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.