MySportsSanctuary

For most of the game, Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the USC Trojans. The game was theirs to win and, as it has seemed for an entire decade, they couldn’t close the deal. USC true freshman Matt Barkley, the latest in a string of great quarterbacks churned out by Pete Carroll, drove the Trojans the length of the field in the final minutes with 105,000 plus Buckeye fans screaming for the go ahead touchdown. The steely nerve of this 19 year old on his biggest stage offered up a drive for the ages.

As for the Buckeyes, it wasn’t the blowouts of their two previous BCS championship appearances against Florida and LSU; however it would have never dawned on me that this proud football team is now playing for respect and the opportunity to be included with the elite. As much as Nebraska, Michigan, Florida State, Miami and Notre Dame have been trying to regain prominence that once was theirs as recently as a decade ago (ND a little longer), the fact remains that Ohio State constantly is playing in the BCS bowls. They just haven’t won. They are 44-8 in their last 52 contests however they are 2-8 against ranked opponents and 42-0 against everybody else. That means they win the games they are supposed to, but lack the focus to carry it out on the biggest of stages.

After being dump trucked by USC in the Coliseum a year ago, this was a statement game for Ohio State. It was finally looking like this Big Ten team powerhouse was going to send a message to the college football world that they can play with the big boys. Unfortunately, a team that has been to three national championship games in six years are still looking for respect.