Fiesta Bowl: Changing Expectations

Changing Expectations

When the 2008 college football preseason rankings were published, Ohio State generally sat at the top. The Longhorns, on the other hand, were not even picked to finish second...in their own conference. Five months later, the roles are reversed. Texas sits near the top of the rankings and the Buckeyes have just managed to stay within the Top 10. At the beginning of the year, Buckeyes were thinking BCS Championship or bust. Now, a Fiesta Bowl victory would do just fine.

At the beginning of the year, Texas would have been thrilled to know that it would receive a bid to a BCS Bowl. After going 11-1 and beating Oklahoma, Longhorns will arrive in Arizona with a twinkle of disappointment in their eyes. Despite changing expectations, this year's Fiesta Bowl pits two storied franchises against one another and features one of the most anticipated bowl games of the year.

The 2008 Texas Longhorns own an impressive resume. Mac Brown leads a group that excels in every aspect of the game: offensively, defensively and within special teams. There may not be a more well-rounded team in college football.

Texas Offense
Colt McCoy, the Heisman Trophy Runner-Up, leads the 5th-ranked scoring offense in both passing and rushing. He is the heart and soul of this team. McCoy completed 77% of his passes, threw for 32 touchdowns, ran for 576 yards and scored an additional 10 rushing touchdowns.

The offense as a whole littered the national rankings in a multitude of categories. They ranked 5th in scoring, 9th in yards/game, 11th in passing and 2nd in 3rd-down conversion percentage. Texas spreads the field and Colt gets the ball out of his hands quickly. His top two targets, Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby, each have good hands and have combined to catchr 55% of Colt's completions. If Shipley and Cosby are not open, McCoy has shown a propensity to tuck the ball and run for positive yardage.

Texas Defense
The Longhorn's young defense improved as the season progressed. With a squad littered with underclassman, Texas has one of the youngest defensive units in college football. Despite the lack of experience, and despite playing in the score-happy Big 12, Texas ranks 20th in scoring defense, 2nd in rush defense and held their last two opponents to single-digits.

Texas will face an elusive run-pass threat in Terrelle Pryor. The Longhorns have experience facing similarly-styled quarterbacks. Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson, Missouri's Chase Daniel and Baylor's Robert Griffin each present a similar dynamic. Texas played well against each quarterback and should be prepared for the elusive Pryor.

On the line: The Longhorns are not happy about how the BCS played out this year. They feel that they deserve to play in the BCS Championship Game. Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech all tied for the Big 12 South title. Due to tiebreaker rules, Oklahoma was handed the division, despite losing to Texas on a neutral field. Florida, the other national contender, lost at home to an unranked team earlier this season. Texas' only loss came on the road against a Top 10 team on a last-second pass. Texas feels that their body of work stands up against anyone in the nation.

The season is not over. If Texas dominates Ohio State and the BCS Champion does not win convincingly, the Longhorns still have the opportunity to finish 1st in the final AP poll. That should provide Texas with plenty of motivation.

Key Matchup: Texas Defensive Line vs. Terrelle Pryor
In order to contain the Ohio State offense, the Longhorns defensive line must keep Pryor in the pocket. Not only can Pryor hurt you running the ball once he breaks contain, he can also throw well while on the run.


The Ohio State Buckeyes are playing in their 4th BCS Bowl Game in a row. The last two have been rather unkind to the Buckeyes. Not only was Ohio State embarrassed in the last two BCS Championship Games, but the Big Ten conference as a whole lost significant credibility around the country. In addition, Texas and Ohio State played a two-game series in 2005 and 2006. Each team won on the road and this game will provide one team's fans with bragging rights for the foreseeable future.

Ohio State Offense
The Buckeyes play a physical brand of football. Terrelle Pryor leads an offense focused on running the football, playing conservatively and winning the field-position battle. The Buckeyes have the 29th ranked rushing attack and 45th in passing offense. Their 28 points/game ranks 43rd in the country.

Terrelle Pryor, the heralded freshman quarterback, continues to learn on the fly. Despite only passing for less than 125 yards/game, Pryor has posted an 8-1 record as the starter. He extends plays with his feet, he helps move the chains and he doesn't turn the ball over. Chris "Beanie" Wells takes much of the pressure off of his rookie quarterback. Beanie averages 121 yards/game and should be fully healthy for the January 5th contest.

Ohio State Defense
As usual, the Buckeyes are built around a physically-gifted defense. Nationally, they rank 7th in scoring defense, 9th in yards/game, 6th in passing defense and 19th in rushing defense. They have allowed 13 or fewer points in five of their last six games.

The Buckeyes are led by All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jennings, considered to be one of the best defensive-backs in college football. Penn State, who scored 40 points/game, only manage 16 against the stingy Ohio State defense. USC scoring 35 three months ago remains the only blemish for this defensive unit.

On the Line: After being embarrassed in each of the last two BCS Championship Games, the Buckeyes will look to restore credibility to their program and the Big Ten Conference as a whole. If they can knock of a legitimate contending team like Texas, Ohio State can reclaim their place as a year-in, year-out championship-caliber team.

Matchup to Watch: Terrelle Pryor vs. Texas Secondary
Pryor has attempted more than 20 passes in a game only one time, the loss against Penn State. Texas will stack the line of scrimmage and force the Buckeyes to make plays through the passing game.If Ohio State expects to keep this game close going into the 4th quarter, Pryor will be forced to take advantage of a run-focused defense by connecting on big plays through the air.