Surprisingly, it is the defense that worries me. You may wonder how a defense which has given up less than 300 yards on average over the first two weeks could worry someone. However last week, I watched Wake Forest, whose offense is not USC’s caliber, drive consistently down the field against Nebraska. Then Nebraska’s defense would make a big stand inside the 10 yard line to keep control of the game.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove attributed a lot of the problem to missed tackles, 12 by his count, against Wake Forest.

“We need to improve on our fundamental techniques,” Cosgrove said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

Improvement better be on the list. USC is not going to be as easily tamed as Wake was in the red zone. And USC is going to be a heck of a lot harder to bring down than Wake Forest.

No upset prediction this week. USC is going to win and cover(-10).

Likely Winners: Kansas (Toledo), Kansas State (Missouri State), Missouri (Western Michigan), Baylor (Texas State), Oklahoma (Utah State), Oklahoma State (Troy), Texas (Central Florida), Texas A&M (UL-Monroe), Texas Tech (Rice)

Likely Losers: Colorado, Iowa State (Iowa), Nebraska

Upset potential: Colorado over Florida State

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. His Big XII preview appears weekly on Blogcritics.org as part of their NCAA Tailgate. You can read the full preview for week 3 here. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com