The Ohio Stat University starring Beannie Wells, CB Malcolm Jenkins and the most hyped freshman at Ohio State since Greg Oden went there his 2nd time (get it, he's old) Terrelle PryorVs.
The Pride of Texas led by Colt McCoy, white receiver extraordinaire Jordan Shipley and stud DE Brian Orakpo The Texas Longhorns
Well the thing I've been doing during this entire bowl preview has been getting people who are fans (or current students) that I know from various websites of one of the teams in the bowl. The person who wrote this bowl preview is a current student at THE Ohio State University and migrant from Turkey. His name is Arda Durgun. Just a quick snippet about this Turkish fellow, he likes Scrabble and his favorite song is Istanbul not Constantinople by They Might be Giants. Here's a picture of what he may (or may not) look like.
Here's his writeup:
Disrespect. That's what Texas team will be fueled with when they step on the field against ohio state team on monday after getting snubbed out of national championship game. As much as Mack Brown tries to claim that team put the BCS mess behind them, we all know that it will be back of every player's mind. Conventional wisdom says, last thing Ohio State would want is to face this pissed off Texas team that was seconds away from playing for the title game. I mean, you wouldnt expect Buckeye team that has been blown out of the field last two BCS bowl games to hang with mighty Longhorns, right?
Well not so fast, one thing bowl season has taught us year in and year out is that matchups matter as much as, if not more than, the overall performance teams put up during regular season, and this matchup is rather godsend for Buckeyes compared to playing Florida and LSU. And the reason is...defense.
Looking back at Ohio State's infamous BCS bowl loses, Florida and LSU finished the season 8th and 3rd in the nation respectively. Texas is ranked...50th in the nation while Ohio State is ranked 8th. Unlike the LSU and Florida this foe is all offense.
Looking back at their schedule, it is glaring that Texas offense is yet to play defense as potent as Ohio State's. In fact the best defense they've faced all season, the Oklahoma Sooners who are off to the title game, is ranked 63rd in the nation while the worst defense Ohio State has faced is Northwestern, which is ranked 51st in the nation despite allowing 45 points to Ohio State and 37 points to Michigan St. Obviously, rankings don't tell the whole story and terrific offenses big 12 teams have faced throughout the season have much to do with low defensive ratings, but I dont think there is any question Texas offense will have its hands full more so than any other game they played this season due to the stout Ohio State defense.
That doesnt mean Ohio State defense will have an easy time against Texas' prolific offense led by Heisman candidate Colt McCoy. It is likely that Ohio State secondary will be able to slow down Texas recievers Shipley and Cosby but Laurinitis and co. still needs to spy on McCoy entire game to make sure he doesnt get running lanes to torch Ohio State defense. McCoy does use his mobility to his advantage which is why Ohio State needs to lock him in the pocket, put pressure on him, so even if they don't get to him he wont be able to buy more time.
On the flip side, Texas' defense will heavily rely on Brian Orakpo. If Orakpo is completely healthy he he has the ability to torch Ohio State o-line which has been mediocre at best. Orakpo will require double teaming from Ohio State especially with Bryant Browning and Alex Boone, which will make other Texas linebackers' job lot more easier. Luckily for Ohio State, Terrelle Pryor has the ability to move away and roll out to other side and remaining Texas linebackers will have to put in extra effort to contain Beanie Wells. Key for Ohio State offense is taking care of the ball. Pryor did have his share of issues in that department but with the increasing maturity and poise he showed week to week, there is no reason to think he can't lead his team down the field without making fatal mistakes.
“Defense wins championships”. Maybe the most used cliché in sports but it is the one that is most often correct. A great defense will stop a great offense. Not all the time, mind you, but enough to give your own offense a chance and Ohio State has more than enough weapons to cash in the given chance. Therefore, i am homerifically predicting Tressel will get his 4th fiesta bowl title 24-21 win over Texas.
There you have it folks straight from the Turk's mouth. The man knows as much about football as he does the more sissified futbol.
until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment