USC Travels To Ohio State For A Saturday Night Showdown

Sports Betting News - September 11th, 2009 - Written by Scott

Matt Barkley will become officially baptized into college football as the USC true freshman quarterback leads his Trojans against Ohio State on Saturday. In the biggest game of week 2 of the college season, this will be a huge test for Barkley as he will be playing in front of over one hundred thousand Buckeye fans and in a very loud stadium. USC is high on their freshman quarterback, but how he responds Saturday will be a huge factor of how far he has progressed so far during this young season. The Trojans won last year at the Coliseum 35-3 against a Buckeye team that showed very little action from their now starting quarterback Terelle Pryor, who was splitting time at quarterback. This year the team is Pryor's, who will go up against a Trojan defense that sent eight players to the NFL in last years draft. Winning big out of conference games has been a struggle for the Buckeyes. Since 2006, they have only won one out of their last five marquee out of conference games.

Offensively for USC, ranked No. 3 in the country, the focus has been on Barkley. He replaced Mark Sanchez who is now the starting quarterback for the New York Jets. He looked calm and poised in last week's game against San Jose State where he was 15-19 for 233 yards and one touchdown. They will not provide the competition that the Buckeyes will bring and Barkley will get his first true test. Fortunately for USC, they bring an experienced offensive line and a slew of tested running backs. This should allow Barkley not to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders. Breaking in eight new starters on defense will be a test for the Trojans. A dual threat quarterback, such as Pryor, has given USC problems in the past. How they respond to both his passing and running ability will be important if the Trojans are to win.

Ohio State, ranked No.8, is led by starting quarterback Pryor. Their offense struggled last week against Navy and must improve if they plan on beating the Trojans. Pryor must focus on better decision making after he threw a costly interception last week which allowed Navy back into the game. He must use his passing and running ability against USC as they have eight new starters on defense. Defensively, the Buckeyes must stop the Trojans rushing attack. If they can, this will cause USC to rely on their freshman quarterback and will allow the defense to put pressure on him.

Bodog Sportsbook has USC favored by 7 with at -115. The underdogs, Ohio State, have a payout set at -105. This Top 10 matchup should be a great game. The nation will get to see in Matt Barkley can live up to the praise that USC and their coaching staff is giving the young quarterback.

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