Blogging the Buckeyes

Ohio State’s presence in this game is mostly indefensible – they were slaughtered by USC earlier in the season and haven’t performed in the last two BCS Championship games. Yet, here they are facing the other defacto argument against the BCS in the Fiesta Bowl.

For the Buckeyes, redemption has to be the motivation. For the Texas, the No. 3 BCS ranking doesn’t sit well with Mack Brown and the Longhorns faithful. Both have something to prove for different reasons. 

Kickoff. Ohio State 0 – 0 Texas

First Quarter – 12:52. Buckeyes come out sloppy – two penalties, a dropped pass, and a Pryor scramble short of the first down marker when the first down was easily attainable. Some cause for optimism, however, as the Buckeyes punt. The two quarterback look might have surprised the Longhorns.

First Quarter – 11:47. Three and out for the Longhorns. Funky rugby style punt. Even when teams punt they go unconventional against the Big 10. Tressel taking notes?

First Quarter – 7:28. Ohio State 3 – 0 Texas. 51-yard field goal by Petry caps an uneven drive. Again, some good and some bad on the drive. Thankfully no ugly.

First Quarter – 3:55. Longhorns convert a nice 3rd and 4 when the Buckeyes blitz. Glad to see Ohio State not sitting back and letting Texas dictate play. Another rugby style punt by the Longhorns to slow down the Buckeyes rush. Could turn into a fake punt later in the game.

First Quarter – 0:39. Wells breaks off another gainer. Pryor escapes three Longhorns for a first down. FOX shows total yards: 114 Ohio State, 39 Texas. Bad snap disrupts Petry’s 51-yard field goal attempt. Buckeyes strong play not reflected on the scoreboard.

End of First Quarter. Ohio State 3 – 0 Texas.

Second Quarter – 11:45. Ohio State 3 – Texas 3. Longhorns pick up a big first down on an underneath route to continue a nice drive. 50 TDs on 64 trips into the red zone for Texas in 2008 but the Buckeyes hold after a sack of McCoy on first down. 27-yard field goal ties the game. Colt McCoy. Could there be a more Texas name for a Texas quarterback? Sounds like it was lifted from a Dan Jenkins novel.

Second Quarter – 5:37. Ohio State 6 – Texas 3. Wells moves the pile as the Buckeyes continue to work the Longhorns up the middle. Next is a screen pass that’s not the prettiest screen pass you’ll see, but it does the trick as the Buckeyes cross midfield. Longhorns sniff out a screen and Pryor makes another play with his legs. Texas used to win like this. 30-yard field goal from the short-range Pretorius. Another big game and the Buckeyes need Google Maps to find the endzone. On a sidenote, that infernal G commerical just ran. I think its for Gatorade…earlier in the game the camera oddly zoomed in on a Gatorade container on the Longhorns sideline. Very random, but maybe a hint. Yep, its Gatorade. A bunch of rebranding.

Second Quarter – 5:35. Shaun Lane goes down on the kickoff. The Buckeyes are out to show support and the camera catches a classy Longhorn fan showing respect. Nice gesture – or at least I hope. You never know anymore.

Second Quarter – 2:25. Longhorns crank it up on offense as it appears the Buckeyes unleash their bowl game defense conceding everything underneath. Buckeyes blow up a 4th and 7 and slam McCoy to the turf. Turnover on downs. Is Heacock calling the defense?

Second Quarter – 0:56. Wells pounds out another first down. Texas blitzes Ohio State into another punt.

Second Quarter – 0:03. A stupid penalty by Gibson prevents the Buckeyes from getting out of the half unscathed. What a fool. Buckeyes surrender almost 60 yards in 25 seconds and all momentum is lost until McCoy attempts to replicate a Pryor screen passs and finds Anderson Russell at the goal line. Russell plays for the Buckeyes.

Halftime. Ohio State 6 – Texas 3. The question remains as to whether the Buckeyes can sustain this smash mouth style for four quarters and manage a victory in this touchdown-less ballgame. If Texas steals a score because Ohio State can’t find the endzone it becomes a much different game to the end. Perhaps the Buckeyes should zoom in and see if they can find point A below:
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Third Quarter – 8:29 . Ohio State 6 – 10 Texas. Longhorns convert a long 3rd and 8 and push the tempo by going no huddle. Pass interference gives the Longhorns another first down. Announcerns point out that the Longhorns haven’t tested Malcolm Jenkins. A fake punt gives the Longhorns another first down on 4th and 1. Another 4th and 1 conversion. What haven’t they done to get a first down on this drive? Gibson earned the first penalty in the first half – but maybe they should put a dress on him as he dances into the endzone after another roughing the passer penalty. Is it now all over but the shouting?

Third Quarter – 6:58. Buckeyes answer with a three-and-out. Time to lean on the defense.

Third Quarter – 5:07. Pitch and catch by the Longhorns move them up the field.  Intentional grounding forces a 3rd and 28. Suddenly the Longhorns are going backwards. And the Buckeyes get the ball near midfield.

Third Quarter – 3:51. Ohio State’s offense suddenly lacks imagination with a draw on 3rd and 13. Here comes the Tressel ball as the Buckeyes punt again. You have to wonder what second half adjustments the Buckeyes made and now the Buckeyes are chasing the game.

Third Quarter – 1:04. Ohio State 6 – 17 Texas. Texas lops off huge gains as the Buckeyes rush four and sit back in the zone. It’s deja vu all over again as the Buckeyes look unprepared and overmatched. And since the offense has had back-to-back three-and-outs the defense has spent the entire second half on the field. And it shows.

End of Third Quarter. Ohio State 6 – 17 Texas.

Fourth Quarter – 13:22. Ohio State 9 – 17 Texas. Robiske makes an amazing catch as Boeckman delivers a bomb and saves the defense for another three downs. Pryor almost picked off in the endzone on a play he maybe should have ran. Another field goal as it returns to a one-possession game. Tressel loves kicking so much you have to wonder if he’d enjoy coaching the Columbus Crew.

Fourth Quarter – 9:41. Buckeyes still haven’t solved the hurry-up offense. You think they would have figured something out while the offense was on the field. McCoy puts it on the turf and it rolls out of bounds. Three man rush and the Buckeyes get beat over the top but get lucky as the reciever steps out of bounds.The rugby kick rolls into the endzone. The Buckeyes haven’t demonstrated an ability to go 80 yards yet. 

Fourth Quarter – 7:26. Ohio State 15- Texas 17. Robiske bails out Pryor with another nice catch. Wells on the sideline as Pryor cranks out some yardage on the ground. Holes up the middle harder to come by in the second half as the Longhorns continue to jam up the middle on the running game. Sniff…sniff…sniff…still can’t find the scent. Texas acts shocked as Beasley holds Robiske up from going after a short pass. Add a dash of unsportsmanlike conduct and suddenly you can smell it. Boeckman to Pryor – wow. Conversion pass comes up short.

Fourth Quarter – 6:34. Buckeyes force a punt.

Fourth Quarter – 2:05. Ohio State 21 – 17 Texas. Buckeyes fumble a snap and Herron bails out Pryor. Ballard makes a fantastic catch across the middle. Herron takes it off the edge catches the Longhorns pinching the middle. And again. Touchdown. Another two-point conversion try as the officials call off-setting pass interference penalties. Failed again. Did the Buckeyes leave too much time?

Fourth Quarter – 0:16. Ohio State 21 – 24 Texas. This is turning out to be one hell of a game. Texas with two timeouts as the clock ticks. Almost an outstanding catch by Cosby as its nearly picked by the Buckeyes.  Buckeyes jump offsides as the Longhorns reach the 50 with 1:03 to go. Buckeyes show a blitz and push McCoy out of the pocket. Nice aggressive call. Almost picked and now its 4th and 3 with 0:43 to play. McCoy rolls out and it depends on the spot. Chaos ensues. No review of the spot in the college game? Here it comes as each team gets a challenge. Looks like the Longhorns get it on a nice play by Kirkendall. Play stands. McCoy splits the zone and another first down. Buckeyes whiff on the tackle and its Longhorns and the end zone. What defense where the Buckeyes playing leaving Russell man-to-man?

Ballgame. Ohio State 21-24 Texas . Pryor has the arm…or do they play for the field goal? Sack by Arakpo…you cant take that there. Hail Mary comes up short. Boeckman played outstanding – but you just can’t take a sack there.

Tip your hat to both teams. Texas eeked it out in the end but unless your deaf – the Buckeyes answered some critics with a solid performance against a team many felt should be playing Thursday night in the BCS Championship game. Credit Ohio State for not folding when they went down 17-6 early to close out the third quarter. Same goes for McCoy and that final drive. He hit the throws and delivered in the clutch. Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock will have to explain the defense he called there at the end.