USC Fallout: Is This Jim Tressel's Rich Rodriguez Moment?

By HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


A year ago, after many fans of the University of Michigan were questioning whether or not RichRod was the right man to lead their program, as they suffered loss after loss on their way to a 3-9 season—the worst ever in UM history—Rodriguez was quoted as saying to those critics, "Get a life."

Fast forward to September 12, 2009.

Michigan is 2-0, "they call me" Tater (salad) Forcier is the next Tom Brady, Rich Rod is a coaching God, and UM fans are regaining their cocky attitudes.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are now 1-1, Pryor sucks and is overrated, Tressel is a bum, and OSU fans are PISSED after this most recent setback, an 18-15 loss to USC in Ohio Stadium to a team that lost eight defensive starters from a year ago, and came to Columbus with a true freshman QB at the helm.

This Buckeye team played great, specifically on defense, but in the end, it was the ridiculously conservative hand-cuffing of the offense that led to the final result...

Another loss, on the national stage by Ohio State, in a game that most Ohio State fans truly believe the Buckeyes should have won and would have won, if Jim Tressel was not ultra-conservative has critics coming out of the woodwork, more than ever, and has seemingly turned up the heat on Tressel.

Tressel is well aware that the hot seat is getting warmer, at least in the fans eyes.

Tressel said he has received critical e-mails, but said the fans' poison makes him feel sorry for them.

"When I read some of them I feel terrible for them because there's no way they're happy," he said. "They've got to be some of the most unhappy people in the world, and I feel bad because we just made them less happy, and I hate to be a part of making someone less happy. I mean, they're already miserable."

Did he really just say that? That critical OSU fans are some of the most unhappy and miserable people in the world?

To say that takes, and shows some balls.

Too bad Tressel has shown no sign of having a pair when it comes to his play-calling on the field.

Bob Hunter, a columnist for The Columbus Dispatch, wrote that angry Ohio State fans may want a new coach but no one talks about who that might be. He also brought up the subject of buying out Tressel's contract, which would pay Tressel more than $12 million through January 2013.

Tongue in cheek, Hunter proposed those wanting to get rid of Tressel might want to circulate petitions to build a casino or two on campus so the coach and his biggest boosters, athletic director Gene Smith and Ohio State president Gordon Gee, all could be fired.

With the Buckeyes preparing to play Toledo at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday, the glow of that 2002 national championship game seems light years away.

It's true, many fans are calling for his termination, which is extreme if you ask me, while others, at the very least are demanding that he relinquish his play-calling duties and hire a real offensive coordinator—possibly a young guru, with some fresh ideas on how to jump start the stagnant, dull, and sputtering offense we've seen for the past several seasons in Columbus—one who will put Tressel-ball out of it's misery for good.

I love the Buckeyes and Jim Tressel has been an amazing coach. I'm in what I believe to be the majority, that wants to keep Tressel, but would also like to see him give up play-calling.

The problem with keeping Tressel is, he doesn't want to do that. So, if he won't make some much needed changes with the coaching staff, and he won't give up calling the plays on offense, there's only one option left...

Maybe in just a few short years, Tressel really has went from a top five coach, to outdated and washed up.

I can't stress this enough: I still want Tressel as our coach, but I think he has to find and hire an offensive minded coordinator to give the play-calling duties to.

Nothing lasts forever and if he really is not willing to make these few changes, then I think it could be time for Tress to head back to Youngstown State, or just an early retirement from coaching altogether at the end of the season.

If he finds a way to lose to Toledo on Saturday at Cleveland Browns Stadium, he'll be less popular than Kanye West at the CMA's.

Maybe he can go on Leno and apologize too, and announce he's going to "take a break" from coaching—a permanent one.


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Photo Copyright - Ron Pradetto

For Once, I Agree With Pat Forde: Pigs Must Be Flying and Hell Must Have Frozen Over

By Pat Forde—ESPN.com


There are worse places for a freshman quarterback to be than his own 5-yard line facing a second-and-19 with a five-point deficit, time wasting and the entire state of Ohio screaming in his ears.

Like San Quentin. Or the mouth of a shark.

Other than that, the situation in which Matt Barkley found himself at Ohio Stadium was about as bad as it gets.

It was in this most dire football circumstance that Barkley entered the USC huddle and … smiled.

"Matt came to us with a smile on his face and was just like, 'Let's get it done,'" Trojans center Kris O'Dowd said.

Really? He was smiling?

"Grinning," O'Dowd confirmed.

Did you think he was nuts?

"Maybe," O'Dowd said, grinning himself. "But I'm going to roll with it."

Oh, they're all willing to roll with this kid now. The Barkley bandwagon, picking up momentum for a month, is stampeding now.

Freshmen don't start at quarterback at USC. And freshmen don't come into a certifiable madhouse like the Horseshoe and beat the Buckeyes. And freshmen certainly don't beat the Buckeyes by leading long, dramatic, game-winning drives in the final minutes.

Until Barkley did all those things.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. "That was really good.

"The questions everyone was asking about Matt are totally legitimate. All we can tell you is that the guy is really special."

After producing precious little offensively all night, Barkley conjured the kind of crunch-time magic that separates special quarterbacks (such as John Elway and Joe Montana) from merely talented quarterbacks (such as Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor). Against an excellent defense, he delivered the most devastating drive the state of Ohio has seen since Elway crushed the Cleveland Browns in the 1986 AFC Championship Game. Barkley led USC to an 18-15 defeat of the Buckeyes that sucked the sound from a record crowd of 106,033.

But as tempting as the comparison is to Elway and The Drive, a better analogy might be what Montana did to the NFL team from the other end of this state, the Cincinnati Bengals, in Super Bowl XXIII in 1989.

Montana began the winning drive in that game at his team's 8-yard line. Before the first play, according to folklore, Montana looked into the stands and quipped to his teammates in the huddle, "Isn't that John Candy?"

This time, Barkley bopped into the huddle beaming.

"We all smiled," receiver Damian Williams said.

By the time this drive was finished, the Trojans were howling. Rejoicing. Embracing. Winning a potential national championship elimination game that had appeared lost for much of the night.

The official stats say Barkley led the Trojans for 86 yards in 14 plays, scoring the clinching touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:05 left. The truth is that after a sack and a false start, USC was 19 yards from a first down and 95 yards from a touchdown.

The Shoe shook with noise, as Buckeye Nation anticipated the validating victory that has escaped it since January 2003.

For USC, the situation wasn't hopeless, but you could see it from there. That's when Barkley's arm and tailback Joe McKnight's legs saved the night, one play at a time.

First came a McKnight draw for 11 yards. Then, on third-and-8 from the 16, Barkley found McKnight on an option route against a linebacker and hit him for 21 yards.

Credit assistant offensive coach Jeremy Bates, the Trojans' first-year playcaller, with dialing up just the right stuff at just the right time.

"You've got to believe we're going to find a way," Bates said. "And we did."

The spark of hope from that initial first down of the drive became a bonfire. Barkley then drilled tight end Anthony McCoy on a seam route for 26 yards down to the Ohio State 37. At that point, you could hear the entire stadium pucker and feel the Barkley legend building.

The next eight plays were either passes or quarterback sneaks by Barkley or runs by McKnight, the superstar recruit who has matured from a duck-and-dodge specialist into a more physical runner as a junior. Finally, on first-and-goal at the 2, Stafon Johnson took a handoff and danced outside the right end to score untouched. Then Barkley passed to McKnight for two points and an 18-15 lead.

"It's on his [Barkley's] shoulders, and he did it," linebacker Chris Galippo said. "He was so not like a freshman. [Mark] Sanchez, [Matt] Leinart, [Carson] Palmer -- I don't know whether they could have done that."

Barkley could. Barkley did. Then Barkley grinned and shrugged, less awed by his precocity than the rest of us.

"This is what it's supposed to be, and what I came here for," he said. "It is kind of surreal, but it's what I've always wanted."

For Ohio State, the victory it has craved for years over a big-boy opponent disappeared in the final minutes.

The Buckeyes can blame their coach, Jim Tressel, for his trademark play-not-to-lose conservatism -- they squandered supreme field position time and again. Tressel's most questionable move was bypassing a 53-yard field goal in favor of one of his favorite plays -- the pin-'em-back punt. Kicker Aaron Pettrey can kick 50-yarders -- if he's given a chance.

He wasn't Saturday, as Tressel waved in the punting unit from the USC 36. The Buckeyes downed the ball at the Trojans' 14 -- which only set the stage for the winning drive.

And Buckeyes fans also can shake their heads over Pryor, the splendid physical specimen who often looks ordinary.

In this battle of young quarterbacks, sophomore Pryor had the ball last. More than a minute remained on the clock when the Buckeyes took over at their own 36-yard line, but they made nothing happen. Pryor was pressured by USC All-American safety Taylor Mays into an intentional grounding penalty on first down, scrambled for 14 yards, then threw incomplete twice.

Just like that, the night was lost. And 15 games into Pryor's college career, he's still waiting to have the kind of moment Barkley enjoyed Saturday night.


Game Highlights



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OSU-USC Postgame Analysis: Five Things We Learned About Ohio State

Posted by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


Written by Phil Harrison--BleacherReport.com


It sounds like a broken record, but Ohio State lost another game on the big stage. The played hard and went toe to toe with the Trojans, but at the end of the day, anyone within the program will tell you that a program like Ohio State does not believe in moral victories.

The Bucks lost, plain and simple. After two games, here is what we have been able to discern about this edition of The Ohio State University:

1. Terrelle Pryor still has some major growth to go through

Pryor is an unbelievable athlete to be sure. Still, he is merely a great athlete who just happens to moonlight as a quarterback. All the talk about the great strides that were made over the offseason have yet to show two games into the season.

There were times during the USC game in which his decision making was tedious at best. You could argue that a deer in headlights has a better suspicion of getting out of danger. At some point Pryor has to reach the point where is is a great quarterback that just happens to be a phenomenal athlete as well.

2. Terrelle Pryor is not a drop back quarterback

Staying close to the same point, at some point the experiment of making Terrelle Pryor into a drop back quarterback has got to end. I know he came to Ohio State to become more of a pro style quarterback, but it is time to call a spade a spade. Pryor's gifts are with his feet, not his precision passing.

In order to give Ohio State the best chance to win, it may be time to start utilizing his running ability a bit more. I hope the guy proves me wrong, but from what I can tell thus far (and he is just a true sophomore), Pryor will never be an elite quarterback in the pros unless the NFL evolves away from the stereotypical drop back passer anyhow. Let's open it up and let the man play the way he knows how.

3. Ohio State is young, but good

This was not the debacle in the desert, or the slaughter in the Big Easy. Ohio State played better than good enough to win against probably the toughest team they will face all season.

This team will be just fine. There is still that nasty trip to take to Penn State, but you have to feel good about Ohio State's place among the college landscape this year. There is still plenty to play for the remainder of the season, and enough talent to do some pretty big things.

4. The offense is still searching for an identity

Most championship caliber teams generally can go back to their bread and butter when a game is on the line. They can dial up what they do best when a big first down or touchdown ending nail in the coffin is needed.

Tell me what Ohio State would go to. In several instances in the game when a big play was needed, it was if both the coaching staff and Pryor were just going through plays hoping that something good would happen.

Both the running and passing game lacked any type of consistency to end the game. There were chances to seal a huge win, Ohio State just didn't know what method to use to do it.

5. "Carroll Ball" trumps "Tressel Ball"

On several fourth and short opportunities, Pete Carroll did not show any inclination that he was going to settle for anything less than success. The confidence that he displayed to his team was rewarded with the desired outcome on each accord.

Tressel, on the other hand, waivered on a couple of key forth and short yardage situations. There was the thought to go for it on fourth and goal from the 1 before the nature of his personality got the best of him after a time out. The result: Ohio State settled for a field goal.

Then, there was the opportunity to kick a long field goal and go up by eight on fourth down. Again, the conservative side of the "sweatered one" decided to pin USC back and let the defense hold the fort. Almost everyone in Buckeye Nation in unison had the same collective thought: USC wins on a drive for the ages.

Carroll showed confidence to his team, while Tressel's second guessing has got to do nothing but reassure his team that he is not totally sold on the decision. If he is not totally sold, how do can you expect the team to reciprocate?

I usually rush to Tressel's defense, but the guy does need to learn from time to time that, all things being equal, the aggressor generally will get the best of the passive more times than not.

Nobody can argue that Tressel is a still a very good coach, but I would bet the farm that many fans wish he would grow a pair of Buckeye Nuts from time to time.

Alright, enough pining. It is time to move forward with the season. I only hope that these five lessons can be taken to heart.

One thing is for certain: The lesson that Ohio State has unfortunately gotten used to is moving on after a big loss.

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USC Knows "Expected" Win Over Terrelle Pryor, Buckeyes Won't be Automatic

Posted by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor is a dual-threat quarterback in the mold of Vince Young—exactly the type who gives Trojans fits—forcing them to make tough choices to defend both pass and run.


Jethro Franklin has seen it before.

As an NFL defensive line coach for eight seasons, he schemed against some of the most prolific dual-threat quarterbacks of the last decade.

Michael Vick and young Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper were among those who tested his players, not to mention his patience.

And in his first tour of duty at USC, Franklin was on the Rose Bowl sideline when Texas quarterback Vince Young carried the Longhorns to a victory over the Trojans in the 2006 Bowl Championship Series title game.

On Saturday, third-ranked USC will play eighth-ranked Ohio State, which features quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a Young-like 6 feet 6 inches of speed and elusiveness.

Asked if the sophomore merits comparison to Young, Franklin did not miss a beat.

"Ask me after the game," the Trojans' defensive line coach said, breaking into a hearty laugh.

Coach Pete Carroll does not need to wait. He describes Pryor as "almost un-tackle-able."

That sounds a lot like Young, who ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 267 yards in Texas' 41-38 victory over the Trojans nearly four years ago.

To return to the BCS title game, once again at the Rose Bowl, USC probably will have to contain Pryor and get past Ohio State.

"He can do whatever he wants to do," Carroll said of Pryor on Monday. "You think you're going to keep him in the pocket and then he just scoots up and gets back out again.

"You can holler at guys for not containing and it doesn't matter -- you contain-rush and he just dips and goes."

Whether Pryor is the second coming of Young remains to be seen. But there is no doubt Pryor has come a long way since last September, when he split time with senior Todd Boeckman in a 35-3 loss to the Trojans at the Coliseum.

Pryor rushed for 40 yards and completed seven of nine passes that day. He moved into the starting lineup a week later.

He finished the season as a 60% passer, throwing for 12 touchdowns with four interceptions. He also ran for more than 600 yards and six touchdowns.

Against Navy on Saturday, Pryor completed 14 of 21 passes for 174 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He rushed for 30 yards in five carries.

"He's faster than he looks and then he's so big and strong, guys bounce off him and slip off him all the time," Carroll said.

But Pryor now appears capable of winning games with his arm as well as his feet.

Steve Clarkson, a private quarterback coach whose proteges have included USC's Matt Barkley, Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart among others, has witnessed the change.

Pryor attended two camps run by Clarkson, one before his final season at Jeannette High in Jeannette, Pa., and one before his freshman season at Ohio State.

"You could see he had tons of talent, and the thing you liked about him more than anything was he wanted to learn," Clarkson said. "Physically, he was undeniably a beast."

Pryor, Clarkson said, has grown dramatically as a passer since arriving in Columbus.

"They've done an unbelievable job with him over there," Clarkson said. "Rarely do you see a kid get better mechanically when he goes to a program like that. This kid clearly got better.

"He throws the ball more accurately -- he looks like a quarterback. I think he's a much better passer than Vince Young was."

Pryor's running ability, though, remains his calling card. And running quarterbacks have caused trouble for USC in the Carroll era.

Kansas State's Ell Roberson, Virginia Tech's Bryan Randall, Oregon's Dennis Dixon and, of course, Young gave the Trojans problems.

Now comes an improved Pryor, running an offense tailored to his talents.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio State ran the option five times against Navy and averaged 7.4 yards per play.

"I think that we definitely feel really comfortable doing it, and Terrelle makes real good decisions out there, so hopefully we'll see it a lot more," tailback Brandon Saine told the newspaper.

Pryor also ran four quarterback draws, the Plain Dealer reported, and a bootleg for a two-yard touchdown. He scrambled once for seven yards.

"He's a playmaker . . . so this is a week where the emphasis for us has to be on tackling," USC middle linebacker Chris Galippo said. "No arm tackles. Forceful hitting has to occur or it could be a long game."

Franklin sees it the same way, so he is stressing that his charges remain disciplined in their pass-rush lanes while keeping an eye on Pryor.

"He's hard to bring down," Franklin said, "so we've got our hands full."


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Original article written by Gary Klein of the L.A. Times

USC—Ohio State: Five Six Reasons It Might Be Time to Panic Trojan Fans

Written by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


No. 1

Mark Sanchez bolting school a year early for the NFL hurts a lot, even though "Slippery Pete" begged and pleaded with him not to leave him hanging (ten).

Never mind the silly surfing joke there. You probably missed it anyway.

No. 2

USC had a stellar defense in 2008—one of the best in the nation in fact—but eight of those 11 starters are now gone. Yes we all know USC reloads with more talented four and five-star blue-chippers, but it's the lack of experience that can kill you.

No. 3

Starting center Kristofer O'Dowd could be out several weeks after dislocating his right kneecap during a scrimmage last week.

I know that Ohio State center Mike Brewster is the anchor of the Buckeyes O-line and if he went down, that would be devastating.

Even though the Bucks have plenty of young, highly-touted linemen waiting in the wings, it would be nearly impossible to overcome a loss this significant. Therefore, I have to believe the loss of O'Dowd is huge for USC.

No. 4

USC fans should be concerned that true freshman Matt Barkley was named the starting QB. Yes he won the Gatorade POY in 2007 and he was the top QB prospect in the nation this past season coming out of Mater Dei.

But, he has never taken a snap at this level and his second career start is going to be in Columbus, Ohio on ABC, in primetime, versus an out-for-blood and revenge Buckeye team, in front of their own 100,000+ crazy-loud, rabid, scarlet and gray clad fans in the biggest must game win of all must win games of all-time—yet despite all that, he's going to just waltz right into the Shoe, be as cool as the other side of the pillow, and lead USC to victory?

Good luck with that Matt.

No. 5

Fifth, if you haven't heard by now, starting WR Ronald Johnson will be out six to eight weeks after breaking his collarbone during the Trojans' mock game Saturday at the Coliseum, depriving Barkley of one of his top targets until at least mid-October.

Johnson was the Trojans' third-leading receiver last season with 33 catches for 570 yards and eight touchdowns. Coach Pete Carroll said the injury was "the hit of the hit of the weekend," and called Johnson's absence "just a crusher."

No. 6

Lastly, USC projected starting corner back, Shareece Wright, has been ruled academically ineligible. Please don't say he wasn't going to srart anyway, or losing him is no big deal. He was the projected starter for a reason USC homers!


Now, if USC fans STILL believe Ohio State has no shot to win this game, you must have some super-secret weapon stored away that none of us have a clue about.

Please, do tell.

USC is still USC and I don't expect them to come in to Ohio Stadium and just wave the white flag. But, realistically, the odds of them winning have decreased over the last couple of weeks.

The sad part is, as many others have already said, this is a no-win-situation for Ohio State because if they do win, everyone will say it was because of these USC injuries and that the Trojans were overrated and rebuilding.

If they lose, it will be because Ohio State is overrated and they choked again like they always do on the big stage.

I want and fully expect the Buckeyes to win this game, but it's a shame that if they do, it will be with this dark cloud hanging over their, dare I say, impending victory.

They may have been able to beat USC at full strength, but now we will never know.

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Pardon the Pun—Injury to USC WR Ronald Johnson is "Bone-Crushing"

Posted by HD Handshoe
Founder—BlockONation


LOS ANGELES -- Just when freshman quarterback Matt Barkley made another stride forward, the USC offense took a big hit.

Starting receiver Ronald Johnson will be out six to eight weeks after breaking his collarbone during the No. 4 Trojans' mock game Saturday at the Coliseum, depriving Barkley of one of his top targets until at least mid-October.

Johnson was the Trojans' third-leading receiver last season with 33 catches for 570 yards and eight touchdowns. Coach Pete Carroll said the injury was "the hit of the hit of the weekend," and called Johnson's absence "just a crusher."

Johnson was hurt during the second series of the mock game when he was tackled after catching an underthrown 34-yard pass from Barkley, who went 10 for 17 for 159 yards with one touchdown and one interception on a tipped pass against the Trojans' scout-team defense.

Johnson dropped to the turf while running off the Coliseum field, and X-rays later revealed the break.

"We'll be OK," said Damian Williams, the Arkansas transfer who led the Trojans with 58 catches for 869 yards last season. "We've still got great guys there. We'll keep pushing, but we're definitely going to miss him."

Williams will take Johnson's spot at flanker, where Williams played last season. Carroll said junior David Ausberry will move into the starting lineup at split end, while promising freshmen Brice Butler and De'Von Flournoy also will move up the depth chart.

"I'm ready for it," said Butler, a Georgia high school star who had a team-leading four catches for 66 yards in the mock game. "Last year I wasn't ready. I thought I was, but I wasn't. But now I feel like I'm ready and more mature."

Although Barkley tripped and fell to the turf on his first snap in the mock game, he looked cooler and more collected in his second run-through with the first-team offense at the Coliseum, where he had a forgettable debut scrimmage earlier in the month.

Carroll selected the freshman to be his starting quarterback Thursday, pre-emptively ending his training camp competition with Aaron Corp before the mock game.

"It's a great feeling, but it didn't change the way I'm approaching anything or how I play the game," Barkley said. "It's great that the team supports me and they're behind me."

Barkley played a controlled, steady mock game, regularly finding empty spots in the defense and rarely making risky plays. Despite his opening-snap slip, he managed to pitch to tailback Joe McKnight for a 6-yard gain -- but he threw an interception on a tipped pass to end the first drive.

Barkley eventually threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score before giving way to Corp. Running back Stafon Johnson rushed for two scores, and Williams had two catches for 36 yards.

"I think I've seen every trick in the book from our defense," Barkley said. "I think we're better prepared than a lot of offenses are from what we see in practice, all the looks and fronts our defense can give you."

Corp also looked sharp for the Trojans in his late-game work, going 5 for 7 for 89 yards and moving smoothly on his left leg just three weeks after getting a small break in the bone below his knee. Easily moving inside and outside the pocket, Corp proved himself ready to play next week in the season opener against San Jose State.

"I said to him, 'When you finally take off and hook-slide, I'll know you're ready," Carroll said. "He did that, and he kind of turned and looked at me. He showed he's ready to play, and he's available for Saturday."


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This article was posted on ESPN.com
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

How Matt Barkley Being Named USC's Starter Changes the OSU/USC Matchup

---

BREAKING NEWS

---

by Tim Bielik
BlockONation Analyst



ESPN reported just moments ago on College Football Live that true freshman QB Matt Barkley has out-seated redshirt junior Aaron Corp for the starting job at USC.

This comes as a mild surprise due to Corp's recent fibula injury and Barkley's rapid progress in the spring and fall camps.

However, starting a true freshman at QB is an unprecedented move in the Pete Carroll era at USC. But no mistake, Carroll has not misfired much when it comes to starting certain personnel.

The early reports are that Barkley will start against San Jose St. in USC's opener, but it did not confirm whether he would start also in the September 12 rematch against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

So what does this mean if Barkley makes his second start in Columbus?

Alot of it has to do with the stable of running backs USC has in CJ Gable, Joe McKnight, and Stafon Johnson.

Expect USC to run the football early in games to give young Barkley some confidence and open up USC's great play-action offense.

And with a great offensive line anchored by Kristopher O'Dowd and Jeff Byers, they should give him plenty of time to get the football out to skilled playmakers Damian Williams and Ronald Johnson.

With the playmakers and offensive linemen the Trojans have at their disposal, Barkley might just be asked to play smart, simple football and just distribute the ball to let the playmakers do what they do best.

This now means that Barkley will be the starter for Saturday's mock game in USC along with the opener on Sept. 5. And unless he fails against the Spartans or is injured, expect his second start to come in the Horseshoe, not the most hospitable of stadiums in college football.

This no doubt is an interesting move by Pete Carroll, but if he thinks his freshman QB, the top prospect by many recruiting services in 2009, gives him the best chance to win, that is who he is going with.

So what does this mean for the Buckeyes if Barkley does indeed start at the Shoe in Week 2?

Ohio State features one of the best defensive lines in the country and a young, but fast and hard-hitting linebacker corps ready to fight for playing time.

Look for them to try to get to Barkley early and confuse the freshman in order to force turnovers.

More, no doubt, will be revealed after the scrimmage in Los Angeles this weekend and USC's opener.

But now, there is more than enough significance that both the top QBs from each of the past two recruiting classes, Barkley and OSU's Terrelle Pryor are on a collision course in Columbus.

OSU fans, be warned that just because Barkley is a freshman doesn't guarantee anything whatsoever. The fact that he beat out two upperclass QBs at one of the top schools in the country for football says a lot in itself.

Barkley has potential to be the next top pick from USC, and he is getting his indoctrination right away. But he has a lot of great talent that will help take a lot of pressure off of him with the USC offense.


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USC Quarterback Aaron Corp Out With Fractured Fibula

BREAKING NEWS
(pardon the pun USC fans)

Quarterback Aaron Corp has a small crack on the head of his left fibula.

It was originally thought that he would be out for one to two weeks. Recent reports however have suggested that Corp could miss up to three weeks. If that's the case, it's unlikely that he will be the USC starter on opening day.

The redshirt sophomore, who entered camp as the starter, was rolled onto by a lineman during Monday's practice. Team doctors determined he has no ligament damage and will not need surgery.

"This is an unfortunate setback for Aaron but we're encouraged by the diagnosis and that he's going to return quickly," Coach Pete Carroll said.

Corp said he was thankful the injury is fairly minimal.

"It's the best-case scenario for this situation," Corp said. "I'll keep rehabbing and hopefully be back soon."

Corp has been competing with freshman Matt Barkley for the starting quarterback position. Barkley will take all the first-team reps during Corp's absence, Carroll said.

"Matt's going to try and make the most of this opportunity," Carroll said.

Said Corp: "While I'm gone, Matt and Mitch [Mustain] will do a great job. They're going to compete and make the team better."



Article originally published at WeAreSC.com