"Beanie" Well(s) enough to play USC, but how well?

by USC Footblog on Sep 9, 2008 3:51 PM PDT Comment 3 comments

Bumped - Look's like Beanie is chompin' at the bit to get in the game...Paragon

Chris "Beanie" Wells told coach Tressel that he is ready to carry the ball 45 times against USC on Sunday. I don't know how many yards he can average on each of those carries, but considering Dan Herron didn't really provide that "boom" last week against Ohio with only 50 rushing yards, I'm sure Buckeye fans would be relieved just to see Beanie Wells on the field. But can he really make a difference healthy or not?

This leads to my question. Is Beanie Wells really that good? He had 200+ rushing against Michigan and Michigan State last year, but those teams weren't exactly on the same level as USC. So I decided to look at his stats against Illinois, since USC faced that team as well at the Rose Bowl.

Joe McKnight ran for 125 yards on 10 carries. Stafon Johnson ran for 104 yards on just 9 carries. Chauncey Washington only managed 75 yards on 12 carries, but that is much better than Beanie Wells numbers against Illinois where he only amassed 76 yards on 20 carries. Our guys managed averages of 12.5, 11.6, and 6.4 yards per carry against the same defense that stopped Wells at just 3.8 yards per carry. I know Illi's defense is irrelevant on Saturday's game, but it helps answer the question of how good Beanie Wells is compared to our guys. (got that Lou?)

I think Rashard Mendenhall is a great talent. I see him having a great career in the NFL for the Steelers. Is Wells on the same level as Mendenhall? You tell me. But looking at that Rose Bowl game, if you take away Mendenhall's 79 yard run, he would have 76 yards on 16 carries. Clearly that wasn't enough against USC. Well this is where Lou Holtz would say, well who's to say Wells isn't going to make a 79 yard run? Well I'm not saying Wells isn't capable, but considering how great USC's defense is, and Wells not at 100%, I just don't see it happening. Even if he carries the ball 45 times, Beanie won't be good enough.

Maybe Terrel Pryor will do a Vince Young, but outside of that miracle, I don't see Beanie Well's making a difference, healthy or not, against USC. On that note, I just don't see Ohio State winning a game against USC.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors.

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The problem I think

Is sample size. What I mean to say is try not to make more of it than it is because it is just one game after all. Wells is definitely one of the best, but then again USC has had success against other great College Football RBs in recent history. Ohio State relies on the run to set up their passing game, so for OSU to be successful they will need Beanie to be at least marginally successful. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

by Laughing Stock on Sep 9, 2008 6:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Beanieeeeee

"Is Beanie Wells really that good?" absolutely! if he can star on one of the top college football teams in the country he is definitely good and probably a excellent NFL prospect as well. Combine a healthy Beanie with an outstanding offensive line, skill players like Hartline and one of the top 3 defenses in all the land you’re looking to do some damage.

NEVER underestimate your competition, that leads to playing down to your opponent’s level, and that leads to embarrassing upset situations which is something SC cannot afford. Underestimating opponents is something that OSU did last Saturday and they nearly kissed their BCS aspirations goodbye.

On another note I hope that Beanie is 100% by Saturday, I don’t want to hear anymore "what ifs" from OSU fans: "if Beanie Wells was healthy we would have slaughtered USC." If we can only bring back a reincarnation of the 2004 team motto "Leave No Doubt" it would apply perfectly to this situation. When OSU fans leave the Coliseum on Saturday I want them to be saying in their heads "Damn USC has a quality program that beat us fair and square" (haha yeah maybe not EXACTLY like that but some derivative of that would be nice).

by sharpie20 on Sep 9, 2008 7:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Sounded good to me!

I read Scott Wolf’s “Tressel” blog entry, and in it- Coach Tressel had some kind, respectful, and dare I say it’ “classy” words for this weekend’s game and our USC team. I mean that too! I’ve hardly read anything from Coach Tressel, relative to the hours I normally spend in a year’s worth of surfing the ‘netz. But his forthright commentary was almost a breath of fresh air! It’s like. . . . .how can anyone hate this guy? I think he’s ACES!

Leave No Doubt? God bless you sharpie20, that’s just badass. I forgot about that motto? If we can channel the energy and discipline of that team come Saturday? Sublime.

"Surround yourself with people who can't live without football" - 1st tenet of 3 for Bear Bryant's 3 Rules of Coaching . . . . .

by BixBeiderbecke on Sep 9, 2008 7:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs