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Ohio State facing California nightmare

Buckeyes, fellow Big Ten 'power' Badgers have huge concerns

Ohio v Ohio StateGetty Images
Backup quarterback Terrelle Pryor and the rest of the Ohio State Buckeyes will be in big trouble next Saturday against USC, NBCSports.com's John Walters writes.

One final note on this matchup: No team is looser than USC during its Friday walk-through at a stadium. During the Trojans’ walk-through in Charlottesville on Aug. 29, the Cavalier players emerged from the tunnel, marched up the sideline, and engaged in a good old-fashioned staredown with USC.
52-7, Trojans.

You can bet that coach Tressel will ensure that none of his players say or do anything this week to rile up the Trojans.

Heading northbound on I-5, we come to The Valley. Fresno State, home of Pat Hill and the Bulldogs. Last September Wisconsin visited UNLV and only won by a touchdown against a Rebel team that would win two games all season. Such an effort will not suffice this time around. The Badgers may be 17-0 at Camp Randall Stadium under Bielema, but they have also lost three of their past four games on the road. And they enter this game with a quarterback, Allan Evridge, whose last road start came in November of 2005 at Nebraska when he was a freshman quarterback at Kansas State. Evridge was 0-3 in his road starts as a Wildcat.

This game, though, will come down to who runs the ball better. Wisconsin tailback P.J. Hill has carried the ball 44 times in two games, averaging 133.5 yards a contest. But that was versus Akron and Marshall. Fresno State sophomore Ryan Mathews had 163 yards and three touchdowns at Rutgers.

On the season’s opening weekend a very good Michigan State team traveled to California and lost to Cal 38-31. This Saturday two more Big Ten schools, each of them with designs on a BCS bowl if not more, head west. It may be worth noting that the Donner party—the original ill-fated California-bound pilgrims—originated in Big Ten country, Springfield, Ill.

And it may be best for the Big Ten, no matter how entertaining it is for the rest of us, if in the future the conference restricts its California visits to the first week in January.

© 2012 NBC Sports.com  Reprints


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