Buckeyes Capture Rose Bowl 26-17 on Strength of Pryor’s Performance

The Ohio State defense contained the explosive Oregon Duck offensive attack and Jeremiah Masoli, while Terrelle Pryor had a career day as the Buckeyes captured the Big 10’s first Rose Bowl win in a decade, 26-17.

Leading up to the matchup in the “Granddaddy of Them All” analysts wondered if the strong Big 10-style defense of the Buckeyes could handle the spread option of the Ducks, but from kickoff it was obvious that OSU coach Jim Tressell and the defense had come well prepared.

In fact, after a surprisingly spring Ohio State offense scored the first ten points of the game, it wasn’t until the second quarter that Masoli and the Ducks mustered enough offense for a touchdown.

Duck running back Kenjon Barner, not expected to feature highly in the Duck attack, was actually crucial to the Ducks early success, as he rushed for key first downs and got the Ducks into scoring range on both of their first-half scores.

Terrelle Pryor, the Buckeye’s leader on the field, had been a storyline heading into the game, as his torn PCL was a potential problem area for the mobile quarterback.

However, after coming up lame early in the game, Pryor settled down and shook off his injury, leading the Buckeyes to convincing scoring drives in all four quarters.

Pryor, who had struggled in his career in bowl games had a successful first half and the Buckeyes held a 16-10 edge going into the break.

The Ducks scored the first touchdown of the second half to take their only lead of the game on a Jeremiah Masoli rush from the one-yard line, but the Buckeyes answered quickly, posting a field goal to retake the lead, one which they wouldn’t give back.

After a series of turnovers and missed opportunities in the fourth quarter, Pryor led the Buckeyes down the field for a game-clinching touchdown pass, finding receiver DeVier Poseyin the front corner of the endzone to put the Buckeyes up 26-17 and capturing the Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes.

Pryor finished the game with 266 yards passing and two touchdowns to go along with his 72 yards rushing, possibly setting the stage for Pryor to finally find his grove next season.

Oregon and Ohio State Fight For Roses

Oregon Ducks (10-2) vs. Ohio State (10-2)

If you want to talk about up and down seasons, the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes might be your exhibit 1 and 1A.

Both teams had high hopes coming into the season, but both faltered at some point in the season.

For the Ducks, the Byron Hout-LeGarrette Blount incident speaks for itself in terms of the media and team firestorm it created.

For the Buckeyes, midway through the season, the team was at risk of not winning the Big 10 for the first time since 2004 after loses to USC and Purdue.

Yet both teams, led by athletic and dynamic quarterbacks, turned their seasons around and won their respective conferences. As a reward for their resiliency, the teams received bids to the “Granddaddy of Them All”, the Rose Bowl, in what promises to be among the best bowl matchups of the bowl season.

Offenses: Both offenses start with their quarterbacks, Jeremiah Masoli and Terrelle Pryor, both of whom have set the tone for the offenses all season. As Pryor has gone, so too have the Buckeyes, and his inconsistency has been a problem all season. Masoli runs the spread option to perfection for the Ducks, but when the run has been bottled up by the opposition, the Ducks have struggled to win with a one-sided attack.

Ohio State also features a strong running attack, having averaged 199 yards per game this season using a power running game under coach Jim Tressel’s proven system.

Defenses: This discussion has to start with Ohio State’s defense, which held its opponents to a mere 12.8 points per game, including three shutouts and two Big 10 conference games in which they let their opponents score just seven points. Many times this season, it’s been the defense that has carried the Buckeyes, especially in light of their 33 takeaways — good enough for third in the nation in that category. Against the Duck rush attack, a unit which surrendered less than 90 yards per game on the ground is sure to be tested.

The Ducks image may be all about their offense, but their defense isn’t half bad, only allowing 329 yards per game to opponents this season, which came most against the fiery Pac-10 offenses this season. That was good enough to rank in the top 40 in the nation, but the Ducks were hit hard multiple times this season, most notably against Stanford, where they surrendered 51 points to the Cardinal.

Prediction: Oregon 35 vs. Ohio State 27. The bottom line will be about Oregon’s offense vs. Ohio State defense, a matchup which Masoli and the Ducks can certainly win, and if they do, the uneven Buckeye offense will not be enough to make up the difference.

Oregon Secures First Rose Bowl Bid Since 1995

The University of Oregon has secured the Pac-10 Championship, the Pac-10’s automatic BCS bowl bid and its first Rose Bowl berth since 1995 by beating Oregon State 37-33 on Thursday.

The Ducks will face off against Ohio State, who clinched a spot in Pasadena two weeks ago. The matchup will feature two dynamic quarterbacks, Jeremiah Masoli and Terrelle Pryor.

The Buckeye defense will have its work cut out for them against the explosive Duck offensive attack that also features a duo of speedy running backs, LaMichael James and LeGarret Blount.

Look for a BCS Know How preview after all of the BCS bowls are announced on Sunday.