After months and months of hype and buildup, USC and Ohio State finally took to the field on Saturday, and if you were looking for an exciting game, the only way that you got your fill was if you were a USC fan or anyone who’s anti-Ohio State, as the Trojans pulled away in the second quarter and coasted in a 35-3 rout.

There might have been some raised eyebrows after they leapfrogged Georgia for the #1 spot after their season-opening road blowout of Virginia, but the Trojans showed that they merited the ranking with a complete performance against the Buckeyes, producing well on offense, shutting down the Buckeyes defensively (207 total yards, three turnovers), and putting the game away well before the fourth quarter.

With the way that they’ve come out of the gate, they’re in a familiar position of being a prime favorite for the national title, and I imagine there are a few USC fans who’ve already circled January 8 on their calendars.

And to be honest, the only thing standing between USC and a place in the national championship game in Miami is themselves.

This isn’t to say that they won’t get a serious challenge in the Pac-10, but even their biggest challengers have shown chinks in the armor. Oregon certainly has the offense to challenge USC, along with a defense full of playmakers, but they can’t seem to keep a starting QB healthy. Arizona State? Bravo if they can beat Georgia, but that loss to UNLV doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in the Sun Devils right now. Past them, Cal lost their way out of the top 25 with a loss to an average Maryland team, and UCLA’s 59-0 loss to UCLA shows that they have a ways to go yet

But, more than Oregon or Arizona State - both of whom they get at home, or their rivalry games against Notre Dame and UCLA, the Trojans can’t have those losses that they’ve had in the last couple of seasons, the close losses in games that they should’ve won that are the difference between four consecutive chances to play for a national title, and two championship games and two Rose Bowls.

After a bye week this coming weekend, they have to make a trip to Oregon State for a Thursday nighter, and the last time they went to Corvallis, they left with a 33-31 loss in 2006, and the Beavers will be confident about their chances of pulling the upset again.

But after falling short of the ultimate goal in each of the last three seasons, Pete Carroll will make sure no opponent is overlooked. The talent is there on both sides of the ball, and if the focus is there throughout, then there’s no stopping them.

But what about the team that they destroyed on Saturday? Ohio State had a bright start, moving the ball pretty well and taking an early lead before things fell apart.

Would Beanie Wells’ presence have made a difference? It’s hard to say that one person‘s presence would‘ve turned the tide in a 32-point victory, especially when his team isn‘t short on talent even without him in the lineup and had to know that he wasn‘t a sure thing for Saturday.

So is Ohio State out of the national title hunt? After a big drop in the polls, they have a lot of teams to climb over now. However, you can’t count them out of it this early, but the Buckeyes are now in a situation where their route to a third straight appearance in the national title game likely depends on them winning out and getting help from others.

To take care of the part that they control, it’s going to require a couple of things, and not just the return to health of Beanie. Not only do they need to quickly regroup after looking sluggish in a win over Ohio and looking bad in the loss to USC, but the passing game needs to step it up. Todd Boeckman is definitely the starter, and I don’t think Jim Tressel is going to entertain serious thoughts of throwing a freshman starter in there unless Boeckman just completely loses it. But, he has to take advantage of the weapons at his disposal, play with confidence, and show that he’s capable of being a big-game quarterback, which he hasn’t shown in OSU’s last two big games.

The next two games against Troy and Minnesota will allow the Buckeyes to get back a little swagger before a trip to #8 Wisconsin, a game that they can ill-afford to lose, not only because it’d all but knock them out of the national title hunt, but it would also put them in a hole in the Big Ten race.

Is USC the team to beat? Can Ohio State rebound from their loss to get back in the national title hunt?

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