Ohio State - Oregon

Rose Bowl January 1, 4:30pm Pasadena, CA

Ohio State (10-2) ____________ Big10 __________ 335.31 ____ YPG = 364.8 (101%) PPG = 29.3 (125%) __________dYPG = 262.5 (71%) → -14% _________dPPG = 12.2 (45%) → -39% ____ Wk Opponent oPts Score 1 Navy 127.84 W, 31-27 2 USC 227.93 L, 15-18 3 Toledo -151.64 W, 38-0 4 Illinois -190.53 W, 30-0 5 Indiana -166.84 W, 33-14 6 Wisconsin 189.12 W, 31-13 7 Purdue -27.94 L, 18-26 8 Minnesota 7.50 W, 38-7 9 New Mexico St -332.96 W, 45-0 10 Penn St 256.10 W, 24-7 11 Iowa 322.42 W, 27-24 12 Michigan -106.70 W, 21-10

Oregon (10-2) _____________ Pac10 _________ 385.85 ____ +18% ← YPG = 424.5 (119%)___________ +37% ← PPG = 37.7 (162%)___________ dYPG = 329.7 (85%) dPPG = 23.6 (84%) ____ Wk Opponent oPts Score 1 Boise St 441.42 L, 8-19 2 Purdue -27.94 W, 38-36 3 Utah 174.96 W, 31-24 4 California 176.17 W, 42-3 5 Washington St -302.11 W, 52-6 6 UCLA 37.15 W, 24-10 8 Washington 19.13 W, 43-19 9 USC 227.93 W, 47-20 10 Stanford 199.79 L, 42-51 11 Arizona St -109.63 W, 44-21 12 Arizona 236.36 W, 44-41 14 Oregon St 189.28 W, 37-33

This would be a big win for the Bucks after all of the past bowl disappointments. They probably have a better shot in this one than any of them, but they'll have their hands full with an explosive Duck offense. Oregon has played a bit tougher of a schedule and has better losses, but Ohio State has better wins over Iowa & Penn State. This one could be a classic.

The Line: Ohio State +4.5

The Call: Oregon wins, but Ohio State covers the spread

The Result: Ohio State 26-17

And thus the Buckeyes bowl drought is over. Things obviously didn't go the way the Ducks wanted them too - the Bucks D was stellar, and the offense held the ball for over 40 minutes. Even with Oregon's quick-strike offense, less than 20 minutes on the field just isn't enough time. Ohio State came ready to play, Tressel had a gameplan that put his team in place to succeed, and they executed. Well done. Whether or not it exercises the demons remains to be seen... more on that in a week.