16 Seconds From the Upset: Fiesta Bowl Recap

Drew Thurman (5:59 pm)

Last night's game no doubt messed with the hearts of the Buckeye faithful. Most fans would have no doubt told you that above all else they wanted Ohio State to get some respect back, and were primarily worried about not getting blown out.

As each second ticked off the clock though, it became increasingly evident that the Buckeyes could actually pull this thing off, they could beat what many believed to be the best team in the nation.

Fate was cruel though, and the Scarlet and Gray Nation was forced to watch a McCoy to Cosby slant that would sink the dreams of an upset with 16 seconds left on the clock.

This loss will obviously go down in Buckeye lore, and it may be one of the most hurtful losses in Buckeye history. There was a lot to take away from the game though, and quite a few things I noticed that were both positive and negative, so let's take a look:

Negatives

First Half

I said this last night and I will say it again, the missed opportunities in the first half came back to haunt the Buckeyes. Ohio State controlled the tempo and momentum throughout the first half, and had nothing more than a three-point lead to show for it.

Drives continued to stall somewhere between the 30-40 yard lines, and the Buckeyes had three field goal chances, two that were actually made. Had at least one of those three drives gotten punched in, we would have been looking at a different outcome.

Third Quarter

Just as crucial to the final outcome as the first half was the third quarter. Texas had the ball first, and put together an incredible six and half minute drive. On that drive, the Longhorns killed the Buckeyes on third downs, and actually converted twice of fourth down (including a faked punt).

That drive in my opinion also set up the next scoring drive due to the exhaustion of the defense. The Buckeyes went three-and-out twice, and put the defense in a very bad situation.

I understand many of you are probably mad at Tressel's playing calling on those three-and-outs, but it was obvious that he wanted to run the ball to take time off the clock.

It's hard to disagree with that too much, even though I would have liked to have gotten a first down before committing to the run.

Pryor Throwing

Terrelle is a superstar in the making, but his limited throwing ability in this game hurt. Now given, Boeckman came in and threw the ball in his place at times, but the Buckeyes needed Pryor's arm as well.

The Longhorns committed to stop his mobility, and he had some very nice opportunities down the field.

Brian Hartline

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