Arizona has been good for Ohio State who will have played in
the Fiesta Bowl five of the past seven years, winning a national championship
there in 2002. Now they are headed back to play the Texas Longhorns as
underdogs ranked 10th in the BCS after a two loss season that had started
with national title hopes.
By Steve Patterson
Texas
Motivation
Texas could have a chip on
their shoulder when they arrive in Glendale as
their 11-1 record puts them in the same company as Florida
and Oklahoma
who will both be playing for the National Championship this year. But Texas has an even more valid reason to be upset; they
beat Oklahoma
head-to-head by 10 points during the season.
Buckeye’s head coach Jim Tressel does not feel that Texas will need extra
motivation when they battle in January. “He's (Mack Brown) going to coach his
kids to do the right things for the right reasons and become as good as they
can be,” he said. “I don't think (he will use) gimmicks or 'Win one for the
Gipper' or any of that stuff. They don't need that. They're good enough without
it.”
Two out of Three
This will be the third time the teams will meet in four
years as the teams played a home-and-home contest in 2005 and 2006 with the
away team winning both years. Texas beat Ohio State
in Columbus in
2005 on the way to Vince Young and the Longhorns finishing the year as National
Champs. In 2006, Ohio State returned the favor beating Colt McCoy and Texas in Austin.
Vegas Odds
The odds for the game favor Texas by 10.5 points over the Buckeyes. Look
for Ohio State
to easily stop the run of Texas
while having trouble matching up against the Longhorn receivers. Likewise, Ohio State
will try to run the ball with Daniel Herron, Chris Wells and Terrelle Pryor
while having a difficult time moving the ball through the air.
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