Lewis, 6-5, 285, Jr.: First problem: His middle name is Wendell. He started the first five games last season before missing one with illness and serving as a backup for awhile before getting his job back. Coming into the year, USC said he “will now push to start at left tackle as a junior in 2009. He could also work on the right side again.” Guess that didn’t last long.
LG/C Jeff Byers, 6-3, 290, Sr.: Starter for the previous two seasons at left guard, now works at both left guard and center. Already working on his MBA, partially because he missed two seasons with injury and is in his sixth year of eligibility. Don’t get near him, though. He missed part of the 2008 spring camp with Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
C Kristofer O’Dowd, 6-5, 300, Jr.: Missed spring practices while recovering from should surgery after starting all of 2008 at center. USC says: “O’Dowd will anchor USC’s offensive line while starting for his second season at center as a junior in 2009.”
RG Alex Parsons, 6-4, 300, Sr.: Started the last 10 games in 2008 at right guard, but it was only his second season on offense. He switched from defensive tackle to offensive line in 2007.
RT Tyron Smith, 6-6, 285, So.: “The promising Smith likely will start at right offensive tackle as a sophomore in 2009.” This line, as well as the previous five bios, proves that even a school’s athletic communications department just can’t make an offensive line sound exciting.
But if you’re looking for experience, consider this: USC’s returning offensive linemen have a combined 96 starts between them.
