Rose Bowl Champs!!

The sun was dazzling, the air was crisp and there wasn’t a word to describe the noise that poured out of Pasadena. The battlefield was bright green but the fans were nothing but scarlet. Corso made his pick, now it was up to Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State Buckeyes to tear through the tunnel and take the field to prove the Lee Corso and the country wrong. They could smell the roses!

The Buckeyes couldn’t have picked a more perfect place to be on the first day of the new year. The Rose Bowl! Teams fight their heart out for twelve weeks striving to play in a bowl game this remarkable. The stage was set. The Ohio State Buckeyes, led by Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel, were pitted against the speedy, agile Oregon Ducks.

Ohio State had not won a bowl game since Troy Smith led them to a victory over Notre Dame during the 2005 season. This was a huge stage for both teams.

Oregon won the toss and the opening kickoff of the 2010 Rose Bowl was underway. I couldn’t imagine any Ohio State football game I would rather be at than this one. Ohio State’s opening drive was capped off by a thirteen yard completion to Brandon Saine to put the Bucks on the board first. All week leading up to the Rose Bowl, ESPN couldn’t get enough of Oregon’s offence and how they were going to “slice through” Ohio State’s defense. But OSU held their composure and was able to hold them scoreless for the entire first quarter. Buckeye kicker, Barclay, put up three more for the good guys increasing the Buck’s lead to ten.

After a long, hard-fought second quarter Barclay was able to put up six more but Oregon battled back scoring ten, entering the locker room down 16-10. After the incredible show put on by “The Best Damn Band in the Land,” Oregon came out of half time ready to take the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. The long, twelve play drive ended with a one yard run by Oregon’s athletic quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli. OSU responded by another Barclay field goal putting the Buckeyes up 19-17. As the last seconds of the third quarter ticked away, every player threw up four fingers symbolizing that “The Grand Daddy of Them All” would be decided in the fourth quarter.

Oregon started the fourth quarter with the ball looking to take the lead over Ohio State, but the Bucks hard-hitting defense was able to shut them down forcing a punt. The Buckeyes took action and slowly drove down the field eating away at the game clock. Late in the fourth, Jake Ballard made a remarkable twenty four yard catch on third down giving the Bucks another life to put the game away. After entering the Duck’s red-zone, Tressel’s aggressive play calling set DeVier Posey up for the game winning touchdown catch from Terrelle Pryor. The Ducks had one more chance to put the game in reach but the Ohio State defense could smell the roses and held Oregon scoreless the rest of the game.

The Ohio State Buckeyes won their first Rose Bowl since 1998 in a hard fought victory over the very talented Oregon Ducks. Pryor (Bowl MVP) and his team took the stage to hoist the gleaming Rose Bowl trophy above their heads with excitement and honor.

I was very pleased with OSU performance in the Rose Bowl and glad that the Ohio State seniors were able to go out with a huge victory in the “Grand Daddy of Them All.”