Ready to kick-butt in a bowl

[Oh8ch]

OK, I'm biased. But this team is ready to kick some butt in a Bowl Game.

A very talented bunch of athletes have finally come together as a team. That missing chemistry may well be in place. They are hungry to put a frustrating season behind them and young enough to want to set the stage for next season. We still have lots of competition going on at several positions.

I think we are likely to see some new blood in the bowl game and some kids who are out to prove themselves (I am particularly anxious to see who will be on the starting OL). This is not your typical four loss Bowl team.

I don't care who we get - they are in trouble.

And we WILL run the ball efffectively.

 

[brutus2002]

Okie St. has a great offense and a good punter. Their defense and their FG kicker sucks. Their Kickers longest kick is 39 yards and he is 0-4 on kicks over 40. If I defense can show up like they did against Michigan we will be fine.

 

[WoodyWorshiper]

I'm not really concerned about the Bowl game. Bowl games of "little significance'" are often not an extension of your season, or in this case, an extension of a great win over scUM. I just think back to 2001, and the piss-poor performance we had against SC for the first three quarters. However, the scUM game did set the stage for the following year, and I think this one will be similar.

 

[UGABuck]

I am biased too but I was expecting talk of a better bowl.

We just spanked a top ten team and have shown steady improvement since JT made the personnel changes. And...shouldn't we be ranked?

 

[jwinslow]

Problem is Florida is actually a somewhat deserving #25. Had they not beaten FSU, I think that OSU would have had a better shot at cracking the top25.

Florida seems to be the worse team (and probably are), but LSU, Georgia, and Tennessee are pretty good teams to have lost to. Obviously La State was an embarrassment, but only moderately moreso than our loss to then 1-3 NW (in the minds of the voters, not in my mind).

 

[JXC]

Actually...the Outback Bowl set the stage for 2002...at least according to Michael Doss. I remember him saying after the Fiesta Bowl that he knew this team was special and decided to come back after the Outback Bowl. He said coming back from 28-0 got the team to really rally around each other and that he knew they had something special. So I think bowl games can have a lot to do with the next year. How about in 1998? We lost the Sugar Bowl against FSU on Jan 1, 1998, and then us and FSU both end up with 1 loss and they get the nod in the polls. I'm not saying we'd have gone to the championship game if we had beaten FSU in the Sugar Bowl...but it might have changed the view of how good we were compared to FSU to some of the voters.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

How about in 1998? We lost the Sugar Bowl against FSU on Jan 1, 1998, and then us and FSU both end up with 1 loss and they get the nod in the polls. I'm not saying we'd have gone to the championship game if we had beaten FSU in the Sugar Bowl...but it might have changed the view of how good we were compared to FSU to some of the voters.

Our loss to FSU had no bearing on the final standings of the 1998 polls, because we ended up being everyone's #1 at the start of the 1998 season despite the loss to FSU. Besides, we finished at #2 in both polls in 1998, ahead of FSU who finished #3 in both polls.

 

[jwinslow]

The sad thing is our secondary would have kept Tennessee's in check (wasn't that the year they were calling it OSU's best secondary ever?), whereas FSU was a better DL/LB crew.

I'm glad the fifrst title came under Tressel tho. Had Cooper won that title, we might still be suffering under his whimsical ways, and he would have given Clarett what he wanted and we would currently be sitting on a NCAA probation.

 

[KillerNut]

Tressel has always prepared our team well to win Bowl games. The Outback Bowl certainly was a slow start but we made it a game, and then the two Fiesta Bowls were outstanding.

 

[RugbyBuck]

The important thing about the bowl, whatever flavor, is the additional practice time our guys will get, especially with the momentum from crushing scUM. I feel a lot better about next year's prospects this Monday than last. We've already won our bowl game and now we're getting ready for the NC run next season.

 

[tsteele316]

The important thing about the bowl, whatever flavor, is the additional practice time our guys will get, especially with the momentum from crushing scUM. I feel a lot better about next year's prospects this Monday than last. We've already won our bowl game and now we're getting ready for the NC run next season.

exactly. especially with all the youth on this team. the additional month of practice will be very good for them. That is where a lot of guys, especially on the OL will make a name for themselves. Benching Datish, Rehring taking pt from simms, the RT shuffle all year, all these things show that nobody's spot on the OL is safe. This month of practice can really set the stage for some of the redshirting freshman to make their mark and get themselves in the mix to start next year.