OSU Veterans Hope To Shed Trend Of Recent Failures

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A quick glance at the Big Ten standings before the second Saturday of the college football season shows the league won 10 of 11 games last weekend.

Pretty good, right?

But if you take a closer look, you'll see most of those Big Ten winners beat far inferior squads, and in the cases of two ranked teams -- Ohio State and Iowa -- near choke jobs almost ruined seasons while temperatures were still in the 80s.

Week Two brings a nice game between Notre Dame and Michigan, but most people are talking about the sport's most anticipated early season matchup. No. 3 USC visits No. 8 Ohio State Saturday night under the lights in Columbus.

The Buckeyes, familiar with the big stage, but also familiar with being embarrassed on it in recent years, are hoping to help the league shed its trend of losing big games.

"The Big Ten has struggled a few times against out-of-conference foes and whatnot," senior defensive lineman Doug Worthington said. "This is a huge game for the Big Ten, and our team knows that."

Worthington was among players and coaches who attended the league's preseason media days in Chicago, and he said he talked to players from other squads about the league's reputation.

"We've heard it before," he said. "We hear it from the media a lot. It's OK with us. When I went down to Chicago, me and a couple of the guys from other teams talked about our out-of-conference schedules and whatnot and we just want to do as well as we can before that Big Ten schedule opens up. I root for everybody right now in our conference."

Junior wideout Dane Sanzenbacher said he and his mates want to rep the league well, but it's not what drives them.

"I think a lot of times when we go out on Saturday, and I'm sure other schools in the Big Ten feel like this, you're always representing your conference, especially if you're playing big, out-of-conference games," he said. "But you can't think of the magnitude of that. We just have to get our jobs done."

Fifth-year senior cornerback Andre Amos agreed with Sanzenbacher that the guys are aware of the Big Ten's recent failures, but the focus still must stay on Southern Cal.

"We don't actively talk about it, but it definitely is important," he said. "Anytime your league goes out to play some other team in a different (league), it definitely is key to play your heart out and try to get a victory."

Is Too Much Being Made About Matt Barkley?

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Matt Barkley is and will continue to be a phenomenal quarterback. No one disputes that.

But is it possible that the local media are making far too big a deal about the fact that he's a freshman?

I think the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Everybody seems to think all Ohio State has to do is blitz him and hit him and confuse him early, and then 105,000 screaming red sweaters in Ohio Stadium Saturday night will handle the rest.

It will be nowhere near that easy.

The early chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew will be written with a steady hand, one that will be able to give the ball to any of the 459 star runners in the backfield. Many of them are blessed with that coveted speed you hear about in the SEC. If Barkley has to throw, he has one of the finest lines in the country protecting him. And then the targets he'll be throwing to are dangerous athletes as well.

USC Coach Pete Carroll says age is just a number, and what people are forgetting is that Barkley doesn't just possess the raw tools needed to be a great quarterback. He also has those intangibles like poise, confidence and a surprising ability to lead and command a huddle at such an early age.

If Ohio State can rattle Barkley -- a tall order indeed -- it won't be because he's a freshman, it will simply be because Ohio State is good enough to rattle a quarterback of any age or talent level. But time will tell if the Buckeyes defense is good enough to penetrate that great USC line.

In the video below, OSU cornerback Andre Amos clearly demonstrates that he's had some media training, offering a short chuckle off the top, then giving a fair but hardly meaty soundbite about going up against USC's prized freshman.