Matt Hayes

Time for the Week 3 installment of "Ten things to watch" in college football. And, no, not all 10 things are coming from the Los Angeles Coliseum.

But they could.

1. An abundance of talent
Look, I'd rather watch Olympic ping pong than stare in the face of an NFL game for three hours. That said, one of my close friends is an NFL scout, and the undeniable truth is there will be as many as nine first-round picks on the Coliseum field Saturday night when USC plays host to Ohio State.

Wait, we're not finished yet. If Ohio State DE Lawrence Wilson and LB Marcus Freeman have big seasons, it could conceivably become 11 (draft-eligible juniors included). Think about that when you're bellying up to the chips and dip.

The first nine:

• USC: LBs Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing; Ss Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison; DT Fili Moala.
• Ohio State: LB James Laurinaitis, TB Chris Wells, OT Alex Boone, CB Malcolm Jenkins.

"Going to be a lot of money running around on that field," my scout pal says.

In this week's Sporting News magazine we have a story on USC's star-studded program, one that could have the most talent ever assembled in college football. The 1986 and 2002 Miami teams come close, but USC's talent doesn't end with the starting lineup or draft-eligible players.

Enjoy this nonconference jewel for what it is, and realize you'll be watching a lot of these guys in the NFL very soon.

You will, I won't.

2. Who's afraid of the big, bad 'Dogs?
Every time I talk to Pat Hill, I realize what the little guys of college football are up against. In a nutshell:

Any team with BCS bowl aspirations gets met with the "they don't play anyone" argument. But try to schedule up, and there are limited takers. BCS teams now would rather schedule I-AA teams (see: SEC) than take a chance on a team like, say, Fresno State.

Now it's getting even tougher for Fresno State, the original BCS slayer. The Bulldogs can't even schedule non-BCS teams. As much as games against BCS schools, Hill wants annual games with Utah, BYU and San Diego State. One would think those are natural fits.

"I call all the time," Hill says. "No takers."

Here's why: Utah, BYU and San Diego State, members of the Mountain West Conference, can't afford to lose to a team from the WAC. Because if they do, it reaffirms the argument that both Fresno State and Boise State should be in the MWC.

"You'd think they'd want to make a conference in the West that's extremely competitive," Hill says.

3. The H to the E to the double-L we go
Yeah, we get it. Charlie Weis offended Michigan with his "The hell with Michigan" statement in the offseason.

Here's a better slogan for this tilt: "The hell with offense."

First team to 13 wins.

4. I say fumble, you bumble
Because the SEC has decided to take the week off — the best league on the planet has noncon games against UAB, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Rice and North Texas — we'll take a look at an absolutely astonishing statement by Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer.

And, I quote: "(Arian Foster) has a ball security problem, not a fumbling problem."

Right. I'm not bald, I have a hair follicle problem.

This may be me being overly critical of big Phil, but Foster had a ball security problem two seasons ago against Penn State in the Outback Bowl that cost the Vols a victory. He had another ball security problem three years ago at Alabama, when he ball-securitied into the end zone to cost Tennessee that game. That same season, he ball-securitied at the goal line in a 16-15 loss to South Carolina.

Two weeks ago, with Tennessee driving inside the 10 to begin the third quarter and set to put away pesky UCLA, Foster ball-securitied again.

Dude does not have a fumbling problem. End of story.

5. Speaking of ball security ...
The last time we saw UCLA, the Bruins somehow avoided the train wreck of four first-half interceptions and beat an SEC heavyweight in Week 1 of the Rick Neuheisel show.

I know everyone in True Blue and Gold is geeked, but please understand this: BYU is a well-coached, well-organized, focused team with a clear and concise idea of where it is headed and what it has to do to get there.

In other words, everything Tennessee isn't.

But at least the Vols don't fumble!

6. ECU means love
I'm going to say this very clearly so (E)veryone (C)an (U)nderstand:

1.) Charlie Weis will not be fired and replaced by Skip Holtz because Skip is Lou's son and everyone who is anyone knows Lou Holtz controls everything and anything Irish.

2.) ECU will struggle this week against Tulane. It's a natural letdown game, everyone. Trust me.

Bonus explanation: Skip Holtz is a lock for the Syracuse job. I mean, if he wants it.