Glendale, AZ (Betting Express) - The Big Ten meets the Big 12 in one of the elite matchups of the 2008-09 bowl season, as the Ohio State Buckeyes battle the Texas Longhorns in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night in Glendale, Arizona.
Ohio State comes into the contest sporting a 10-2 record and coach Jim Tressel's club recently won its fourth straight Big Ten title, this time sharing it with the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes are making their fourth straight BCS bowl appearance, and have reached a BCS bowl game for the sixth time under Tressel and the seventh time in the 11-year history of the system. Ohio State is 4-2 in BCS bowl matchups.
OSU is making its 40th bowl appearance overall, the most of any Big Ten school, and the team is 18-21 all-time in the postseason. The Buckeyes are 4-1 in the Fiesta Bowl.
Having been in this position before, Tressel recognizes what playing a team like Texas on such a huge stage represents. "This is a special thing to play Texas. We're at one of the great bowls playing one of the great teams. It's hard to beat this." His players apparently feel the same way. "[The guys are] feeling fortunate to be here because not a lot of teams get to come to this one."
The Longhorns are no stranger to college football's premier bowl circuit, as this is their third trip to a BCS game, all under current head coach Mack Brown. The most recent was the 2006 Rose Bowl against USC which they won, 41-38, giving the team its fourth national championship.
Texas, which brings a stellar 11-1 record into this contest, is appearing in its fifth straight bowl game and its 48th all-time. The 'Horns are 24-21-2 all-time in the postseason, and have won four consecutive bowl bouts and six of their last seven overall. Texas has faced a Big Ten team in two of its last four bowl games, beating Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl (38-37) and Iowa in the 2006 Alamo Bowl (26-24). UT's last bowl loss to a Big Ten club came against Penn State in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl (38-15).
This bout marks just the third meeting between these two storied programs, with both previous encounters taking place in 2005 and 2006. Texas won the first game, 25-22, in Columbus, while Ohio State returned the favor the following year in Austin, 24-7.
The Ohio State offense is predicated on RB Chris "Beanie" Wells finding running lanes and then letting his natural ability take over. Wells, who missed three games with a foot injury earlier in the year, has rushed for 1,091 yards and eight TDs, averaging 5.7 ypc along the way. As a team, the Buckeyes churn out 191.6 ypg on the ground and have scored 20 rushing TDs. Freshman QB Terrelle Pryor took over the starting job after just a couple of games and while his passing exploits (95-of-152, 1,245 yards, 12 TDs, four INTs) will develop with more seasoning, he demonstrated the ability to inflict damage with his legs (553 yards, six TDs).
OSU's leading receiver is Brian Robiskie, who has 37 grabs for 419 yards and eight scores. Overall, the Buckeyes are averaging just 148.1 ypg via the pass, and average nearly 12 yards per pass completion.
Wells was asked about the formidable Texas run defense at a recent media event. "The defensive line is very good and the linebackers really attack the ball. They play together as a whole unit and they play great as a whole unit."
Foes found it difficult to put points on the board against Ohio State this season, doing so at just 13.1 ppg. In terms of yardage allowed, the Buckeyes surrender an average of 279.2 ypg, with 114.9 coming on the ground and 164.3 through the air. The team was particularly tough at the start of games, giving up just 24 first-quarter points.
All-America LB James Laurinaitis was far and away the most active defender on the OSU defense, making 121 tackles, which includes four sacks, and he also had a pair of INTs. Marcus Freeman was next in line with 76 stops, and he paced the club with nine TFLs. The Buckeyes are averaging just two sacks per contest, but have 67 TFLs and 28 turnovers to their credit.
CB Malcolm Jenkins was asked about the Texas passing game, specifically WRs Jordan Shipley and Quan Crosby. "They pose a threat all over [the field]. Both have great speed, great hands and they run great routes. They [the Texas offense] will get them the ball any way they can...short, long and they'll get creative."
Laurinaitis summed up his feeling about facing Texas in one brief sentence. "They are an unbelievable team."
Texas QB Colt McCoy has accomplished quite a bit during his time in Austin, but remains focused on the challenge at hand. "All of the things that have happened this year really haven't sunk in, especially for me. I've been focused on Ohio State. We have one more game and an opportunity to win 12 games. We have an opportunity to accomplish so many more things by coming down here and winning the Fiesta Bowl. That's kind of been my focus and I know I can speak for the team and say that too."
McCoy finished the 2008 regular season with 32 TD passes against only seven INTs, and he threw for 3,445 yards while completing an eye-popping 77.6 percent of his tosses. The pass-catching duo of Shipley and Crosby benefited the most from McCoy's success, logging 79 and 78 receptions, respectively, and combining for more than 1,900 yards and 19 TDs. RB Chris Ogbonnaya added 42 catches for 484 yards and three scores, and he finished fourth on the team's rushing list with 331 yards and four scores. McCoy paced the UT ground attack with 576 yards and 10 TDs, while FB Cody Johnson logged 336 yards and 10 TDs.
Ogbonnaya spoke to the media in the days leading up to this clash about the difficulty he expects trying to run the ball against the staunch Ohio State defense. "All we have to do is keep sawing wood and just keep staying after it. They are a great football team but sometimes with these defenses you just have to keep coming after them and hopefully the big play occurs. That's what happened a couple times against Oklahoma in the second half. You can't give up on the scheme."
The Texas defense performed exceptionally well against the run this season, yielding a mere 73.6 ypg and only seven TDs. However, the effort against the pass wasn't nearly as dominant, with foes averaging 266.3 ypg through the air and scoring 18 TDs. Still, opponents managed just 18.6 ppg compared to 43.9 ppg for the Longhorns. The 'Horns did an excellent job on third down, allowing just 60-of-171 (.350) opportunities to be converted successfully.
The Longhorns failed to make much of an impact in the turnover department, coming up with a mere 16 in 12 games, including only six INTs. Ryan Palmer logged three picks to the pace the unit, while Roddrick Muckelroy led all UT defenders with 106 tackles -- 43 more than his closest teammate (Earl Thomas). Standout Brian Orakpo made 18 of his 40 stops behind the line of scrimmage, and Sergio Kindle and Roy Miller both logged double-digit TFLs as well with 13 and 10, respectively. Orakpo had 10 sacks and Kindle finished with nine, helping the Longhorns bring down opposing QBs an astounding 44 times.
Texas Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp was asked about facing the dynamic duo of Wells and Pryor and said, "We haven't seen a back like Beanie (Wells). He's a big, strong, physical, downhill, one-cut guy. It's hard to simulate a guy like him that carries the ball as well as he does." Continuing about Pryor, "I think when you have a young quarterback, you always have to find his comfort level. Throughout the year, they have certainly played at a high level for most of the year. They have found some things that he feels comfortable with doing. As coaches, that is your most important job - to put your kids in situations where they can be successful."
