National Championship

Buckeyes Win the National Championship

A Historic Achievement

Before this season even began, Ohio State was dealt a truckload of adversity.  Two time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year Braxton Miller blew out his shoulder in practice 10 days before the 1st game of the season.  The Buckeyes would have to go through the rigors of an entire season without their star quarterback.  Most analysts, and even I, had a hard time imagining the Buckeyes accomplishing the lofty goals they had in mind.  

2nd-string quarterback J.T. Barrett was thrust into the spotlight and played well enough in his first game to help his team to a victory over Navy.  But everything seemed to come apart in their 2nd game against Virginia Tech.  The offensive line was inexperienced and allowed Barrett to be sacked 7 times.  Only 9 of Barrett's 29 passes were completed and he also threw 3 interceptions.  The Buckeyes defense played no better.  The final score was Virginia Tech 35, Ohio State 21, which was made even more embarrassing by the fact that it was in Columbus in front of thousands of Buckeyes fans.

Most people, especially me, thought there was no hope for a national championship now. However, with the new College Football Playoff system the top 4 teams, not just the top 2, would make it into the playoffs.  Ohio State would have to greatly improve to snag the 4th spot, though.

But improve they most certainly did.  Quietly, quarter by quarter and game by game, the Buckeyes got better both offensively and defensively.   The linebackers and defensive lineman started causing havoc in the backfield.  The defensive backs started to be great in pass coverage.  The offensive line started to provide excellent protection to the quarterback.  Most importantly, J.T. Barrett gradually became a smart and efficient passer who racked up numbers that began to earn him Heisman consideration.  Not including a overtime win over Penn State, Ohio State blew through most of their conference schedule and had a record of 10-1 through 11 games.  

However, in the final regular season game against arch-rival Michigan, the Buckeyes would suffer another heartbreaking injury.  On the first play of the 4th quarter, Barrett ran to the right but was tackled hard.  He never got up on his own two feet, as he had to be carted off the field with a broken ankle.  The Buckeyes managed to win the game, but, yet again, they had to replace their starting quarterback.

The mantle of leading the team fell to sophomore Cardale Jones, a 6' 5'' 250 pound bulldozer with a cannon for an arm.  He would greatly exceed expectations.

Ohio State's undefeated conference record earned them a spot in the Big 10 Championship Game against Wisconsin.  Analysts predicted that the Buckeyes would have to rely on their run game which would be outmatched by Wisconsin's Heisman finalist running back Melvin Gordon.  But Ohio State defied the odds.  Their defense ran on all cylinders, shutting down Gordon.  On the other side of the ball, quarterback Cardale Jones and running back Ezekiel Elliot fueled the offense which put up 59 points.  The final score: 59 to zero.  The magnitude of that win vaulted the Buckeyes into the # 4 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings.

In the playoff semifinals, Ohio State had to go up against the mean football Goliath known as Alabama.  The Buckeyes were 7 points underdogs, but once again they proved the doubters wrong. Jones and Elliot were dynamite for the 2nd game in a row, and Ohio State upset Alabama 42-35.

Then in the College Football Championship Game against Oregon, the Buckeyes were again the underdogs.  I guess nobody learned anything yet!

However, on their first drive of the game the Ducks flew down the field in just over 2 1/2 minutes for a touchdown.  Then on their first drive, the Buckeyes had to punt.  It was looking scary at that point. But the Buckeyes calmed their fans by stepping up on defense. They learned from their mistakes and forced an Oregon punt after just 4 plays.  Like clockwork, Jones and Elliot began doing what they do best: racking up yardage.

3/4 of the way through the 2nd quarter, Ohio State was up by a score of 21-7.  Oregon missed a chance to score a touchdown just before the half and had to settle for a field goal.

The 2nd half started out great for the Ducks, as the Buckeyes committed two sloppy turnovers.  Oregon got a touchdown one play after the first, and then got the ball deep in Ohio State territory after the other.  Once again, however, the Buckeyes wouldn't let the Ducks get a touchdown and so the Ducks kicked another field goal (21-20).

The momentum of the game shifted again as Ohio State offense shook off the earlier mistakes and began tightening their grip on the College Football Playoff Championship Trophy.  The Buckeyes kept giving the ball to Ezekiel Elliot who ran his way to 3 touchdowns in the last quarter and a half.

The Ohio State went back to shutting down the usually high-scoring Oregon offense.  As the clock struck zero the Buckeyes had won 42-20 and celebrated wildly as golden confetti blasted into the air.

Cardale Jones finished with 242 passing yards and 1 touchdown plus another touchdown on the ground.  Not to be outdone, Ezekiel Elliot dashed his way to 246 yards and 4 touchdowns, both championship records!

The fact that the Buckeyes won a championship with their 3rd-string quarterback is truly incredible. And it probably won't happen again for a long time.

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The College Football season is over, but another one is coming in a little over 7 months. Until then, this is Jonathan Fry signing off.

College Football Playoff Semifinals

College Football Playoff Semifinals

Oregon Ducks vs. Florida State Seminoles

It's About Time

The Seminoles came into this game undefeated through 13 games.  However, they had fallen behind teams they should have dominated in each of their last 6 games, only to mount a successful comeback.  Unfortunately, none of their opponents could stick their foot in the ground and defeat these playoff pretenders.  Through all of this the Seminoles had dropped from #1 to #3 in the College Football Playoff ranking with teams with 1 loss jumping over them.  Their lower ranking would be more than justified in this game.

The 1st half was a back-and-forth affair, with Oregon holding onto a slim 18-13 lead at halftime. Florida State got the ball first in the 2nd half and would have a chance to take their first lead of the game.  On 2nd and 10 in Oregon territory, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook sprinted forward 10 yards but then Oregon linebacker Derrick Malone ripped the ball out of his hands and recovered the loose ball.  3 passes by Oregon's Heisman winning quarterback Marcus Mariota and 2 runs by running back Royce Freeman got the Ducks' another touchdown and lengthened their lead to 25-13.

On their next possession, the Seminoles managed to hold onto the football and scored a touchdown on a 10 play drive.  But the Ducks' offense was far from finished.  2 runs by running back Thomas Tyner (pictured below) and two passes by Mariota got the ball close to midfield.  Then on the 5th play of the drive, Mariota, and he had many times before, ran away from the pass rush and found a wide open receiver, this time being Darren Carrington, who caught the ball and ran the rest of the way for a long touchdown.        

Once again down by 2 touchdowns, the Seminoles frantically tried to put together another touchdown drive.  However, Dalvin Cook's not so firm grip once again hurt resulted in another turnover.  After he caught a 15 yard reception, the ball was knocked out of his hands again by an Oregon defender and recovered by the Ducks.  2 plays later Mariota fired another long pass to Carrington who caught it for the touchdown.  The Ducks had built a 39-20 lead and now the Seminoles were getting desperate.  On a 4th and 5 in Oregon territory, Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston, who has had numerous major off the field issues, finally made a stupid move on the field.  He dropped back to pass, had plenty of time to throw but couldn't find an open receiver.  He scrambled backwards, but then decided to run forward, at which time his foot slipped.  His arm flung backwards and since he only had one hand on the football at the time, he lost his grip the ball sailed awkwardly into the air. (see below)

Winston could only watch helplessly as his unforced fumble was scooped up by Oregon linebacker Tony Washington and returned 58 yards for a touchdown. (below)

The result of the game was assured after this blunder for the ages.  To make matters worse for Florida State, Oregon would add two more touchdowns and turn the first-ever College Football Playoff semifinal into a 59-20 rout.  After the Ducks' high-flying performance finally ended the Seminoles quest for a second national title, I only have one thing to say: "It's About Time!!"

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

A Glorious Day

For the second game in a row, Ohio State was labeled as the underdog.  Quarterback Cardale Jones was making only the 2nd start of his career, so surely Alabama would be able to win easily, right? WRONG!!

Through the first quarter and a half, however, it seemed Alabama was going to win easily.  After a couple of turnovers and two failed chances to get touchdowns in the redzone, the Buckeyes found themselves trailing 6-21.  Then, with 8 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, the Buckeyes' offense began to get into gear.  2 passes by Jones converted 2 key third-down conversions in the drive which was capped off by a 3 yard plunge by underrated Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliot.  With just under 3 minutes remaining in the half the Alabama offense got the ball but was forced into a timely three-and-out by a stingy Ohio State defense.

With only a minute and a half left to score, Jones and the Buckeyes' offense kicked their play up another notch.  3 pass completions and an impressive run up the middle (see above) by Jones, Ohio State raced down to the Alabama 13 yard line.  Knowing his Buckeyes needed a touchdown, Head Coach Urban Meyer agreed to run a trick play.  Jones caught the shotgun snap, handed the ball off to Elliot who flipped it to wide receiver Evan Spencer running a reverse.  Spencer then threw a perfect pass into the endzone which was caught by fellow receiver Michael Thomas, who just barely got one foot in-bounds for the touchdown.  (see below)

Alabama held only a slim 21-20 lead at the half and that lead would soon vaporize.  The Buckeyes got the ball first in the 2nd half, and in only 6 plays took the lead on a touchdown pass from Jones to star receiver Devin Smith.  After trading punts, the Alabama offense started to move down the field again but would soon dig themselves a deeper hole.  In a rare defensive play call, Ohio State defensive lineman Steve Miller was told to drop back into coverage.  The unusual play call paid dividends as Crimson Tide quarterback Blake Sims threw an ill-advised pass seemingly right at Miller who caught the ball and returned it for a 41 yard defensive touchdown.

Alabama quickly responded with a 7 play touchdown drive that made the score Ohio State 34 Alabama 28.  Early in the final quarter, Ohio State was pinned back at their own 9 yard line by a exceptional punt by Alabama freshman punter J.K. Scott.  The Buckeyes went three-and-out and soon had to punt themselves.  A horrendous bounce on the punt gave Alabama a golden opportunity to take the lead, starting at the Ohio State 23 yard line.  However, on the next play, Sims threw another interception which would spell the beginning of the end for the Crimson Tide.  After two more punts, Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliot practically put the game away with a 85 yard run for yet another Buckeyes touchdown.

5 minutes of game time later, the Buckeyes ran onto the field to celebrate a second straight upset victory.  I was certainly cheering loudly too, as anyone would when their favorite team beats their least favorite team.  Combined, the Oregon and Ohio State victories made the first day of 2015 a glorious day.  

Don't forget to tune into the National Championship Game on Monday January 12 at 8:30 p.m on ESPN

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Oregon Ducks

Will Heisman winner Marcus Mariota lead Oregon to their first-ever National Championship or will Ohio State pull off yet another upset?

My pick: Ohio State (but an Oregon win would make me happy too)