Final Pick and Prediction for Ohio State and USC's Primetime Matchup

It's been a long two weeks in between Ohio State's last two games, and the wait is finally over as tonight the Buckeyes finally get to take on the USC Trojans inside the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The storylines are vast on both sides, with the main one being injuries on both sides. The Buckeyes are obviously down Julian Sayin on their offense, while the Trojans have a couple of injuries, but none to key contributors on their team.

The good news for Ohio State is that while Sayin is out, he doesn't play defense, and Jeremiah Smith is 100 percent ready to go. As long as those two things stay true, the Buckeyes could roll me out at quarterback and have a really good chance to win the football game, especially this one.

As it stands right now, the Buckeyes are a one-touchdown favorite against the Trojans by 6.5 points. Nearly the entire public is on the Buckeyes, and for good reason.

The performance that USC rolled out last week was a regrettable one for sure. 

They went all the way across the country to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Badgers, and they got an old-school beatdown as a result. 

From start to finish, the Badgers controlled the physicality of the football game and never allowed the Trojans to get off the mat at all. They forced turnovers, stopped the run, and made USC get into chase mode.

They did all of that while registering just 54 passing yards on the game. 

That could not have happened at a better time for the Buckeyes because it is the exact blueprint that they are going to want to create in this game. 

The Buckeyes' defense is proving that it is one of the best in the country by far and away. After they figured out some of the negatives in their group against the Illinois Fighting Illini, they have looked totally different. They turned the water off against Iowa, Maryland, and Indiana. They have reverted to their old form, and it is happening at the right time.

On offense, they will have their five best offensive lineman up and ready to go today. That group has been a revolving door all year long, but they are the ones that benefited the most from the bye week. They are back to full strength, and the Ohio State rushing attack is going to benefit from that. 

Finally, No. 4 still plays for the Buckeyes last time that I checked. Anytime you have Jeremiah Smith on your side, you have more than a chance. 

This is going to be a fast game, one that the Buckeyes choke the clock out, control time of possession, protect their young quarterback, and just try to escape with a win, and I think that they will, easily. 

The final prediction in this one is Ohio State 24, USC 10. Buckeyes come back home as the No. 2 team in the country with Oregon next up.