Ohio State Football: The Sugar Bowl Microcosmic of Buckeye Toughness

It's official, folks; the Ohio State University Buckeyes have finally beaten an SEC team in bowl season. In exorcising their demons, Ohio State played with toughness that their SEC opponent, Arkansas, failed to match.

The Ohio faithful shouldn't be surprised by the gritty performance. The Buckeyes have done this all year long on the biggest stages, namely the Wisconsin, Penn State and Iowa games.

Against Big Ten co-champ Wisconsin at Camp Randall, Ohio State fell behind quickly 21-0. They scraped back, cutting the three-score margin to just a field goal before eventually succumbing 31-18. Though they lost, Ohio State was not fazed by the large deficit or hostile crowd.

In the showdown against Penn State, the Bucks faced a 14-3 halftime deficit. They looked tepid on offense and had trouble stopping former walk-on QB Matt McGloin. The second half was an entirely different story. The Bucks moved the ball effectively and the Silver Bullets returned two interceptions for TDs, outscoring the Penn State offense.

At Kinnick Stadium, Ohio State and Iowa, the two best Big Ten teams from a year ago, faced off. Ohio State trailed much of the second half. Late in the fourth quarter down 17-13 on 3rd-and-10, WR DeVier Posey inexplicably dropped an open TD pass. No worries, Buckeye Nation. QB Terrelle Pryor scrambled for 14 yards to convert a long fourth-down attempt. Five plays later, Ohio State scored a TD for a 20-17 advantage. The Silver Bullets preserved the victory by forcing two incompletions and sacking Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi.

Last night was more of the same.

After jumping out to a 28-10 lead in the first half, coach Jim Tressel employed his famous (or infamous) Tresselball approach. The game tightened as Ohio State opted for a predictable conservative offense instead of the creative balanced one that thoroughly dominated the Arkansas defense. 

Due to this questionable tactic, the game would be decided by a depleted defensive unit. The defense, already burdened with depth difficulties due to injuries (DL Cameron Heyward, CB Chimdi Chekwa, DL John Simon among others), would have to stop QB Ryan Mallet and the Arkansas offense since no offensive option besides running out the second-half clock was considered.

Despite the detriment imposed upon them, the Silver Bullets did not back down. They constantly harassed Mallet and with their backs against the wall after a blocked punt, held fast and made an interception that clinched the game for the Buckeyes.

Whether on offense or defense, the 2010-2011 Ohio State Buckeyes rose to the challenge when tested. The Sugar Bowl win caps a successful 12-1 season for the Big Ten co-champs. Ohio State now has six BCS bowl victories, more than any other college football program. This fact should make the members of Buckeye Nation proud.