LOS ANGELES — Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells will not play for the fifth-ranked Buckeyes against No. 1 Southern California tonight because of his injured right foot.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel made the announcement late Friday afternoon after the team went through a 40-minute walkthrough at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
“We won’t have Beanie tomorrow,” Tressel told the assembled media just minutes after he told his team of the decision. “He was getting treatment 15 times a day. I guess if looks could kill, he fought me. I just told the team because it’s important our guys know what we thought we should do.
“I just think as I listened to the doctors and I thought about the situation that this was the decision that should be made. We’ve got good kids. We’re going to go after them.”
The Trojans (1-0) will be playing their first game since an impressive 52-7 victory Aug. 30 at Virginia. Ohio State (2-0) has beaten in-state opponents Youngstown State, 43-0, and Ohio University, 26-14.
Wells, who rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, was injured in the third quarter of the opener, collapsing behind the line of scrimmage and dropping the football shortly after taking a handoff inside the Youngstown State 10-yard line. Without him, the Buckeyes had to rally to beat the lightly regarded Bobcats last weekend.
No details on the injury have been released.
Tressel said early in the week that Wells would play, but it was a different story Thursday, when he said the 6-foot-1,
237-pound junior was doubtful because of lingering soreness in his foot. And then came Friday’s announcement.
Tressel spoke briefly with the media, and no players, including Wells, were made available for comment. Wells hasn’t spoken publicly since being injured.
Redshirt freshman Dan Herron, sophomore Brandon Saine and senior Maurice Wells shared the carries for Ohio State against Ohio University and are expected to do the same against USC in the mostly highly anticipated September college football game in years.
A sellout crowd of 93,607 will be on hand at the Coliseum, with some paying big bucks to be there. According to ticket distributor StubHub, it’s selling tickets for an average of $405 apiece.
“We’re going to play whoever they bring,” USC safety Kevin Ellison said. “It’s time to play. It’s time to hone in and get down to it. It’s going to be rocking at the Coliseum.”
The Trojans have won 38 of their last 39 home games, and haven’t lost a nonconference game since 2001, when Kansas State beat them 10-6 in Pete Carroll’s first year as the USC coach.
The Trojans went 6-6 in Carroll’s first season, but are 71-8 in the past six-plus years. Tressel became the Ohio State coach in 2001 as well, guiding the Buckeyes to a 7-5 record in his first year. They’ve gone 69-11 since.
Even without Wells, the Trojans face a difficult challenge, according to defensive coordinator Nick Holt.
“They’ve got a veteran offensive line, four of the five starters are back,” Holt said. “They’re dangerous no matter what because they’re very experienced up front. If you don’t stop the run against these guys, they’ll get after you, they’ll make you pay.”
Regarding Wells, Holt said: “The guy’s a Heisman Trophy candidate. (But) I don’t want to belittle the other guys. They’re good, too.”
Todd Boeckman, in his second year as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, passed for 2,379 yards and 25 touchdowns with 14 interceptions last season, and 297 yards and two TDs with no interceptions so far this year. Freshman Terrelle Pryor, one of the most heavily recruited prep players in the country last year, has gained 89 yards on 14 carries and passed for another 35 yards.
Carroll said he expects to see both players.
“They present different situations and different problems,” Carroll said. “Terrelle Pryor is a great athlete. This guy is a really big-time player.”
Quarterback Mark Sanchez will be making his fifth career start for USC. He passed for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns at Virginia, where five tailbacks scored touchdowns for the Trojans.
“We’d better be fast,” Tressel said. “I don’t care what they’re running, they are fast.”
Both teams appear loaded on defense, especially at the linebacker position, where Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing lead the way for USC and James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman star for the Buckeyes. All four are seniors.
“Those guys are everywhere,” Tressel said of the USC standouts. “It seems like you’ve been watching them forever. They have a real knowledge of what people are doing on offense. They’re obviously physical, and they run like crazy.”
Carroll called Ohio State’s defense “the best in America.”
“This is the ultimate challenge at this point,” he said. “How can you play anybody better than the best?”
Regarding the Buckeyes’ linebackers, Carroll said: “They’re quick agile, athletic. They pressure a lot. They put them in positions a lot to make things big happen, and they do it. We have great respect for what they do and how they play.”
Carroll also noted Ohio State’s experience, saying: “When you return 18 starters, that’s probably the max.”
USC is an 11-point favorite over the Buckeyes in the first game between the teams since 1990. USC has an 11-9-1 record in the series that dates to the days of coaches John McKay and Woody Hayes, but has won the last five matchups since Ohio State prevailed 42-21 in the Rose Bowl following the 1973 season.
“Growing up in Ohio in the late ‘60s, those were the years Ohio State and USC were playing in the Rose Bowl frequently,” Tressel said. “In my background, USC was the pinnacle. They have great talent. What I love about them is their discipline. They play the game the way it’s meant to be played. They go out there and have fun, they compete.”
Carroll knows all about Ohio State as well, in part because he served as an assistant coach under Earle Bruce in 1979.
“They’ve got a great history,” Carroll said. “They’ve got great leadership. They’ve got impact, extraordinary players in all phases of their team. It makes for an unbelievable opportunity.”

TONIGHT

No. 5 OSU at No. 1 USC

TIME: 8 p.m.
WHERE: Los Angeles Coliseum
TV/RADIO: Channel 5 will televise the game. On radio, the game can be found on
WEOL 930-AM and WKNR 850-AM.
RECORDS: The Buckeyes (2-0) struggled to a 26-14 win over Ohio University last week, while the Trojans (1-0) trounced Virginia 52-7 on Aug. 30.
COACHES: Jim Tressel is 75-16 in his eighth season at Ohio State and 210-73-2 in his 23rd year as a head coach. Pete Carroll is 77-14 in his eighth year at USC and in his career.
SERIES: This will be the 22nd meeting between the teams and the first since 1990 when the Trojans defeated the Buckeyes 35-26 in Columbus. Ohio State’s last win was a 42-21 victory in the Rose Bowl following the 1973 season. USC leads the series 11-9-1.
THE SKINNY: The Buckeyes are aiming to win the 801st game in school history without the services of preseason All-Big Ten pick Chris “Beanie” Wells. Wells suffered a foot injury early in the third quarter of the season opener. The Buckeyes trailed Ohio University 14-12 after three quarters before Brandon Saine’s 2-yard TD run and Ray Small’s 69-yard punt return for a touchdown brought the Buckeyes back. The Buckeyes outgained OU by just 18 yards in total offense (272-254), including winning the rushing battle without Beanie Wells, 162 yards to 145. Quarterback Todd Boeckman completed 16 of 26 passes for 110 yards.
Mark Sanchez completed 26 of 35 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ season-opening win in Charlottesville, Va. He completed 12 straight passes at one point and finished the first half with 16 completions in 19 attempts. For his efforts, Sanchez was named PAC-10 offensive player of the week and also received two other national honors.

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