DALLAS -- There are no Deshaun Watsons in the Big Ten, no Baker Mayfields, no Sam Darnolds, not in a world where the Big Ten hasn't seen a quarterback snapped up in the first round of the NFL Draft since Penn State's Kerry Collins in 1995.
Quarterback talents like that are rare -- dominant college stars who get gobbled up in the first round as future franchise quarterbacks. Watson was drafted that way last year. Mayfield will be this year. Darnold will be whenever he turns pro, after this season or the next. So don't necessarily blame the Big Ten for not cranking out players like that.
Just realize how different they are.
Just realize how difficult they are to handle.
Just realize Big Ten life isn't the same as life against those quarterbacks.
Just realize Ohio State's defense might be in trouble in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.
Just realize that if the USC wins, it's likely to happen because another first-round quarterback, another one who can make throws in the pocket or on the move, was too much for the Buckeyes to handle.
Consider Darnold, the USC quarterback who could be the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and who threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns against Penn State in the Rose Bowl last year; who has averaged 293 passing yards per game while going 20-3 in 23 career starts; who's on a five-game winning streak, averaging 299 passing yards per game while throwing nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Buckeyes have beaten quarterbacks like this before. Oregon's Marcus Mariota, the Heisman winner and future No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, was 24-of-37 for 333 yards, two touchdowns and a pick in the National Championship Game to close out the 2014 season and the Buckeyes still won 42-20.
In 2016, the Buckeyes forced Oklahoma's Mayfield into his worst game of the season, as he went 17-of-32 for 226 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 45-24 Ohio State win.
But last year in a 31-0 blowout in the Fiesta Bowl, Clemson's Watson, the future No. 12 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, wasn't perfect, but he was dangerous, completing 23 of 36 passes for 259 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, and running 15 times for 57 yards and two scores.
He did too much of this for the Buckeyes.
In September, Mayfield took apart the Buckeyes in the rematch in Columbus, completing 27 of 35 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-16 Sooners win while kicking off what would be a successful Heisman campaign.
He did too much of this to the Buckeyes.
And now comes Darnold. The Buckeyes don't have to eliminate plays like this, they just have to limit them. And not lose because of them.
"It's always the case, but it's more the case when you're playing an elite level quarterback or an elite level running back," defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said, "and this is going to sound so coach-speak, but 11 guys have to do their job.
"When you get in trouble against really great players is when you try to do too much. When you look back at that Oklahoma game, some players tried to do too much and did more than their job. And then what happened is, when you do more than your job, you don't end up doing your job. And that's what we have to guard against.
"If we do our job and he whups us, then he whups us."
Of course, Ohio State will try to pressure Darnold, and if the Buckeyes win, they may thank an effective pass rush for it.
"You can't be a great quarterback if you're on your back all the time," Ohio State defensive end Jalyn Holmes said.
USC has allowed 22 sacks this season, which is in the middle of the pack in the nation. But as with Watson and Mayfield, getting Darnold on his back won't be so easy, because like them, he can move, and move away from pressure and make throws.
"He's very mobile, so it has to be an organized rush plan," Schiano said. "It can't just be, 'Go get him.' Because he has a great feel for the rush and he's been able to elude the rush and then he scrambles and he extends the play. He scrambles with his eyes down the field and he's made some big plays on the move."
Schiano said Mayfield may get more credit for throwing on the move, but Darnold is just as effective at it. With the players around him, including first-team All-Pac-12 running back Ronald Jones, Schiano said the Trojans have the best skill players the Buckeyes have faced.
That's why you have to like the Trojans' chances, because there are things Darnold can do that the Buckeyes, even if they play well, can't control. Because Darnold can execute the plays that are called and the ones that break down.
"He's just an athlete," said USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin, remembering Darnold's high school time as a linebacker, receiver and basketball point guard. "He's an underrated athlete. Because he can sit in the pocket and pick you apart with his arm and make all the throws, I think sometimes his athleticism is underrated."
Darnold referenced his backyard football habits and having fun with the game to explain why getting outside the pocket and improvising works so well for him, even as he knows his footwork can get sloppy at times.
"I've not really been much of a robot," Darnold said, "which can hurt me sometimes mechanically, but being able to play and move off my instincts has been one of the strengths."
The Buckeyes have seen a couple quarterbacks like him, but not many. Watson, Mayfield, Darnold -- three in a year is tough, especially if it means a third straight loss to a future first-rounder.
"If you give him time, with the receivers they have, you won't stop him," Urban Meyer said of Darnold. "That's not going to happen and you can't design a coverage that's going to take away these excellent receivers and a top-two pick in the NFL Draft.
"It's the ability to disrupt the quarterback, make him reset his feet, make him move, get a hand on him. That's going to be key to this game and any time you face a very good quarterback. In those games we weren't able to do that."