Initial Sugar Bowl Impressions

You're a Wolverine, and you can't hide

We meet again- Ryan Mallet will lead his Razorbacks into battle against the Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl. OSU fans may remember Mallet as the tall and lanky quarterback who jumped off the sinking Michigan ship after backing up Chad Henne in his final year. It might have been the smartest move in the history of collegiate athletics. Maybe Mallet had inside knowledge as to just how far and fast the Wolverines were about to fall. Maybe he realized the dink and dunk offense that Rich Rodriguez brought with him was doomed to fail in the rough and tumble Big Ten. Whatever it was, kudos to Mallet for getting out when he did.

Since leaving the program, Mallet has evolved into one of the premier passers in the country throwing a whopping 30 touchdowns to go along with his 3000+ yards passing. He hardly looks like the uncoordinated bumbling freshman we knew in Ann Arbor. Mallet figures to be one of the top quarterbacks taken in next year’s draft and will present quite a challenge for the OSU secondary. Although the defensive passing numbers have been fairly good for Ohio St. this season, Torrence and Chekwa have had some tough games. I will lose my mind if Arkansas is able to pick us apart with the short passing game because too much cushion is given to their wide outs. Both corners will need to be at the top of their game come Jan. 4 if Ohio St. wants to leave New Orleans with a victory.


Mark May talking points- The SEC is fast, they play a tougher schedule than us, god is partial to them, Ohio St. is 0-9 against them in bowl games, they are REALLY fast, and the conference is filled with a bunch of money hungry cheaters (that last one is true but never gets the play it should). These are the story-lines that will be visited and re-visited ad nauseum for the next month leading up to the game. I am ecstatic that the Buckeyes will get the chance to square off against the SEC once again but am not looking forward to hearing about how slow and boring the Big Ten is. Hopefully this year, the media assault won’t be as bad as seasons past. There are 3 teams from our great conference in the top 8 of the BCS standings. That is by far the most impressive showing by a single conference this year and hopefully the national pundits will take notice. Las Vegas seems to have noticed as they have made the Buckeye’s an early 3 point favorite for the Sugar Bowl.
Game plan- From all reports I have read, along with perusing the hog message boards, I found that Arkansas boasts a pretty talented defensive front that could cause trouble for the Buckeye backfield. As with any offense, the quarterback needs time to survey the defense and make the correct decision on where to deliver the ball. Pryor has struggled at times in making quick decisions and throwing a catchable ball to his receivers. The offensive line has played better this season, Mike Adams especially, and must be able to contain the hog pass rush long enough to give TP time to go through his reads. The long break between games should also give Pryor time to get that hamstring to 100%. His scrambling ability will be big in moving the chains and sustaining drives. The best way to control that explosive Arkansas offense is to limit their processions and keep them off the field.

Obviously made by an SEC fan..

Typical SEC- Here in Ohio, fans have been blessed with a genuinely good person to run our football program in Jim Tressel. The guy has strong values, wears a sweater vest and is fiercely loyal to his players and our state. Those qualities are harder and harder to come by in the cut throat business of college football. Bobby Petrino on the other hand strikes me as the typical self absorbed coach who is always got an eye on his next job. Stints with the Louisville Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons have not gone well and he left both positions in negative ways. It looks like he has found a home in the SEC with all the other shady coaches. I really don’t have a problem with Arkansas the school but I have never been a fan of Bobby Petrino. Hopefully JT and the bucks can put a crooked number on the board to put this guy in his place. 


The clock is ticking- This last one doesn't have anything to do with the Sugar Bowl but I couldn’t let DickRod’s now infamous banquet speech get by without comment. When I first read about his crazy theatrics at the Michigan football awards banquet, I had to read it twice to make sure that it was for real. Begging for your job while crying at the podium is no way to gain the respect of your peers or players. It didn't end there however. He then started to sing Josh Groban’s “You raise me up” while holding his hands to the sky with his wife. Then, some of his players started to join in. I have read some accounts of this from people that were there and they all agree it was one of the most awkward and uncomfortable things they had ever witnessed. How this guy is still employed by the university is beyond me. If DickRod makes it a week after the bowl game I will be shocked.

Jim Harbaugh seems to be everybody’s choice to take over the position in Ann Arbor. Recently, it appears that he wants to stay at Stanford but I will believe that when the ink is drying on the contract. If and when he takes the job in Ann Arbor is when I will start to worry about Michigan again. When I watch his Stanford team play now, it reminds me of what Wolverine football used to look like. They have a solid defense, a big offensive line that can run block and a quarterback that can zing it all over the field. He is also a great motivator and football tactician. If Harbaugh does decide to leave Palo Alto and head to TSUN it would be huge boost to the conference and to the dwindling rivalry between OSU and Michigan. As fun as it is to beat up a DickRod and his Conference USA offense, I look forward to Michigan ascending back to the upper half of the conference.