Ohio State vs. Texas: Round 3

Thursday 01, January 2009

John Unger


Ohio State SeasonRecap:

                Obviously the high expectations heading into the 2008 season were not met.  Getting crushed by USC early in the season put OSU in an unfamiliar season, but the team responded by rallying behind a freshman quarterback and winning a 4th consecutive Big Ten Championship.  Even though the season was successful, it also was a rocky one.  OSU's offense was supposed to be one of the better in the country.  After all, it returned it's nucleus from last year's national championship runner-up team.  I think three factors plagued the offense all year long:

  • The talent left on the offensive line was overestimated, even last year they could have been considered OSU's Achilles heel, especially against LSU.
  • The importance of (Jr. RB #28) Chris Wells was underestimated.  After he was injured, the offense didn't do much.  They laid an egg against USC, and Ohio, and it wasn't until he came back that OSU had a solid ground game that wasn't focused on (tFr. QB #2) Terrelle Pryor.
  • The talent at receiver was overestimated. Last year, the receivers had a very hot start, which lasted for about five games, after that they didn't do much. Much of the blame for this was placed on (5r. QB #17) Todd Boeckman, which disguised the fact that OSU's top two recievers were just average receivers who had a couple huge games.

                After the disappointing USC loss, the team righted the ship and won five straight, including a come-from-behind thriller at Wisconsin. When #3 Penn State came into the Shoe for a night game, they faced a much different Ohio State team than the one that got demolished by USC.  Despite Ohio State putting up a great effort, especially on defense, the Nittany Lions won a defensive struggle.  After that game, where the OSU offense managed only six points, Ohio State outscored its opponents 117-37 in the final three games, including a 42-7 beat down of Michigan (I'm sorry, I just had to say it), ending the season on a high note.

                It's easy to be disappointed with a two-loss season after going to the national title game for two years in a row, but this season was a success.  It's not often that a team can bench a senior captain at quarterback for a true freshman three games into the season and still bein the top ten, but Ohio State did just that. The way this season worked out actually set the team up better for the next couple years, as Terrelle Pryor has already had a season under his belt. 

Fiesta Bowl Preview:#10 Ohio State vs. #3 Texas 

On paper this game looks laughable.  Texas, with its NCAA '09 offense against Ohio State and it's incredibly inconsistent offense, is a very popular pick.  At first, it almost reminded me of the USC game.  Since the matchup was announced, I have become more optimistic of Ohio State's chances in this game.  Before the Northwestern-Missouri bowl game, I was looking at Missouri's record.  They beat Colorado 58-0, they got beat by Texas 56-31, and they put up at least 50 points several times.  I ignored the fact that they had allowed over 40 points on several occasions.  Then I looked at Northwestern, they got beat by Ohio State 41-10, and they only put up 40 points on one occasion.  My conclusion was Northwestern was going to get beat 55-14, instead they lost 30-23 in overtime, and were a missed extra point away from winning the game.  This tells me two things, The Big XII defenses are not very good, and maybe the "bad" Big Ten teams have better defense than people think. 

Ohio State's defense will be the best that Texas has faced this year, but Texas' offense might also be the best Ohio State has faced.  They key for Ohio State to shut Texas is to stop (Jr. QB #12) Colt McCoy.  Texas really has no running threat, but McCoy is the leading rusher.  Ohio State will have a lot of success if the defensive line can get constant pressure and keep McCoy in the pocket, allowing the secondary to focus on stopping the high powered passing attack.  It will be a very long day for the Bucks defense if the secondary needs to stop McCoy from scrambling.  I think that both the secondary and the defensive line are up to the task.  Since the debacle at USC, the D-line has settled down and started to perform very well, notably (Sr. DT #93) Nader Abdallah and (So. DT #97) Cameron Heyward.  Also, the defense cannot allow McCoy to sit in the pocket comfortably; he will pick the secondary apart.  OSU has had the most success on defense when they send linebackers at the QB, not when they rush three and drop eight into coverage on 3rdand 10.

For the first time in a few years, the long layoff will help Ohio State more than it will help their opponent.  (tFr QB #2) Terrelle Pryor has two months to review tape from this season and to improve.  I'm very excited to see what he can do; there was a notable improvement in his passing after just one bye week.  Also, now that the team realizes what they do well, hopefully the offense can get some consistency and identity.  The key for Ohio State will be a solid ground game.  (Jr. RB #28) Chris Wells will get his yards, but (rFr. RB #1) Dan Herron and Terrelle Pryor will need to contribute on the ground as well.  If Texas respects the ground game, then it will be a lot easier for Pryor.  Texas will probably focus on stopping the ground game, like Penn State did (successfully) and forcing Pryor to throw from the pocket.  Hopefully he has developed enough in the past 50 days to make them pay through the air.

Regardless of who wins, I think this will be a very good game.  Both teams have a ton of talent, and have played somewhat recently.   I think Ohio State can win, but I'm going to say Texas wins 35-24.