And that’s why I’ll be switching back and forth between CBS and ABC for the next three hours.

That’s right. The first ever two-game running game diary.

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SC has to make sure that the offensive line needs to give Sanchez the time he needs to get the play to develop. I know it sounds like a broken record but this week it is absolutely key. The OSU defense will throw a lot of things at this relatively new offensive line. They performed flawlessly against Virginia but this is a whole new level of talent.

Ends Lawrence Wilson (6 feet 4, 274 pounds) and Cameron Heyward (6-6, 287) and tackles Nader Abdallah (6-4, 300) and Todd Denlinger (6-2, 292) present an entirely different look than Virginia, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Byers anticipates typical Big Ten smash-mouth style from the Buckeyes.

"They get big guys and they pound each other, that's what they do in the Big Ten," Byers said.

Like USC, Ohio State features outstanding linebackers. James Laurinaitis is in the middle flanked by Marcus Freeman and Ross Homan.

Ohio State intercepted four passes and recovered a fumble against Ohio. Co-defensive coordinators Jim Heacock and Luke Fickell are expected to turn the defense loose against Sanchez, who only a month ago suffered a dislocated left kneecap in practice.

This is match-up that concerns me the most. Wilson and Heyward are beasts and they are fast so they have to be contained in order for Sanchez to get things going. Like I said they are going to throw everything including the kitchen sink at Sanchez. He is going to get more pressure than anything he saw against UVA so he is going to have keep his composure if things get dicey in the pocket.

I know SC's O line sees some similar type play against our defense in practice but its always different in a real game. Combine their line with a stout linebacking corps led by James Laurinaitis and you can see how this will be the most important battle to watch.

The Ohio State Defense as a whole has come under some criticism for their lack of fire on the field lately and this was pretty evident against Ohio. But that is not enough for me to take them lightly.

Talk about split personality. Either they can’t adjust to game speed after 2 months off or the defensive plan has just been pathetic. If I see Ohio State try to keep USC in front of them by lining up in a line 15 yards off the line of scrimmage, I may turn off the TV. Give up a big play, who cares? Just do something. The defense has made exactly one big play in the past 3 losses (Malcolm Jenkins INT, give that man the ball). If we don’t see more physicality from the defense, we might as well sign up for a Miami failure. James Laurinaitis being taken out of a play by a LSU WR is embarrassing.

Yes they have had problems performing at the highest level in some big games but there is a history here between these two teams as we have battled it out before so I am not ready to dismiss them yet.

They have always had problems defending the spread and dealing with mobile QB's but that is not what we run so tOSU will be able to play a more standard defensive scheme against SC. If they get some pressure look for a lot of dump passes out of the backfield to Havili or McKnight.

Outside of the O line the key players to watch will C.J. Gable for his blocking abilities, Anthony McCoy to stick with his blocking assignments yet still be available for a quick dump pass or neutralizing the LB to give the running back some room to break through and of course Mark Sanchez to see if he maintains his composure and how his knee holds up.

A lot of people think that SC just has too many weapons not to win or that the weak link in the Ohio State chain is quarterback Todd Boeckman and his ability to make plays but to me its the little things and this will be THE key matchup that SC has to control in order for SC to win.

Mitch Mustain in the game. Stafon Johnson loses 4 yards and then Mustain finds Vidal Hazelton for 15 yards. Mustain is then hit as he throws and the ball dies in the air but no one sees for the possible interception. Stafon Johnson then fumbles and Drew McAllister recovers. That's the end of Mustain's drive and back to the well-used Garrett Green.
Maybe to get Mustain some time, Johnson's fumble is ruled a dead ball after a long delay.
Joe McKnight gains 11 yards. Mustain throws a 23-yard pass to Hazelton, who extends his arms and drops it. Mustain comes back and finds Anthony McCoy for 7 yards. Two false starts against the offense. It's 3rd and 20 and Mustain hands off to McKnight, who gains 15. On fourth down, Mustain finds Hazelton for nine yards. Mustain to Hazelton again, for nine yards.
TOUCHDOWN: After a personal foul on the defense, McKnight runs it in from 6 yards. White team 14, Cardinal 7.
It's halftime. Unofficially, we have Mustain 4-7 for 39 yards and Corp 3-4 for 14 yards. Green is 4-9 for 90 yards with a TD and INT.

Corp to Travon Patterson for 2 yards. Corp in the shotgun, throws for a yard to D.J. Shoemate under a strong rush.
Mitch Mustain is in with a new group. He rolls out and finds Patterson for 9 yards. Broderick Green carries for no gain on the next play. Mustain throws a little pass to Green, who runs 16 yards.
More Green on a rush, for no gain. Green again for a couple yards. Mustain gets sacked on the next play. Change of possession.
Corp finds Anthony McCoy over the middle for 8 yards. Allen Bradford loses 1 yard on a carry. On 3rd down, Gerald Washington blocks Corp's pass. Next!
Actually, they are still going with Corp. Bradford gains 2 yards on a carry.
Corp escapes a sack and gains about 19 yards on a scramble. Joe McKnight jukes a couple times and gains 14 yards. Corp's pass in deflected by Taylor Mays. McKnight then drops Corp's pass to avert a potential good gain.
Corp calmly rolls out and finds Damian Willaims for 12 yards. Corp then fumbles the snap and Stafon Johnson picks up the ball, lose of five. Corp's pass is deflected, looks like Wes Horton got it. On 3rd and 16, Corp's pass is incomplete.
Time to catch a breath. Corp looks calm, his arm is not the strongest but he plays under control and can avoid the rush.
Mustain back in the game. Green loses a yard. Mustain throws to Adam Goodman, who can't hold on to it. Mustain then throws incomplete to David Ausberry, who is well covered.
Garrett Green in at QB. B. Green carries for a loss of one. Green then throws to Blake Ayles, but for no gain and follows with an incomplete pass.
Mustain throws to Goodman for 9 yards. Bradford then loses a couple yards. Mustain throws behind Ronald Johnson, incomplete.
Corp back in and throws an incomplete pass. He then finds Travon Patterson open for about 17 yards. He throws a nice ball to Scott Stephens, who drops it, but pass intereference is called. Corp is sacked by Derek Simmons. Corp finds Patterson for 19 yards.
Corp scrambles for 10 yards. Corp fumbles another snap and this time the defense recovers.

• There are some tickets left for the games against Oregon, Washington and Cal. Everything else appears to be sold out. [USC]
• Matt Calkins has a great article about early recruiting. [Riverside Press-Enterprise]
• According to Forbes, USC is the 15th most valuable college football team in America. [Bleacher Report]
• Playing fantasy college football this year? Check out this full preview of the Pac-10. [Athlon]
• Fred Davis signs a 4-year deal for $5.3 million with the Redskins. [Washington Post]
• Carson Palmer hates the Buckeyes and is talking some smack. Click here for audio. [AM 570 KLAC]
• Ted Miller's doing more Pac-10 preseason position rankings. Anthony McCoy sits at ninth among tight ends (no guarantees about his starting spot), while the offensive line is fourth in the league. [ESPN]
• USC is easily 1st overall in the Pac-10 according to EA Sports' ratings. [ESPN]

Watched the scrimmage today and these are the things that jumped out at me:

• Best Player:  Stafon Johnson
  
  • I was going to say a tie between Stafon and Chauncey, but I really liked the way Stafon hit the holes.  When Stafon scored his 2nd TD, you saw a little bit of everything:  setting up a block, nice cut/burst, and great vision.  Credit to C.J. Gable for his performance last season, but in my mind, Stafon is clearly the #2 tailback. 

• Biggest Surprise:  Brandon Carswell
  
  • Ran very nice routes and showed great hands on a few catches. 

• Biggest Disappointment:  Patrick Turner, Fred Davis, and JDB
  
  • Patrick Turner was nonexistent the entire scrimmage.  I saw him suited up and on the field, but I don't recall him being in any play. 
  • Fred Davis dropped a few balls that hit him square in the chest.  To me that's disappointing considering he's an All-American candidate and starting senior. 
  • I know Coach Carroll praised JDB's performance and his stats look good on paper, but his incompletions were all balls that could have been intercepted.  He had one pass where he nearly the WR/TE in the back.  He rushed another pass to Anthony McCoy.  He forced a throw on a post route to David Ausberry that would have been intercepted by an above-average CB.  Am I saying JDB is a bad QB?  No, but I still think he's an average QB when pass protection is anything less than par.

• Play of the Game:  Allen Bradford's 30 Yard Run
  • Yeah, I know Stafon's run where he sped down the sideline and cutback to the middle was exciting, and I also know Vidal's TD catch where he had to readjust and make a leaping grab was great as well, but none of them came against the 1st team defense.  The way Allen made Rey miss in the backfield and then turned it up a gear and sped past Keith Rivers for a 30 yard gain was outstanding. 

• Overlooked Play of the Game:  Taylor Mays closing the gap on Allen Bradford
  
  • I've seen no mention of this play.  Allen took the handoff going left and made a great cut in the opposite direction that literally opened up an entire side of the field.  As he sped past the outside DE/LB, Taylor Mays came racing in, cut the angle, and took Allen down.  I think Allen gained less than 10 yards on that play, but it should have been a 15+ yard run.

• Most Embarrassing Play of the Game:  Ronald Johnson's Kick Return
  • So RoJo hesitates and drops the ball but luckily it doesn't get away from him.  He then runs laterally and shows nice burst up the middle and towards the sideline.  All that stood before RoJo and the end zone was Joe Houston and Thomas Williams (same team).  Instead of racing away from Joe by continuing up the sideline, he decides to cut back towards the middle of the field, which confuses Thomas Williams causing him to run right by Joe and he ends up being tackled.  If you didn't know already, Joe Houston is a KICKER. 

• Straight Beastin':  Sedrick Ellis
  
  • Did his usual job of clogging the middle, but what really impressed me was his ability to run down Allen Bradford and prevent him from turning up field.  You could see the two jawing at each other from the several run-ins.

• Other Random Thoughts:
  • Desmond Reed should be the punt returner.
  • I'm not sold on Vincent Joseph being the kick returner.  Yes, he averaged 20+ yards on his returns, but he also made several bad decisions (e.g. choosing to try and leap frog Cary Harris and nearly coughing up the ball in the process). 
  • Shareece Wright would have had the hit of the day, if he was allowed to hit the QB. 
  • At the moment, I think Josh Pinkard deserves to start over Taylor Mays.  He showed great coverage one-on-one. 

Overall, I came away impressed with the team.  I don't think we'll be as dominant as some people are claiming, but we are definitely NC caliber. 

Yes it's true. Video proof.

Manning threw to USC wide receivers Patrick Turner, David Ausberry and Brandon Carswell along with tight ends Fred Davis and Anthony McCoy and tailback Joe McKnight.

Mr. Manning Comes To USC [Scott Wolf]

"The last time, we couldn't see it. I really can't tell you much. I don't know anything about the area and you couldn't see a thing. This should be different. It's supposed to be sunny, and nice and beautiful and all that but you never know. I really feel like I don't have an experience there that I can recall other than you really couldn't see anything and it was very mystical that night and kind of interesting and all that. That was a heck of a football game. They were really ready to beat us that night."

Well. Ummm... Fred Davis... is... a.... big dude.

(Photo from USCFootball.com)

Up from 240... to about 265 now? What a nice target for JD.

What about his backups though? Gerald Washington and Big Anthony McCoy. Not bad.