John Walters

So, USC linebacker Rey Maualuga ran for three times as many yards (48) after picking off a Todd Boeckman pass on Saturday night as the longest Buckeye completion (16 yards, to Brian Hartline). That's never good.

Ohio State-USC 2008: The Woes Bowl.

We feel as if we let you down, all of us who breathlessly proclaimed this the game of the year in college football. Please accept our apologies and, in light of what has transpired during the first three weeks of the season, consider these the eight potential must-see games of 2008, revised edition (fully aware that any of these teams has the potential to pull a Cal as early as next weekend):

1. Sept. 25: No. 1 USC (3-0) at Oregon State (1-2)
Pete Carroll and the Trojans are 44-6 against the Pac-10 since 2002. However, USC is 0-2 in the Beaver State in the last two years. No one can beat the Trojan team that showed up in the Coliseum on Saturday night, but if college football has taught you anything, it should be that the same uniforms show up each weekend, but not necessarily the same team. Just ask Arizona State, or Cal.

2. Oct. 11: No. 15 Penn State (3-0) at No. 8 Wisconsin (3-0)
The Nittany Lions have scored at least 35 points in the first half of every game they’ve played thus far. JoePa returns to Camp Randall Stadium, where during his last visit he suffered a broken leg. The winner could very well go undefeated.

3. Oct. 18: No. 5 Missouri (3-0) at No. 7 Texas (2-0)
The eyes of Texas will be upon the nation’s most prolific offense and Heisman favorite Chase Daniel, the Tiger quarterback.

4. Nov. 1: No. 3 Georgia (3-0) vs. No. 4 Florida (2-0)
At this point we’re still not sold on the SEC. Florida cannot run, LSU cannot pass and Auburn cannot score. The Bulldogs have a killer schedule ahead of them, and we just mean the rest of September (at Arizona State, vs. Alabama). But we’ll give both top five teams the benefit of the doubt here.

5. Nov. 22: No. 10 Texas Tech (3-0) at No. 2 Oklahoma (3-0)
The Red Raiders have beaten OU two of the past three, but those were in Lubbock. Texas Tech had 693 yards of offense on Saturday, and still Mike Leach was furious. Bob Stoops got his 100th career win in just his 123rd game on Saturday, and only one coach, JoePa, has ever gotten to the century mark — wait for it … Sooner.

6. Nov. 22: No. 11 BYU (3-0) at No. 20 Utah (3-0)
True, Texas Christian has the defense to spoil either of these teams' unbeaten seasons. Yet if both are still undefeated the Beehive State will be buzzing, knowing that this is in effect a BCS bowl play-in game.

7. Nov. 29: Notre Dame (2-0) at No. 1 USC (2-0)
We know. But you look at the rest of the Irish schedule and every game leading up to this is winnable (on the other hand, every game, with the exception of Syracuse, is also loseable). Notre Dame has 15 losses in Charlie Weis’ first three seasons, but only one was at the hands of an opponent that would finish the season with a losing record (Michigan State, which finished 5-6 in '05). Just humor us, OK?

8. Dec. 6: No. 16 South Florida (3-0) at No. 24 West Virginia (1-1)
The Mountaineers have squandered their BCS bowl hopes in their final home game each of the past two seasons. Why not ruin the Bulls’ hopes during their season finale in Pat White’s final home game?

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