The No. 3 USC Trojans head to Ohio Stadium for the first time since 1990 to take on the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes in a prime time matchup Saturday night at 8 p.m. A BCS National Title game spot is on the line. The winner will remain in contention and the loser will fall into murky waters.

Matt Barkley will be making his second collegiate start for the Trojans, as a true freshman. Last week he was impressive, completing 15-19 for 233 yards and a touchdown in a 56-3 win over San Jose State.

USC (1-0) will need Barkley to play well if they want to win on the road in a tough environment at the Horseshoe.

As for Ohio State (1-0), they needed a returned interception on a two-point conversion by Navy with less than three minutes left, to nail down their 31-27 victory.

It was not a great opening game for the Buckeyes. Terrell Pryor was 14-21 with one touchdown and one interception against Navy. Passing the ball shouldn’t be any easier against a solid Trojan defense, even if they did lose a lot of players off last season’s team.

Pryor played against USC in Ohio State’s 35-3 loss to the Trojans last year. He rushed for 40 yards and completed 7-9 passes. If Pryor wants to live up to all the hype he gets, this is the game to show what he’s got.

Joe McKnight is the player to watch from the USC side of the ball. Last week he carried the ball 14 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He will need to have another solid game against Ohio State to keep the pressure off Barkley.

The player to watch for on Ohio State is Thaddeus Gibson. Last week he made three tackles, two for loss. If he can put pressure on Barley it could change the complexion of the game.

Since 2001, Ohio State is 14-9 in games that are decided by seven points or less and USC is only 9-11. If the Buckeyes keep it close they might have everything in their favor to pull off the home upset.

Either way, one team will move into the forefront of people’s National Title contenders and the loser will fall out.