Sugar coated truth.

Celebrating ill gotten gains.

Ohio State finally ended their 9 game losing streak in bowl games against SEC teams.  They can thank the NCAA, who allowed their five "suspended" players to particpate.  

The NCAA couldn't "contain" him, neither could Arkansas

Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams and Solomon Thomas were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, after they "promised" coach Jim Tressel that they would all return next season to serve their 5 game punishment that was levied by the NCAA.  I don't know about you, but that just doesn't sound right to me.  So as the story goes, Tressel asked whether he should punish them now, or punish them later.  If you were any of these players, what would you do?

So not only did they play, but they all impacted the outcome of the game.  Check this out;
Terrelle Pryor: 221 passing yards, 2 TDs and 115 rushing yards.
Dan Herron:  87 rushing yards, 1TD
DeVier Posey:  3 catches for 70 yards, 1TD
Solomon Thomas: The lesser known of the five, his interception won the game for the Buckeyes.

Solomon Thomas' game winning play

Granted, Arkansas still had to go there and play the game, but I would love for anyone to tell me that Ohio State would have won without their players.  We can't deny that they benefited from the preferential treatment handed to them by the NCAA and their head coach.  It's been said a thousand times before and I'll be happy to say it again; these guys should have never even made the trip to New Orleans.  So if there was anyone who really got punished, it was Arkansas.



Mallett couldn't catch a break all night long.

That being said, this was one of the better BCS games so far; we'll still have to wait and see how the Auburn-Oregon game turns out.  When Ohio State went up 28-7, I was tempted to write off any hopes Arkansas had of winning the game.  Football however is a game of 2 halves and the Razorbacks made a game of it and almost pulled off the win. 

They had more than enough chances to do so, but the Buckeyes played well defensively; constantly harassing Ryan Mallett.  Whenever his offensive line managed to hold up, his receivers didn't help him out at all.  I lost count on how many passes they dropped.  They couldn't have picked a bigger game or stage in which not to show up.  Mallett constantly hit them on the numbers but they couldn't come through. 

Probably the biggest mental error of the game, was when Colton Miles-Nash blocked a Buckeye punt and Julian Horton fell on the ball to recover it, when it seemed a lot easier to pick it up and run it in for the score that would have probably won the game for Arkansas.  Two plays later, Solomon Thomas picked off Mallett to clinch an epic victory for Ohio State.



Cameron Heyward had an MVP type performance

My personal MVP for the game was Ohio State defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.  He gave the Arkansas Offensive line fits.  I don't think either of the offensive linemen or Ryan Mallett will be forgetting him anytime soon.  Heyward was disruptive on just about every snap and I'm sure the pro scouts anticipate that he'll be doing the same at the next level; he will certainly be a first round pick, probably in the top ten.

After the game, the story turned to whether any of the "suspended" Ohio State players intended to honor their vow and return next season.  While they all acknowledged that they'll be back, I won't be surprised if "circumstances" change, "forcing" them to leave for the NFL.  Everybody plays the fool sometimes.