Rose Bowl Champs- The Aftermath

They finally did it. The Buckeyes finally reverted back to their winning ways in bowl games under Jim Tressel and beat the Oregon Ducks 26-17 on January 1st in Pasadena. The Rose Bowl victory was the first victorious trip to Pasadena since 1997, and marked the first time since January of 2006 that OSU ended the season with a BCS bowl victory. The list of disappointing losses continued to accumulate on the big state since the early stages of 2007, including blowout losses to Florida and USC, a meltdown against LSU, two heartbreaking losses to both USC and Penn State in Columbus, and a last second defeat to Texas. It has been tough...no, it WAS tough. Those days are over, and it is the best feeling in the world.

Quick Thoughts: Offense-

The game plan was awesome, to put it simply. Throwing on first down is a taboo around Camp Tressel, yet it became the norm on New Years Day for the Buckeyes and QB Terrelle Pryor, who outgained the entire Oregon offense and won the game's coveted MVP trophy. Everyone and everything seemed to be in-sync, despite not having an overly productive running attack. Brandon Saine had a huge outing catching the football, along with star in the making DeVier Posey. I have always thought that Posey would leave OSU as a first round draft pick, and I don't see any reason why I will end up being proven wrong. He is a star. The biggest stat of the game: time of possession. The Buckeyes OWNED Oregon in that category, and that is how they won. Tresselball on steroids is the way to go it seems.

Defense-

What more can you say? This performance, despite not pitching a shut out or forcing numerous turnovers and creating constant havoc, has to go down as the most impressive of the season. Oregon came into the game averaging close to 38 points per game and had been making a living on scoring at will with their speed and agility. Then a funny thing happened: they faced a real live defense. Thaddeus Gibson, Cameron Heyward and Doug Worthington turned in relentless efforts while Ross Homan was the anchor of the attack as the silver bullets forced Jeremiah Masoli into a sub-par performance, thus killing any chance of the Duck offense getting into any sort of rhythm. In 2009, this defense was simply fantastic.

Special Teams-
How did OSU win by playing the worst kick coverage of the season?? It was easier to get through than your average sorority girl. It was a sad sight for me to watch for the entire game. At the end of the day though, it all comes back to the defense and they were the MVPs of this game. The coverage unit better improve heading into next season...

Oh, hats off to Aaron Pettrey and Devin Barclay. They played excellent, and Pettrey showed a lot of guts nailing a 45 yarder after tearing his ACL.

2010 Ohio State Buckeyes-

QB- Terrelle Pryor/Jr.
RB- Brandon Saine/Sr.
FB- Zach Boren/So.
WR- DeVier Posey/Jr.
WR- Dane Sanzenbacher/Sr.
TE- Jake Stoneburner/So.
LT- Andy Miller/Sr.
LG- Justin Boren/Sr.
C- Mike Brewster/Jr.
RG- Bryant Browning/Sr.
RT- J.B. Shugarts/Jr.

DE- Cameron Heyward/Sr.
DT- Dexter Larimore/Sr.
DT- John Simon/So.
DE- Nathan Williams/Jr.
LB- Ross Homan/Sr.
LB- Brian Rolle/Sr.
LB- Etienne Sabino/Jr.
CB- Chimdi Chekwa/Sr.
CB- Devon Torrence/Sr.
FS- Jermale Hines/Sr.
SS- Ohrian Johnson/So.

K- Devin Barclay/Sr.
P- Ben Buchanan/So.

The Bucks will return nine starters on offense, including a stable of a wide range of high-level talent at the running back position, six on defense and Barclay will return to handle kicking duties. Pryor will have Heisman written all over him heading into next season, but how will he live up to his rejuvenated high standards? We will see. If the offense truly becomes more balanced, than it is bad news for OSU's opponents. Everybody on the offensive line returns except for Jimmy Cordle, but that isn't necessarily an irreplaceable loss. The receivers are stacked, the running backs are stacked, and this is looking like an offense that may not be the flashiest or the highest scoring, but it will certainly be rock steady and won't be afraid to take on anybody.

Defensively it should be the same old story in Columbus. The defense will be very, very good. All-American candidates in LB Ross Homan and DL Cameron Heyward will spearhead the attack again in 2010, with the majority of playmakers back to help contribute as well. Losing Thaddeus Gibson and Buckeye favorite Kurt Coleman certainly isn't enjoyable, but OSU faces these type of defections on a routine basis and always finds someone willing to step up and be the next star. Replacing Gibson should be junior DE Nathan Williams, however Keith Wells could end up seeing serious playing time. Never count out "practice star" Solomon Thomas either. The Coleman situation could be a little more dicey, but it appears redshirt sophomore Ohrian Johnson will get the first crack at getting into the starting lineup. He is a hard hitting, mean Florida athlete and should bring excitement to the defensive backfield. The d-line will be sick, and the linebackers will be studly. Not much more to say.

In short, OSU will be good. Very good. National title good. I don't know if it will happen, but it certainly is a possibility that Tressel and Pryor can lead this team to the top of the college football mountain for the first time since 2002. The schedule doesn't do the Buckeyes any favors, but they have all offseason long to prepare for it, and we have all season to talk about it.

Final record: 11-2, Rose Bowl Champs.....

Let the anticipation begin. Oh, and not to get anyone hopes up, but this team is my guess to be preseason #1.