Pryor Pristine in Pasadena

The Buckeyes boldly brought about a BCS bowl for the Ohio State University by beating Oregon at the 2010 Rose Bowl. Ohio State put an end to their recent bowl woes by prevailing over the 7th ranked Ducks 26-17 on New Year’s Day. There was little resistance from the Pac-10 Champions in the 96th anniversary of the famed annual event. Ohio State trailed just one time during the game, but swifty put themselves back in charge behind the best performance of sophomore quarterback, Terelle Pryor’s, career. Pryor passed for 266 yards and a pair of scores. He completed 23 of 37 tosses and ran 20 times for 72 yards. The dual-threat sophomore signal caller was picked off one time but held it together with the help of a stingy defense. Defensively, the Buckeyes held the quick scoring Ducks to 260 yards.
Pryor lofted the key touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter to give the Buckeyes a commanding lead. The 8th ranked Bucks drove the field 81 yards to set up DeVier Posey’s 17 yard touchdown grab. A twisting Posey hauled in Pryor’s soft pass to the left side of the end zone and fought off Oregon defender, Anthony Gildon. The touchdown boosted OSU to a nine point lead with 7:02 remaining in the Rose Bowl. Oregon answered with a hopeful drive on the ensuing possession. Cliff Harris took a reverse pick on the kickoff and returned the ball to the OSU 36 yard line. The Bucks’ defense demolished LaMichael James for a five yard loss, negating the five yards the running back picked up on first down. James, the freshman replacement tailback, emerged as the leading rusher for Oregon, with 79 yards. Ducks’ junior quarterback, Jerermiah Masoli, completed a nine yard pass to James on third down to set up a 44 yard field goal try with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter. Morgan Flint’s kick was wide right, and Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes were poised to run out the clock.
The Ducks entered the Rose Bowl averaging over 40 points per game. The OSU defense is one of the highest rated in college football, and they proved why yesterday afternoon. The Buckeye offense came out looking sharp, clicking on all cylinders, to go ahead 7-0 on the opening possession. Pryor rushed for a 24 yard gain on third down and found Posey for gains of 4 and 11 yards. Dane Sanzenbacher snatched a seven yard toss at the Oregon 31. Running back, Brandon Saine, followed the catch up with an 11 yard scramble to the right, and finished the drive in the end zone with a 13 yard reception. The defense responded with a three-and-out, forcing and pressuring Oregon’s offense. Ohio State corralled Masoli with a devastating pass rush. Cut-throat, Cameron Heyward pulverized the quarterback by sacking him for a nine yard loss on Oregon’s first drive. Ohio State dominated time of possession in the first quarter. The second Buckeyes drive was sustained due in part to a pair of costly Oregon penalties. Ohio State failed to capitalize, but did force the Ducks to being deep in their own territory to set up excellent field position. Devin Barclay made it a ten point OSU advantage with a 19 yard field goal to end the first quarter.
Oregon finally figured into the scoreboard in the second quarter. The Ducks settled for a 24 yard Flint field goal to post their first three points of the game. Kenjon Barner’s 37 yard first down run set up the Flint kick. Pryor was sacked and the Buckeyes went three-and-out on their first possession of the second quarter. Oregon contined to tally points and put up an offensive fight. The Ducks rallied to tie the score 10-10 after an eight play, eleven yard drive resulted in Legarrette Blount’s three yard rushing touchdown. Blount, known more for his punches than his end zone rumbling, chewed up just 36 yards on the ground. His reach for the end zone had to be reviewed by officials before it was declared a score for the Ducks. Saine returned the ensuing kickoff 16 yards to begin a near eight minute OSU drive before the break. Dan “Boom” Herron carried the football for a pair for four yard rushes, and caught a pass for four more to give the Bucks a set of fresh downs. Another Oregon penalty gave OSU a first down at midfield, where Pryor hit Herron for a fifteen yard gain into Ducks territory. The sophomore struck Posey twice between the numbers and rushed for six yards on a third down play at the Oregon 20 yard line. Following a timeout, Ohio State converted the fourth-and-one play but fell short of seven points because of a stellar Oregon defensive stance. Barclay connected from 30 yards with just over a minute left to lift OSU to a 13-10 lead. Ross Homan and the OSU defense rose to give the Buckeyes another shot at a score before heading into the locker room. Left tackle, Doug Worthington, tipped a Massoli pass and Homan picked the interception at the OSU 34 yard line. Pryor, with 25 ticks on the clock, stepped up and threw into Sanzenbacher on a crossing route. The 18 yard gain was enough to set up Aaron Pettrey’s 45 yard boot as time expired in the half. Pettrey suffered a knee injury in week eight and was only recently cleared to play after undergoing surgery. The kick at the gun gave OSU a 16-10 margin at the Rose Bowl half.
Massoli opened the second half scoring with a one yard plunge to give Oregon their only lead of the game. Oregon’s powerful offense ran for 179 yards, the second most allowed by OSU this season. The one point advantage lasted just five minutes, however. The Ohio State offense orchestrated an outstanding 11 play drive that covered 59 yards of real estate. Number two was steady in throwing deep passes with success. Pryor couldn’t complete the vital passes to the end zone when given two chances at Oregon’s 21 yard line. Pryor overthrew Sanzenbacher in what could have been a Buckeyes touchdown. Salient Sanzenbacher finished with 9 receptions for 64 yards. The Buckeyes settled for Barclay’s 38 yard field goal to jump ahead by two points. Ohio State held the lead and took over on their own 19 yard line following an Oregon punt with 13 minutes to go. Pryor sandwiched an 11 yard rush in between two Herron runs before hooking Sanzenbacher for two consecutive completions. Three plays later, Pryor jostled and flicked to Jake Ballard on 3rd-and 13. The tight end’s 24 yard clutch put OSU in Duck territory with under nine minutes. Tressel called three running plays in a row as the mixed attack for OSU continued to close in on the end zone. On 2nd-and 7 from the Ducks’ 17, Pryor tossed behind the Oregon cornerback, Gildon. Posey secured the football, all but sealing the Rose Bowl victory for the Big 10 champions. The 11-3 Buckeyes were propelled by Posey’s 101 yard receiving day. The sophomore wideout finished with eight receptions to go along with his winning, waggling touchdown.
The Buckeyes were effective in neutralizing Massoli and keeping the ball in Pryor’s hands. The Ducks held the ball just 19 minutes. Even that wasn’t enough for the fast-paced Oregon offense. The OSU offense stayed on the field long enough to allow the defense to rest. The penetration and pass rushing for Ohio State was tremendous in the team’s fifth consecutive bowl game. The Ducks ended their great season, with a rookie head coach, on a sour note. The spread option offense was bogged down by a prepared Buckeye unit. Oregon even outran the Bucks 179-153, but Pryor dominated Massoli in passing percentage. The Ducks were never able to rack up points and fell to OSU for the eighth time in eight tries throughout the meetings between the two teams.

Parting Points: Top-notch read from the bookshelf- “Moll Flanders” by Daniel DeFoe

Bears' Best Backfield

Lions, tigers and bears, oh my! The college football schedule is stocked with spooky showdowns for this September Saturday. The Penn State Lions seeks revenge against the Iowa Hawkeyes in a primetime Happy Valley Big 10 rematch of last year. A Nittany loss could spoil a BCS berth for the Joe Paterno’s undefeated squad. The number five Lions should be able to paw their way to victory against a jubilant Iowa team. The same cannot decisively be said about the Memphis Tigers. The 1-2 Tigers face the 2-1
Marshall Thundering Herd today at noon. If this were a hoops game, Memphis would have the emphatic edge. But today they endure a tough test. The Tigers will do so without their biggest offensive weapon in the game. Curtis Steele is out with an injury and will be replaced with running back, T.J. Pitts. The senior will attempt to force and effective ground attack against their Conference USA opponents. Last week, Marshall was successful in limiting Bowling Green to just 10 rushing yards. The same formula will be implemented by Mark Snyder’s defense in stopping the strong secondary of the Tigers.
One of the more enjoyable teams to watch on the college gridiron is the California Bears, the focus being on their talented tailback. The boastful Bears begin boisterous Pac-10 play against the Oregon Ducks today in Eugene. California tailback, Jahvid Best, is one of the top players in the nation. The Bears’ “Golden Boy” is piecing together a legitimate push for Heisman trophy votes. Best is averaging 137 yards a game as the country’s third best rusher. He propelled California to a 35-21 victory on the road last week against Big 10 opponents, Minnesota. The speedy tailback scored a school record five touchdowns and scrambled for 131 yards on the ground, good enough to earn him Pac-10 player of the week honors. In last season’s ten point win over Oregon, Best helped the Bears with 16 carries and 93 yards. The superstar is now a year older, and he remains the key cog to California’s leading offense. The Bears rank among college football’s best in three offensive categories. They are 11th in total offense,second in scoring and tenth in rushing piloted by quarterback and Oregon native, Kevin Riley. Riley hasn’t thrown an interception yet in this young season. He has tossed five touchdown passes for the 3-0 Golden Bears and has precise pocket presence. Riley has a devastating ground game with Best and sophomore, Shane Vereen. Both carry the ball and escape stout defenses trying tremendously to stop or simply slow the Bears’ running game. Vereen has one touchdown reception to his credit to go along with four rushing touchdowns. Best’s ability to chew up yardage has made a 65% completion rate look easy for Riley. Jeremy Ross is also coming into his own for the Bears. Ross has matured into the team’s top receiver. Last week against Minnesota, Ross had three catches, including a vital reception on a third down conversion during the game winning drive. Wideouts Marvin Jones and Verran Tucker are other outside options. California’s leading receiver in 2008, Nyan Boateng, spent time on the sideline last week with a foot fracture. Boateng will be out four to six weeks. The Bears are even impressive and expressive on defense. Cal defenders have held opponents to under 300 yards total offense through the first three games. The Bears are structured around a strong linebacking unit. The snippy defense is another reason the Bears find themselves in a positive position so early on. Junior Mike Mohamed retained two interceptions and two sacks. Sophomore linebacker, Mychal Kendricks leads the team in tackles, with a brutal 30. The sixth ranked Bears are the class of the Pac-10, even if they are overshadowed by their interstate rivals, USC. California and UCLA are the only teams with three wins, and one of three undefeated Pac-10 clubs. Arizona State hasn’t lost yet, but only has two victories. The Bears host USC next weekend to kick off October and the toughest stretch of their schedule. The compelling contest with Oregon will not be overlooked even with the Trojans on the horizon. The Bears have a favored schedule but the Ducks will bring a dazzling and dressed down strategy for Saturday success. Today Jeff Tedford’s Bears begin their quest for a Pac-10 title. They must first get escape
Eugene unscathed.

Parting points: Listening to a little Whitney Houston and waiting for an afternoon meeting in the Bronx. I
am also hoping the Buckeyes do not snooze against Ron Zook and the Illini today.