looking at Week Three

First off, it's a shame that Hurricane Ike is hitting the U.S. right now, because Arkansas vs. Texas was a game I was kind of looking forward to.

Obviously, all the hoopla is going to surround L.A. tomorrow, and it should. With two Top Five teams playing one another, it should be fun to watch (I'm glad I'll be able to). I'm going to make two bold predictions (and I don't care if Beanie Wells plays or not for Ohio State truthfully):

1. I see Ohio State jumping out to like a 7-0 or 10-0 lead early on, mainly because USC is coming off two weeks in between games and I just envision the Buckeyes wanting to make an immediate statement after the near-debacle in Columbus last week. But when it's all said and done, I ultimately see USC winning 35-17, because Pete Carroll is one of the best coaches when it comes to making halftime adjustments. The Trojans have always been a second-half team, and eventually, they're going to wear out the Buckeyes. Just give it time.

2. Mark my words, and hold me to this at the end of the season - neither Ohio State or USC is going undefeated or playing in the national title game. In fact, I bet there will be a rematch between these two in Pasadena on Jan. 1. I see both teams losing another game each between now and December. In the Buckeyes' case, the one game I'm not giving them (besides tomorrow's) is at Wisconsin because it's a night atmosphere at Camp Randall. I know Iowa City was crazy when the Buckeyes were here a couple of years ago, but in all seriousness, this is a game I think Wisconsin is going to try to make a statement to the rest of the Big Ten, and the rest of the nation. As for USC, the Trojans' recent tendency is to lose a road game to a high-or-middle tier team in the Pac-10 that doesn't get nearly the hype as other games (in other words, the game they lose will be on something like FSN or Versus and not when ESPN's around). Rule out Oregon State because the Beavers are bad right now and that's a Thursday ESPN game. Also rule out UCLA because of Rick Neuheisel's mouth, Stanford for obvious reasons, Washington State because they're also bad, and that leaves you with Oct. 25 when USC visits Arizona. Before you laugh, keep in mind the following: 1. Arizona has played them close in recent years. 2. Arizona in the Mike Stoops era, has beaten the following teams at home in recent years - UCLA in 2005 when the Bruins were undefeated, Cal in 2006 before the Golden Bears' showdown that year with USC, and Oregon last year when the Ducks were No. 2 and Dennis Dixon looked like the Hesiman front-runner. If the pattern continues, this is what I envision.

Now, for other games - Michigan and Notre Dame. Wow. I only chose Notre Dame to win BY DEFAULT. Both teams look bad right now, but I'll go with ND because at least the Irish made plays when it needed to last week and I think that Golden Tate kid could become something special for Charlie Weis. Oregon and Purdue is intriguing, but I go with the Ducks because I just don't see the Boilermakers' defense doing anything to keep Oregon's offense off the field.

Despite a bad trend of Big Ten teams struggling in California, I see Wisconsin (not Ohio State) leaving the Golden State with a win over Fresno State on Saturday. I don't think Wisconsin's as overrated as some say, and keep in mind that Fresno State's history of beating big-time programs is usually with road games. This game's in Fresno. Kudos to Bret Bielema for having the you-know-what to schedule this game.

Moving out of the Big Ten, I'm excited about Kansas and South Florida tonight. I see George Selvie being the difference and the Bulls should come out a winner over the Jayhawks at home. I also think Georgia is not overlooking an SEC opponent it lost at home to last year before its big showdown with Arizona State in Tempe, so I like the Bulldogs, the team I picked to beat Oklahoma in the BCS title game, to win at South Carolina. Speaking of Oklahoma, I got them winning in Seattle against Washington, and for the sake of both schools (remember OU-Oregon in 2006), I hope the game officials are from the Big XII, not the Pac-10.

Hopefully, this turns out to be as good a weekend as it appears.

- Brendan Stiles