Buckeyes Go for 8th National Championship Title
By: GUEST BLOGGER from The Buckeye Blog
The Buckeyes nation heads west this weekend in anticipation of Monday night’s BCS feast. It is a rare opportunity that fans of the Scarlet and Gray get an opportunity to dine on Gators meat but from everything I hear, it tastes a lot like chicken.
The SEC has established itself in the perfect position coming into this year’s bowl season. All year long we have heard the talking heads tell us about “SEC speed” and how the SEC is, hands down, the best in the country. On the part of the SEC it is a genius bit of marketing and provides the perfect win/win scenario. If the SEC looks good in the bowls, we are bombarded with shouts of “Told you so.” If they lose, the excuse has been prepackaged as a simple, “It just goes to show you that no one can make it out of such a tough division and a playoff in one piece.”
However, this game is not about the SEC and the Big Ten. Those games are over. It is not about who should or shouldn’t take on Ohio State. The contenders have been chosen. It is about which team can bring their best to the field and when they do, will their best be enough to stand upon that podium and proclaim that they are, “The best damn team in the land.”
It is no secret that Florida is the underdog. Ohio State has run the tables starting and ending the season with a #1 ranking. There has been no question along the way as the Buckeyes had the rare opportunity to prove themselves against two #2 ranked teams. With a win on Monday, they will be the first team in the history of college football to beat three #2 ranked teams in one season.
As game day approaches, there is not a sportswriter out there who hasn’t given us the breakdown in position, speed, size, pass percentage verses secondary defense, you name it, we’ve heard it. What you haven’t heard about, something that all Buckeye fans understand, is the nature of today’s Ohio State football team.
There are those on the outside who wonder if Ohio State will play down to Florida, not bring their “A” game to the field. There are those who think that Heisman winning quarterback Troy Smith will struggle against a defense the likes of which he hasn’t seen yet this year. There are those who believe that the extended time off will be a detriment that the Buckeyes will not be able to overcome.
What they all fail to recognize is the impact of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. While those of us who sit in the stands not only look forward to another Buckeye national championship, we expect it. For our boys on the field, it will be a different story. On Monday, they will step onto that field not with brash, in-your-face, smashmouth football. There will be plenty of that in the parking lot outside the stadium. The Ohio State Buckeyes will enter the national championship arena with the quiet confidence and mental preparation that comes from a coach that knows how to win big games.
There are lots of teams out there with the skills, the speed, the size, all of the things that it takes to make a football team. However, all but one of those teams (with all respect to Boise State) has been able to bring their best to the table game after game, week after week. Only one team has been able to face two of the best teams in the country, in two of the biggest games of the year, meet the smaller teams, the ones that have killed many a sleeping giant, and walk away unscathed.
The Ohio State team that takes the field Monday night has already played in one of the biggest games in college football history. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is a game that those on the outside cannot fully comprehend. An entire season, everything every year, comes down to that one game for both teams. An 11-1 season at Ohio State is a losing season if they lose to Michigan. This year’s November classic was the biggest, most significant, in the history of that great rivalry. It is true, for many of us, the BCS Championship seems like something of an afterthought when held in the light of this year’s Ohio State/Michigan contest. For Coach Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes, however, this team will be ready. The films have been studied, the plays rehearsed, the battle plan secured. Most importantly, the Buckeyes will be mentally prepared for the crowing achievement of one of the greatest seasons in not only Ohio State history but in the history of college football.
So run the analysis, play out the simulations, debate the stats, Ohio State fans are bold and confident for a reason. Today’s Ohio State is about character, it is about pride, it is about tradition. And on Monday, it will be about our eighth national championship title.
The Buckeyes nation heads west this weekend in anticipation of Monday night’s BCS feast. It is a rare opportunity that fans of the Scarlet and Gray get an opportunity to dine on Gators meat but from everything I hear, it tastes a lot like chicken.
The SEC has established itself in the perfect position coming into this year’s bowl season. All year long we have heard the talking heads tell us about “SEC speed” and how the SEC is, hands down, the best in the country. On the part of the SEC it is a genius bit of marketing and provides the perfect win/win scenario. If the SEC looks good in the bowls, we are bombarded with shouts of “Told you so.” If they lose, the excuse has been prepackaged as a simple, “It just goes to show you that no one can make it out of such a tough division and a playoff in one piece.”
However, this game is not about the SEC and the Big Ten. Those games are over. It is not about who should or shouldn’t take on Ohio State. The contenders have been chosen. It is about which team can bring their best to the field and when they do, will their best be enough to stand upon that podium and proclaim that they are, “The best damn team in the land.”
It is no secret that Florida is the underdog. Ohio State has run the tables starting and ending the season with a #1 ranking. There has been no question along the way as the Buckeyes had the rare opportunity to prove themselves against two #2 ranked teams. With a win on Monday, they will be the first team in the history of college football to beat three #2 ranked teams in one season.
As game day approaches, there is not a sportswriter out there who hasn’t given us the breakdown in position, speed, size, pass percentage verses secondary defense, you name it, we’ve heard it. What you haven’t heard about, something that all Buckeye fans understand, is the nature of today’s Ohio State football team.
There are those on the outside who wonder if Ohio State will play down to Florida, not bring their “A” game to the field. There are those who think that Heisman winning quarterback Troy Smith will struggle against a defense the likes of which he hasn’t seen yet this year. There are those who believe that the extended time off will be a detriment that the Buckeyes will not be able to overcome.
What they all fail to recognize is the impact of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. While those of us who sit in the stands not only look forward to another Buckeye national championship, we expect it. For our boys on the field, it will be a different story. On Monday, they will step onto that field not with brash, in-your-face, smashmouth football. There will be plenty of that in the parking lot outside the stadium. The Ohio State Buckeyes will enter the national championship arena with the quiet confidence and mental preparation that comes from a coach that knows how to win big games.
There are lots of teams out there with the skills, the speed, the size, all of the things that it takes to make a football team. However, all but one of those teams (with all respect to Boise State) has been able to bring their best to the table game after game, week after week. Only one team has been able to face two of the best teams in the country, in two of the biggest games of the year, meet the smaller teams, the ones that have killed many a sleeping giant, and walk away unscathed.
The Ohio State team that takes the field Monday night has already played in one of the biggest games in college football history. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is a game that those on the outside cannot fully comprehend. An entire season, everything every year, comes down to that one game for both teams. An 11-1 season at Ohio State is a losing season if they lose to Michigan. This year’s November classic was the biggest, most significant, in the history of that great rivalry. It is true, for many of us, the BCS Championship seems like something of an afterthought when held in the light of this year’s Ohio State/Michigan contest. For Coach Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes, however, this team will be ready. The films have been studied, the plays rehearsed, the battle plan secured. Most importantly, the Buckeyes will be mentally prepared for the crowing achievement of one of the greatest seasons in not only Ohio State history but in the history of college football.
So run the analysis, play out the simulations, debate the stats, Ohio State fans are bold and confident for a reason. Today’s Ohio State is about character, it is about pride, it is about tradition. And on Monday, it will be about our eighth national championship title.
posted by NCAA Football at 8:59 AM
5 Comments:
It's going to be a great game! What do you Florida fans think will happen? Add a comment or if you want to contribute to the blog, send me your post. Remember to keep it clean and share your love of the game!
I think, that it will be hard game, but there can be only one wnner - Buckeyes :)
www.wokoldomu.pl
Wokoldomu, I agree that it will be a hard game, but I gotta go with Florida on this one. I think Florida will keep it close enough for them to win it out on Special Teams like they did against South Carolina. Im not a Florida fan by any means, but I gotta root for the home state. If they win, then the Florida schools will be 4-0 in this season's bowl season
Trick plays may work for Boise but I think that is all Florida will be able to bring to the table.
The Bucks will be ready.
And a quick report from Phoenix. The crowd in Tempe last night was all Scarlet and Gray. There were a couple of Florida fans, more than Miami brought back in '03, but they were few and far between.
The crowd factor may be big. Think The Shoe, west campus, just a little bit smaller and a little bit warmer.
Go Bucks!
Im sure the Buckeye fans were deep in Phoenix, but I still got faith that Florida will pull it out at the end.
Post a Comment
<< Home