In a typical game week, USC safety Chris Hawkins watches 14-15 hours of film to prepare for the upcoming opponent. The four weeks of preparation time before the Trojans' Cotton Bowl matchup with Ohio State allows even more time for the senior to dive in and study up on the Buckeyes.
He can recite the 100-meter track times of Ohio State's receiving corps. He can break down the different keys that can tell him what route one of those receivers might be preparing to run at the line of scrimmage.
"I'm a film guy. It's what I do. I don't run 10-nothing so I got to make sure I'm ready," Hawkins explained. "I'm gonna be the smartest player on the field all the time."
There's one game film that Hawkins watched last week to prepare for Ohio State that on the surface seems to have little to do with Friday's game: USC's 27-24 overtime win over Texas.
The September game has receded in most people's memories the past three months. USC, however, is using it as a guide to prepare for the Ohio State offense, which three years ago was led by Longhorn head coach Tom Herman.
"Very similar," Hawkins said of the two offenses
USC defensive end Christian Rector can see it. Both Ohio State and USC force 11-on-11 matchups and rely heavily on their tight ends. Both use an agile quarterback who is adept at making read options.
The biggest difference, then, between Ohio State and Texas is the personnel, though that creates a rather wide gap between the offenses.
First, there are those receivers. Hawkins has seen a lot of fast skill position groups in his five years in the Pac-12, but he says none compare to the collective speed of the Buckeyes' wide receivers.
"It's an electric group of receivers. It's going to be a big test for us in the secondary, the back-seven total, to do exactly what we have to do to hold these guys down," Hawkins said.
Then whereas Texas relied on freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger against the Trojans, Ohio State brings in the most-prolific quarterback in its storied history, J.T. Barrett.
Barrett is OSU's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. He's also fifth in career rushing touchdowns, two behind Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. Essentially, Barrett can do a little bit of everything and he has playoff experience to rely on, too.
"A lot of people try to downplay him all the time," Hawkins said. "I don't understand why. He's very good at what he does. He runs that offense to a T. It's very hard to get that offense off the field."
Barrett's speed is what forces opposing defenses to play 11-on-11 football, keeping one player accountable for the quarterback at all times. USC has had a lot of experience in those kinds of situations, whether against Texas three months ago or against Penn State in last year's Rose Bowl.
"The more of those kind of teams that you play, the more your guys are going to be familiar with how to defend them," Trojan defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said. "So playing with very good eye control is going to be important."
You can be sure that Hawkins will be watching a lot of film between now and Friday to get every edge he can before USC faces a similar yet distinct challenge.
