USC Crushes Ohio State 35-3

It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the best teams in college football. USC versus Ohio State had it all. There was tradition, 18 combined national championships, two big game coaches, and 11 potential first round draft picks. However, it didn't live up to the hype as USC rolled to an easy victory. It was another devastating loss for Ohio State on the national stage after back to back embarrassing losses in the past two BCS championship games.

Southern California turned the game of the year into another Trojans’ victory march. Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes, Joe McKnight rushed for 105 yards on 12 carries, and the top-ranked Trojans crushed No. 5 Ohio State 35-3 Saturday night. On this pleasant summer night, one looked like a champion, the other ordinary. “It worked out beautifully for us,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “Over the years, when we prepare this well and we have our guys, we’re hard to beat. It doesn’t matter who we play when we do that. This is what we’re capable of doing, we didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to get there. We had a nice night.” Ohio State played without star tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells, sidelined with an injured right foot. But moving the ball wasn’t the Buckeyes’ biggest problem before the Trojans made it a rout. Instead, they were done in by a handful of crucial mistakes.

A holding penalty nullified a touchdown in the second quarter, and an errant throw by Todd Boeckman was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Rey Maualuga. And with that, the outcome was all but decided by halftime.
“We played as well as we could, with or without Beanie,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “We played against a great team tonight. We were never able to take control on offense or defense. We must now roll up our sleeves and realize we can’t play like this and win.” Now the only question left is: Can anybody left on USC’s schedule beat USC and keep them from playing for a national championship in January for the fourth time this decade? I very much doubt it.