Hopefully everybody had a wonderful Christmas and is ready to move past '09 to "oh-10" or just "10"? whatever we'll just stick with 2010. Anyway, every new year's day, since i was about 9 years old, I've slept in, 'cause of staying up on new year's eve, and then later in the day I watch the Rose Bowl either with friends or by myself but no matter what I make sure I watch the Rose Bowl. The last few years the Rose Bowl games have been great and this year's game seems to be no different.
The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks both ended the regular season playing their best football. Big Ten champions for the fifth straight season, the No. 8 Buckeyes will carry a five-game winning streak into Pasadena to face the No. 7 Ducks that overcame early season adversity to claim its first Pac-10 title since 2001. Both teams are conference champions and both of their names start with "O" but that's basically all the similarities between these 2 teams.
Ohio State has a history of championships, five straight in the Big Ten and a crystal football as recently as 2002. Buckeyes fans bemoan the 13 years since their most recent appearance in the Rose Bowl. Ducks fans are thrilled that only 15 years have passed since their most recent Pac-10 title and trip to Pasadena. When Ohio State fans look back a generation, they see Woody Hayes, two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin and the 10-Year War with Michigan. Oregon fans don't even have a generation to look back to. Ohio State has had seven Heisman winners and four Outland trophies. Oregon's most famous players, QB Dan Fouts and RB Ahmad Rashad, are better known as TV analysts. When the Buckeyes wear throwback uniforms, you need an anthropologist to detect the difference between old and new. Oregon's uniforms mix green, yellow, black and white in so many different combinations that a throwback uniform means 2008.
They're different in the way that they play too. Ducks coach Chip Kelly wants his offense to play fast. The Ducks' 40-second clock rarely dips into the single digits. Kelly's goal is to stretch the defense 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel's style is as old as the game itself. He depends on field position, defense and the kicking game.
When looking at the Duck's top playmakers one has to do a double take, QB Jeremiah Masoli is built like a linebacker (5-foot-11, 220 pounds) and is considered too short to play QB. Masoli's favorite receiver, Jeff Maehl, is too skinny (6-1, 175), and his best running back, LaMichael James, is too small (5-9, 180) by most standards. However, in the Ducks' spread offense, no one can lay a hand on them.
Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor (6-6, 235) has all the measurables, he has great size, he can run and he can throw. He was the #1 rated high school football player overall and also the #1 rated SF in high school basketball and recruiters were chasing after him like a pack of wild dogs. Kelly tried hard two years ago to lure Pryor to Oregon with the promise of a starting position and a style of play practically catered to Pryor's strengths but in the end he chose Ohio State 'cause of their winning tradition. But two seasons into his Buckeyes' career, Pryor has yet to meet the expectations created by his fevered recruitment.
As delighted as Ohio State fans are to return to the Rose Bowl, they demand a victory. The Buckeyes have lost three consecutive bowl games, and their struggles in the BCS are well-known. However, Oregon has won two consecutive bowls and has been the better program in the last few years. It's just one more difference between two very different programs that will share the field on January 1st.
Happy New Year everyone!! and Go Ducks!!
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
No comments:
Post a Comment