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.



Four-letter acronym for hypocrisy.....

I'm sure that I am not the first person who is confused by the hypocrisy of the NCAA, and neither will I be the last one.  A lot of sports analysts are on the offensive as well, in the wake of the recent suspensions handed out to six Ohio State players who traded autographs for tattoos, and for selling other memorabilia as well.  Among the five players suspended include, QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Dan Herron and WR DeVier Posey.


They have been ordered to repay back anywhere between $1,500-$2,500 and will miss the first five games of the 2011 season.  Here's the kicker though; they have been allowed  to play in the 2011 Sugar Bowl against Arkansas because according to the NCAA, they were not "properly educated" on the rules regarding their "amateur" status.  And there lies the rub.


Give me a break!!  I wouldn't buy this excuse for even half the price!  So these players won't play the first five games of next season, but they're allowed to play in their bowl game, despite their infractions?  Ohio State's first five games of next season are: Akron, Toledo, Miami (FL), Colorado, Michigan State; except for the Miami game, the rest of the fixtures will be in Columbus, OH.  The Buckeyes might go 4-1 at the very least on that schedule; otherwise, it's a sweep.  Another thing to consider is that these players are eligible for the NFL draft, so don't be surprised if they make the jump to the NFL and skip their punishment altogether.


No disrespect to Arkansas, who very much deserves to be in the Sugar Bowl.  They pushed Alabama to the wire, traded blows with Auburn, beat South Carolina convincingly (in Columbia, SC too; and this was the same Carolina team that played for the SEC title), and they beat a great LSU team.  Once again, no disrespect to Arkansas, but it's Ohio State that is the bigger draw in this match-up.  An Ohio State without it's star quarterback, running back and receiver isn't exactly good for ratings.  Do the math and get back to me.


This is probably the same reason that Cameron Newton will lead Auburn into the national championship game, despite being the subject of a "pay-for-play" deal orchestrated by his father.  In Cam's case, he claimed that "he didn't know" his father was trying to auction him off to the highest bidder.  I'm not accusing Newton of anything here, but please, try and tell me that Auburn would have beat South Carolina in the SEC title game had Newton been declared ineligible.


Earlier in the season, Georgia receiver A.J. Green was suspended for the first 4 games after he admitted to selling his jersey from last year's Independence Bowl.  North Carolina started the season with 12 players suspended for various school/NCAA violations.  Last year, Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant was suspended for the remainder of the season, because he lied about having met with an agent.  Dez did not take any money or sign any contracts, so I was thinking that maybe a two-game suspension might suffice.  In another case, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, was forced to miss the 2004 Alamo Bowl and the first game of the 2005 season after it was discovered that he took $500 from a booster.


I hope you can understand why I'm confused.  Don't get me wrong, because I'm not condoning what either of these guys did.  What I'm failing to understand here is why some players got punished right away, while the current group of Ohio State players don't get punished at all?  I could sit here and scratch my head all day long, and still won't get it.

I'm going to let ya'll mess with this one; I'm folding!!