The odds are posted for the big contest this week between the number one Buckeyes and the number two Longhorns with most handicappers making the home team 2.5-point favorites and a few making them 3-point favorites. Three-points are normally given for the home field advantage, which means this contest is seen as being about as tight as it can get.

Here are a few things to consider.Texas QB Vince Young, a great, explosive player, is gone and Ohio State QB Troy Smith, a powerful field general, is back. Smith has the talent to pick apart the Longhorns’ defense.

Texas’ best CB, starting senior Tarell Brown, has been suspended after being arrested Monday on misdemeanor drug and gun charges. Brown, who obviously has much better timing on the field than off, will be missed. Look for Smith to throw where he ain’t. By the way, backup linebacker Tyrell Gatewood has also been suspended for the same reason.

Ohio State WR Ten Ginn, Jr. possesses afterburners that will thrust him past a secondary missing it’s best player. If Texas can’t figure out how to stop him, he’ll score a bunch of points.

The Longhorns’ have a fine running game led by Selvin Young and Jamaal Charles. The Buckeyes’ start nine new players on defense. Last week they gave up 343 yards to Northern Illinois. The Texas running game should be dominant.

Texas redshirt Freshman QB Colt McCoy starts his second college game and a pressure cooker at that. Although he performed well against an outmatched North Texas squad, this ball game is a whole other animal. Is he the “real McCoy?� We’ll see.

The front seven for Texas are a sack-machine and run stoppers. But Ohio State has a solid, experienced offensive line. If Texas can win the game in the trenches they’ll have a chance to neutralize star tailback, Antonio Pittman who possesses speed and power, slashing past defenders.

Coaches Mack Brown for Texas and Jim Tressel for Ohio State are both solid motivators. Brown guided his team past Ohio State last season (25-22) on his way to the Rose Bowl and a national championship. Tressel, who made some mistakes last season against the Longhorns, took his team to the Fiesta Bowl, beating Notre Dame soundly. If Tressel has learned from past mistakes, he should be a worthy opponent to the crafty Brown.

The Longhorns have home field advantage—an 85,000 strong sellout. But home field did not help Ohio State last season.

Ohio State is too experienced to let a hostel, vociferous crowd throw them. Smith, Ginn, Jr. and Pittman make a formidable point-scoring force, especially with the Longhorns’ secondary compromised by the suspension of Brown. The Texas running game should be able to eat up yardage, but if the Longhorns fall behind, it will be tough for them to come back with an inexperienced QB and few long-range options. Third-year WR receiver Limas Sweed looks to have a breakout year but if McCoy finds himself under a lot of pressure, Sweed may not be a factor.

Texas missing a key cog in the secondary and the inexperience of it’s first-year QB could help keep Ohio State number one and knock the Longhorns out of the BSC Bowl drive early.

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