After spanking Ohio State 35-3 on Saturday, Southern Cal left no questions as to who is the best team in college football is. After going 17-28 for 172 yards and four touchdowns against the vaunted Buckeye defense, all doubts about Mark Sanchez should be dispelled. Georgia and Oklahoma will probably pick up the few straggling non-believers but this week’s polls would be well justified to have USC as the unanimous number one.
How good are the Trojans ??? Ohio State drew first blood on a Ryan Pretorius FG, held the ball 20 minutes while outgaining USC 177-172 in the first half but was still down 21-3 after thirty minutes. When Ray Maualuga ran a pick back 48 yards three minutes before the half, the game was effectively over as the Buckeyes could manage just 30 second half yards.
Other than Sanchez, the Trojan’s biggest question mark was a young inexperienced offensive line. Against a Buckeye defense that returned 10 starters including All-World Butkus nominee Jim Laurinaitis, the OL opened enough holes to allow Joe McKnight to rush for 105 yards on just 12 carries and gave Sanchez enough time to pick the Ohio State secondary apart.
Looking at the USC schedule, it’s hard to imagine the Trojans not playing in their fourth National Championship game this decade. They’ve won 39 of their last 40 games in the Coliseum and get their toughest conference opponents Oregon, Arizona State, and Cal at home along with Notre Dame.
Barring an unlikely meltdown in their road games at Oregon State, at Washington State, at Arizona, the revenge game vs. Stanford in Palo Alto, and the semi-roadie at the Rose Bowl against UCLA – the Trojans are a lock for the National Championship Game on January 8th, in Miami.
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