Worthington hopes to help end Buckeyes' streak
By Steve Ramirez, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/29/2009
LOS ANGELES - Doug Worthington has heard the talk.
He's listened to the sports radio pundits, and the chatter is usually the same.
It centers how teams from the Big Ten, particularly Ohio State, can't win the big game and have watched faster-paced, more-athletic offenses from other conferences pass them by.
The Buckeyes, who have averaged 10 wins a year since 2001 and won a Bowl Championship Series title in 2002, have lost their past three BCS bowl games, and are 0-5 in recent high-profile matchups, also losing to USC the past two years.
Worthington, a key member of an Ohio State defense that ranks among the national leaders in points allowed and takeaways, also knows their is only one way to bring them all to a silence - beat Oregon and win the 96th Rose Bowl on Friday.
"There's a little more pressure to this game," said the defensive tackle, who is also part of an Ohio State senior class which can set a school record for most career wins by getting their 44th on New Year's Day. "It's a very competitive game, against a great team and on a big stage that we need to win.
"It gets a little discouraging when you hear all that stuff (about their record in high-profile games). But we haven't gotten the job done, and it's something you think about. At the end of the day, you can't dwell on it. You can't get too high or too low for any game, whether it was the loss in these BCS games, the loss to USC or the loss to Purdue.
