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Game Thread Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20 (final)

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barlow1802 said:
i keep seeing Notre Dame and USC over and over and then how everyone thinks this game will be a cakewalk. We are more talented than penn state. We are more talented than notre dame. I know pittman has emereged and troy has picked it up but I cant believe people are saying they were more concerned with okie light last year than a charlie weis coached notre dame.

They havnt beat anyone worth note. Then again, who have we beat worth note? They came up short against USC and we did the same against Texas. I hope everyones right and I can relax and than enjoy the night on the 2nd, but I hope AJ and co. aren't taking ND as lightly as most people I've talked too.
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I completely agree. It's hard for me to expect a cakewalk in this one. I thought OSU played well against Michigan and it still took 2 awesome game on the line drives to win. Yes, key fumbles made it closer than it probably should have been but that has been the rule with this team rather than the exception.
 
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Posted on Fri, Dec. 09, 2005
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Focus on Irish QB, but Buckeyes' Smith has record to match

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[SIZE=-1]JOE DANBORN[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=-1]Associated Press[/SIZE]
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<!-- begin body-content -->COLUMBUS, Ohio - Quarterbacks Troy Smith and Brady Quinn will bring teams with Top 5 rankings and matching 9-2 records into the Fiesta Bowl, but everybody's focused on Quinn.
Even Smith.
"He makes plays when he has to, when he runs. He's pretty much the complete package," Smith said Friday of his Fighting Irish counterpart, who blossomed this year under first-year coach Charlie Weis.
The influence that Weis - the offensive guru behind the New England Patriots' recent Super Bowl campaigns - has on Quinn is lost on no one. What qualities does Buckeyes cornerback Ashton Youboty see in Quinn?
"I see Charlie Weis calling the plays," the junior said. "That can't ever hurt you."
Youboty didn't mean to come off harsh. He just thinks, like everyone else, that Quinn and Weis are a good fit.
"I'm really not surprised that he has progressed into one of the better quarterbacks in the country," said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who heavily recruited Quinn, a prep player in the Columbus area.
"He's led his team to nine wins. To me, that's what quarterbacking is about: winning," he said.
Tressel's players are paying attention as they prepare for the Jan. 2 meeting in Tempe, Ariz.
"Brady Quinn, he's trying to make a run for the Heisman for next year," said Donte Whitner, the Buckeyes' other corner. "That's what he's going to try to do, but we can't really let him do that. He's going to try to come out like Vince Young did last year against Michigan."
The Texas signal-caller posted four rushing touchdowns to carry the Longhorns to a dramatic win over Michigan in last year's Rose Bowl and set himself up for a Heisman run this year.
Smith, a junior, isn't a Heisman threat just yet. But Tressel said he's been a standout this season, with a newly honed killer instinct - just like Quinn. Tressel and others at the Buckeyes' workout Friday were still buzzing over Smith's long pass to Anthony Gonzalez in last month's game-winning drive at Michigan, a play set up when Smith started to run, then pulled up.
"I think it is an example that he's got more confidence, and perhaps (that) he's in charge out there, and while he's got the ball, you better defend the run and the pass," Tressel said.
Smith sees at least one key similarity between himself and Quinn: "He's leading a school with great tradition, and so am I."
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Irish receive 45,589 requests for Fiesta Bowl tickets

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<!-- begin text11 div --><!-- begin leftcol --> <!-- template inline --> SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame has received 45,589 ticket requests for the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State, which school officials believe is the most they've ever received.
John Heisler, senior associate athletic director, said the school doesn't have records for ticket demand for all 26 bowls the Fighting Irish have been to, but no one can remember such demand.
By comparison, when the Irish went to the Fiesta Bowl following the 2000 season, the school received 22,000 ticket requests.
Fewer than 12,500 tickets are available for alumni, season ticket holders, students' parents, faculty and staff. The school was allotted 15,000 tickets, and 2,500 were sold to students last week. Some of the tickets also will go to university officials.
 
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Taosman said:
When students see how much their tickets will bring on ebay, there will be a large sell! :biggrin:
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My son received a ticket voucher in the student lottery. His name is on the voucher. In order for him to receive his game ticket, he must produce his ticket voucher with his student ID at Sun Devil Stadium. That is going to effectively eliminate student ticket sales on ebay by OSU students.
 
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Not sure if this has been posted yet. I don't think it affects them hardly at all but its note-worthy.

Powers-Neal who was once believed by some to become eligble for the feista bowl will in fact not...

"Powers-Neal, who last month pleaded guilty to those DUI charges in Minnesota, recently told the South Bend Tribune that his university-imposed suspension would end Dec. 7. "What had come out earlier was a miscommunication," Weis said. "He was done for the semester and there was nothing I could do about that." Powers-Neal has been replaced as the Irish's short-yardage back by Travis Thomas."
 
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DDN

12/13
Fiesta Bowl happy to again land OSU By Doug Harris
Dayton Daily News
COLUMBUS | Fiesta Bowl president John Junker went before Congress recently to defend college football's postseason system, not to answer the burning question on the minds of many.

<!--endtext-->
  • 6 — Florida State
  • 4 — Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Southern Cal
  • 3 — Florida, Michigan
  • 2 — Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
  • 1 — Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas State, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Stanford, Syracuse, Texas A&M, UCLA, Utah, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia
  • Note — The four major bowls — Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta — formed the BCS in 1998 to create a national championship game that is rotated between those bowls every four years.
<!-- inset --> <!--begintext--> If the lawmakers had wanted to press him on which teams he would have picked for his game if Notre Dame and Ohio State hadn't become automatic BCS qualifiers, Junker would have pulled a Mark McGwire.
"Who knows?" Junker said when asked whether Oregon or someone else could have wiggled its way into the mix. "It's all speculation. Who knows what anybody would have done?"
But one thing is clear: The Akron native is glad the decision was taken out of his hands.
"At all the contending universities, we felt personal attachments to nearly all the people," he said. "That's the hard thing. It's hard to tell a friend, 'No, thank you.' And it's even harder to tell the 90 to 110 players, 'You did a great job in everything you do, but, sorry, you don't fit into our plans.'
"Selection day and the days leading up to it are very tough days."
But the hand-wringing is over for Junker and his cohorts. After drawing the short straw last year and getting stuck with a Utah-Pittsburgh dud, the crew in those canary-yellow jackets has assembled a matchup that's almost as juicy as the national-title clash.
Notre Dame is the only school with enough clout to command its own network-TV deal, and its resurgence is one of the top story lines in sports this year.
And Ohio State, which is making its sixth major-bowl appearance in the past 10 years — the second-best clip in the nation behind Florida State's eight — is a marquee name, too.
The Buckeyes have collected five undisputed national titles and six Heisman trophies, while the Irish claim 11 crowns and have picked up seven Heismans. But the teams have met just four times, ND winning in 1935 and '36 and OSU prevailing in 1995 and '96.
"This matchup is just lighting up people nationally because they're so excited about the renewal of the rivalry," Junker said. "This is what bowl games are all about — getting games you don't see in the regular season.
"It was one of the games on our list that evoked tremendous enthusiasm and reaction when we did our research. It will be a great national championship game (between Southern Cal and Texas), but this game takes its place right up next to it."
The Buckeyes (9-2) will be making their third trip to the Fiesta Bowl in four years, which would be a turn-off under ordinary circumstances. But after a 3-2 start this season, coach Jim Tressel & Co. would have gone to Ann Arbor for a week to play in a big-ticket bowl.
The players were even eager to revisit their Tempe, Ariz., headquarters: the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, a five-star resort with four heated swimming pools.
"We're going to be calling them shortly making sure they have the volleyball net set up so we can have our pool volleyball games again," senior center Nick Mangold said. "I'll be the first one in the pool."
So much for the adage about familiarity breeding contempt.
"That was one of our concerns. We asked, 'Hey, are you sure your guys are OK with this?' " Junker said. "Coach (Tressel) was extremely supportive and heard good things from his senior leadership.
"The freshmen and sophomores will have other chances. But for the seniors, this will be it. They're going to be known as the Fiesta Bowl class for a long time."
 
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We need to pound the football down thier throat. We need to control the clock the whole game. We didn't do that against Texas. If we would of, they would of only scored 17 points at the most. Our Defense need to make big plays and pressure Brady Quinn. We should shut these guys out!!!

Yes I'm only 16 years old and I love football!!! :osu:
 
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lilaldawg said:
We need to pound the football down thier throat. We need to control the clock the whole game. We didn't do that against Texas. If we would of, they would of only scored 17 points at the most. Our Defense need to make big plays and pressure Brady Quinn. We should shut these guys out!!!

Yes I'm only 16 years old and I love football!!! :osu:
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Well we won't shut them out. ND's offense is just too good. It's would've(would have), not would of. Other than those two things I like your enthusiasm. :cool:

I was under the impression that our offensive improvement was due to playing weaker defenses, and not because we had actually improved, until The Game. Our offense was never stopped by the weasels. They were only stopped by their own mistakes. With the preparation that we have typically had for bowl games, under Tressel. I don't believe that we will have the same mistakes holding us back in the Fiesta Bowl. I don't know if it will be a blowout, but I don't think that we will win by fewer than ten points either.
 
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Def said:
I completely agree. It's hard for me to expect a cakewalk in this one. I thought OSU played well against Michigan and it still took 2 awesome game on the line drives to win. Yes, key fumbles made it closer than it probably should have been but that has been the rule with this team rather than the exception.
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No problem boys. Look who's on our side :)

pope.jpg
 
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12/14/05

Posted on Wed, Dec. 14, 2005
Ohio State football

A commanding Smith set for first bowl start

Buckeyes quarterback puts last year's mistake, suspension behind him

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->COLUMBUS - A year ago, Troy Smith underestimated the fallout his big mistake would bring.
Ohio State's starting quarterback was suspended before the Buckeyes faced Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl. It later came to light Smith had taken $500 from a booster, an NCAA violation that also forced him to sit out the 2005 season opener against Miami University. Backup quarterback Justin Zwick led the bowl victory.
Smith was coming off the greatest game of his career, amassing 386 yards total offense against Michigan. He went from being a star to a pariah in an instant, joining Steve Bellisari as OSU signal-callers who let their teammates down.
There is a slight feeling of deja vu now. Smith reprised his amazing effort against the Wolverines, totalling 337 yards rushing and passing to lead Ohio State to a 25-21 victory Nov. 19 in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes (9-2) depart Dec. 26 for a Jan. 2 BCS matchup with Notre Dame (9-2) in the Fiesta Bowl.
This might be time for coach Jim Tressel to worry. Finals were completed last week. Practice runs through Dec. 19 before the Buckeyes leave for Christmas break. Temptations always lurk.
But Smith, 21, seems to have matured this season both as a player and a person. He credits the Buckeye coaching staff, especially the meeting they had after he ran afoul of the NCAA.
``We had a meeting about things on the field and off the field. It's the game of life,'' Smith said last week. ``They told me some great things that helped me out and helped me become the person I am now.''
He wouldn't divulge what was said, but acknowledged that part of it centered on his responsibility to his teammates.
``You have an understanding that it's not just you in anything you do,'' he said.
As Smith prepares to start his first bowlgame, the key play at Michigan also served as an indicator of how far the junior from Glenville High School has come in the past 12 months.
On first-and-10 from the Wolverine 30 in the final minute, Smith stepped up and looked like he was going to run. Instead Smith lofted a pass to receiver Anthony Gonzalez, whose acrobatic catch for a 26-yard gain set up Antonio Pittman's game-winning touchdown run.
Tressel agreed that play was a sign of Smith's development.
``Yeah, I think he's aware of what stepping up and running can do to the defense,'' Tressel said. ``And I think he's also aware of what it can do if he steps up and all of a sudden he distorts where (he's) going. It's an example that he's got more confidence that perhaps he's in charge. While he's got the ball, you'd better defend the run and the pass.''
Smith says he should have thrown the pass harder so Gonzalez ``would have had a chance to run under it and get into the end zone as opposed to jumping over the guy.''
But asked if he would have taken off on that play in 2004, Smith said: ``I don't know. That's a year ago.''
Smith seemed to elevate his play after an Oct. 8 loss at Penn State. He threw for 226 or more yards in five of the last six games, 300 against Michigan, after not breaking 191 yards in his first four. He tossed just two interceptions in the final six games, spanning 128 attempts.
Tressel said Smith has shown ``marked improvement in the command of the job.'' But Tressel disagrees with the perception that after his finest hour against Michigan in 2004, Smith was in a slump early in the year.
``As I've listened to questioning I've felt people thought he had a little plateau and regression and then back up and I don't know that I would read it that way,'' Tressel said. ``I think he was further (ahead) at the beginning of this year than he was at the end of last year.''
Smith didn't agree, saying he didn't feel right until the middle of this season. But even then, he might not feel like the old Troy Smith.
Now Smith talks with Tressel all the time. At least on the surface, Smith seems to realize the error of his ways and what Tressel can do to help him.
``He's on my speed dial and I'm sure I'm on his,'' Smith said of Tressel. ``I pretty much have an understanding that football is not forever. When you have a chance to become better as a man you capitalize on it. Who else better to groom me than Coach Tressel?''
But while he accepts Tressel's direction, Smith doesn't seem eager to bury his past transgressions.
``I don't regret anything that's happened because it's helped me become who I am,'' he said.
Click to expand...
 
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