Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1)
Of the three BCS bowl thus far, none has been either very competitive (USC-Penn State after the first quarter, Utah-Alabama as the Utes jumped out to a big lead) or interesting (Virginia Tech’s dull win over Cincinnati).
Will Monday night’s Fiesta Bowl be any different?
The way the Big Ten has performed recently in bowls, especially Ohio State, suggests not. And the Buckeyes are 8-point underdogs (+260 on the money line) on WagerWeb.com.
The Little Ten is is 1-5 this bowl season, 9-19 over the last four years and has lost five consecutive Bowl Championship Series games, thanks in large part to the Buckeyes, who have been spanked in the past two BCS title games.
“We’ve got to go out and show people that the Big Ten is no joke,” OSU left tackle Alex Boone said.
“It would be nice to win that big game,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “We will be remembered about how this game comes out. It is just a real fact.”
The Fiesta Bowl has been the one bowl where the Buckeyes have done well, winning three of the last six (but losing their last). But Texas, which is -320 on the WagerWeb.com money line, is one Michael Crabtree catch from possibly playing in the national title game, and a win here could mean Horns backers can argue they deserve the AP national crown if Oklahoma beats Florida in the BCS championship.
Texas certainly has the advantage on offense, averaging 43.9 points per game, fifth in the nation, behind Heisman runner-up Colt McCoy. The junior finished third in the nation in passing efficiency, completed 78 percent of his passes and led the Longhorns in rushing. His favorite target through the air was Jordan Shipley. In a four-game stretch against teams all ranked in the Top 11, all Shipley did was catch 40 passes for 411 yards and three touchdowns.
Ohio State’s defense held opponents to just 13 points per game, seventh in the nation, and USC was the only team to score more than 21 points on the Buckeyes.
The Texas defense tends to get overlooked, but it finished second in the nation against the run, first in sacks and led the Big 12 in total and scoring defense. Senior Brian Orakpo had 15.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks, both tops in the Big 12. The OSU offensive line allowed 26 sacks on the season.
On offense, Ohio State will pound it with Chris “Beanie” Wells and hope Terrell Pryor can make a few key throws and also beat Texas with his feet. UT fans no doubt will think of Vince Young when they see Pryor, who is nowhere yet near the thrower Young was in his final season.
Wells, the preseason Heisman favorite, overcame injuries to rush for 1,091 yards in nine games. He missed OSU’s biggest loss of the season, at Southern Cal. Pryor, incidentally, took over as the starting QB after that game. Pryor is 8-1 as a starter and has thrown for 1,245 yards on 62.5 percent completions with 12 touchdowns and four picks. He also rushed for 553 yards and six touchdowns.
The Texas pass defense is just No. 109 nationally, so it’s possible that the Buckeyes run a lot of play-action tonight. However, Buckeyes top receiver Brian Hartline might be held out of the game (or at least part of it) for a team rules violation leading up to the game.
Ohio State is 8-6 against the Top 10 under Jim Tressel but has lost four straight.
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