Final Sugar Bowl thoughts

Thomas came up big for the Buckeyes

The Sugar Bowl ended in typical Ohio St. fashion on Tuesday night with another white knuckle affair. It really didn’t have to be that exciting though. The Buckeyes stormed out of the gate to a 28-7 lead in the first half and held a 31-13 advantage late into the 3rd quarter before Mallet and the hogs mounted a furious comeback. Only Soloman Thomas dropping in to coverage to pick off an errant Mallet throw with under a minute to play saved the Buckeyes from another season of “SEC this and SEC that”. I think the big guy was just as surprised as the rest of us when the throw found its’ way into Thomas’s bread basket but he held on and the rest is history.

This performance does not cure all of the ill will that the Big Ten has endured over the past decade but it was a step in the right direction. Michigan St., Michigan and Penn St. did the conference no favors by dropping all of their respective games to SEC foes on New Year’s Day and Wisconsins’ loss to TCU was shocking considering the Badgers were one of the hottest teams heading into the bowl season. Thankfully, Iowa and Illinois handled their business in mid December and the Buckeyes finally got that 8000lb SEC monkey off their back with a Sugar Bowl for the ages. It pushed the conference record to 3-5 on the bowl season. The mark for this year isn’t great but the end result would have been much worse had the Buckeyes blown it in New Orleans.

After digesting this recent bowl game, I wanted to touch on a few points and wrap up the successful 2010 season.

No Huddle- The no huddle offensive game plan was a thing of beauty. I had to rub my eyes a few times to convince myself that it was still Jim Tressel on the sideline. Not only did it catch Arkansas off guard but it was also highly successful in the first half. Whatever plodding and methodical offense that the Hogs viewed on tape for the last month was light years away from they saw on Tuesday. Terrelle Pryor found open receivers all over the field which in turn opened scrambling lanes and huge holes for Boom to run through. The new wrinkle was responsible for 28 points in the first half which was more points scored than any other OSU squad in an entire Sugar Bowl. I am not sure OSU has the personnel, or coach for that matter, to run this type of offense more than once in a blue moon but it worked wonders on this night.

Safetygate- Apparently, I am in the minority of individuals who found the safety on Boom Herron to be an awful call. I was really surprised at the lack of conversation and anger towards it the following day. Maybe folks were just basking in the glory of a victory but it damn near cost us the game. Even my grandfather, who holds two degrees from OSU and is a huge fan, tried to convince me that it was the right call. I didn’t want to hear it. I will go to my grave arguing that Herron got the shaft on that play.

Crap call

After the officials huddled and ultimately gave the shark fin signal indicating a safety had been called, I went into a tirade that would make Andrew Dice Clay blush. How in the world was that a safety? The official ruling was that after Herron was driven back into the end zone, he briefly (and by briefly I am talking milliseconds here) broke free before being wrestled down for the “safety”. What was he supposed to do? Not fight to get out of his own end zone in a BCS game? He made no lateral motion or juke moves of any kind. He fought to shed numerous Razorbacks after the initial contact at the 2 FREAKIN’ YARD LINE.

I guess the official just wanted to make the game more interesting. All common sense went out the window and the hogs were awarded 2 points and the ball which breathed life back into the Arkansas sideline. Is it safe to assume that carrying a player back into his own end zone, letting go briefly, then tackling him again will be ruled a safety in the future? What a joke.

Cam and the wild bunch- What more can I add that hasn’t already been said about Cam Heyward and the rest of the defensive line in this game? Cam was an absolute beast and his performance reminded fans and scouts alike that he will not be slipping past the first round in April. It really didn’t matter what the hogs tried to throw at him all night.

Double team him? Demolished.

Chip with the running back? Please.

Help with tight end? Not even close.

These two had pressure on Mallett all night long

Heyward and Larimore treated the Arkansas line like their own personal piñata all night causing Mallet to hurry many of his passes… if he got them off at all (4 sacks). With our young, injured and inexperienced secondary facing one of the most prolific passers in college football, pressure was a must. The boys in the trenches delivered in a BIG way! Larimore even commented on how the AK offensive lineman were arguing and fighting amongst themselves because of the relentless onslaught. I wish they could’ve performed at this level all year but what a great time to have the best game of the season.

TP the MVP- I haven’t been one of Pryor’s biggest fans throughout his OSU career. He rubs me the wrong way and is always good for saying something stupid to the media or posting a cringe worthy comment on his Twitter page. Throw in the latest NCAA issues and I was ready for the Braxton Miller era to begin post- haste. Every once in awhile though he will give a huge performance and bring back to the dark side. The Sugar Bowl was one of those instances. TP was throwing darts all over the field. He eluded numerous sacks with quick feet and gained huge chunks of yards along with critical first downs.

This was the second BCS game MVP performance in as many years and there is no way in hell we win without him. Many questioned if he and his “suspended” brethren should have played in this game but I could care less what the rest of the country thinks at this point. The Sugar Bowl was a MUST win and the masses would have hated Ohio St. no matter what Tressel decided to do with the tat5 for this game. Kudos for putting the best team on the field and not letting down the Senior’s for the last Buckeye game of their careers. To hell with the media!

The man with the plan

The man, the myth, the legend- The last chapter in Dan Sanzenbacher’s brilliant career ended with one hell of a game for the scarlet and gray. Dane saved Pryor on the first drive with his amazing hurdle to get on the loose ball in the end zone to put the bucks on the board first. Not to be outdone by his own heroics, Sanz made another circus catch for a score later in the half which added to a growing Buckeye lead (and we would need every point as it turned out).

Growing up in the Toledo area, I have known about Sanz for a long time and knew he would be a good addition in Columbus. I didn’t think he would be the best receiver at OSU over the last 4 years though. He will be hard to replace and might be the biggest loss to the team going forward. Sanz never looked for the recognition and always played every play like it was his last. One can only hope that the young guys coming into the program show as much class and dedication as Sanz has. It was a great career.

Well, another 12 win season and another BCS bowl win. You can’t ask for more than that. Obviously a MNC is the ultimate goal but this isn’t bad for a consolation prize. It should be an eventful off season and before you know it spring practice will be here. National signing day is on the horizon next and hopefully a new crop of guys will make the right call and don the scarlet and gray.