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About Last Night: Fiesta Bowl Edition
January 6, 2009
By Benjamin Miraski
And who says that bowl games don't mean anything to the participants?
Just when you thought that maybe Ohio State could shed that losing feeling, Colt McCoy comes and stomps on their heart. For the Buckeyes, there can be no more brutal way to lose.
Think about it. They just got shellacked against Florida two years ago. Last year, LSU toyed with them, letting the Buckeyes run out to a 10 point lead before just stomping on them.
And then there was last night. Ohio State seems to have the victory at hand. Just stop Texas and the Fiesta Bowl is yours.
But then there is the reach for a first down on 4th and 3. And then a total commitment to stopping the short passing game that left Quan Cosby with no chasers after breaking through the linebackers.
Yep, Ohio State has now been totally humiliated for the third straight season.
Maybe they should be thankful for 2005's Fiesta Bowl when they drew Notre Dame. Playing Notre Dame in a bowl game is like a gift from heaven. You can't possibly be humiliated, unless I guess you are Hawaii.
But no matter how much of a humiliation this was for Ohio State, we can be pretty much assured that Texas will not be splitting the National Championship.
While it takes guts and determination to come back in the final two minutes, it is the statement that the AP voters will be looking for when Friday rolls around.
Just look at all of the mistakes that Texas made during the game that could have removed a lot of the drama from the final two minutes.
Before the half, Colt McCoy drove his team 80 yards in less than a minute. He could have had Texas up 10 - 6 at the half.
Instead, an ill-advised pass gets intercepted at the 1-yard line. Not exactly sound judgment, when the worst Texas could have hoped for was a field goal and a tie game.
Or what about the failure of Texas's defense scheme to catch on that when Terrelle Pryor lines up at quarterback, someone needs to spy him out. The option offense that Ohio State ran on the Longhorns looked unstoppable. Texas looked cooked.
And even when Pryor lined up outside, Texas had no answer. Just replay the coverage (if you can call it that) on his touchdown catch. The defender didn't even know the ball was coming and barely got his arms up in the air.
You don't win football games scheming and executing that way.
But Texas did.
It just won't win them any National Titles.
Ben Miraski is a freelance reporter, edits and writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted January 6, 2009 10:55 AM
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