Rose Bowl: #8 Ohio State (10-2) vs. #7 Oregon (10-2), 5:00 PM ET/4:00 CT, ABC

[VolsSportsFan]

get ready for the Terelle Pryor media onslaught

Mushburger is about as giddy as I've heard him in a while. Of course it's hard to tell, he sucks up to whoever is big time in whatever game he's calling.

 

[The Dude]

With an Oregon grad in my office, nice to see the Ducks lose.

The OSU fans doing the Seven Nation Army cheer is beyond copy-catish at this point.

 

[milohimself]

Sports teams from my state are incapable of winning big-time games. I'm certain of it.

 

[Ohio Vol]

Geez....next year is going to be murder watching OSU games, because Pryor is the new Tebow. The man love and hype for him is going to break the gag meter.

I thought we'd get a break from the man crushes with Tebow leaving but I guess that was too much to ask for.

The biggest difference is that Pryor is an *******.

 

[tvolsfan]

He also isn't that good. Maybe he can improve like Vince Young.

 

[VolBuck24]

Pryor did play well today though.

 

[milohimself]

He did. Kid can run. He's built like a 6'6" running back.

Since we're playing the Ducks next year, anybody have any thoughts on what we're up against? A fair amount of their LB and secondary will be gone, but they're basically returning the whole offense, except Blount and Dickson. I'd expect the o-line, which was probably the greenest o-line in college going into the season, to be hitting the weights hard this offseason and get significantly larger.

 

[buckeyevol23]

I said a month ago OSU would win this. I knew their D would be able to contain Oregon's offense. They would've won by more if not for the awful kick and punt coverage and returns. Having Ray Small out definitely hurt. Tressel really impressed me with his gameplan and playcalling. He didn't keep Pryor in the pocket and had confidence in his passing on 3rd downs. Depending on who leaves early on defense, OSU should be legit next year.

 

[tvolsfan]

People underrate Tressel's big game coaching ability.

 

[tvolsfan]

I said a month ago OSU would win this. I knew their D would be able to contain Oregon's offense. They would've won by more if not for the awful kick and punt coverage and returns. Having Ray Small out definitely hurt. Tressel really impressed me with his gameplan and playcalling. He didn't keep Pryor in the pocket and had confidence in his passing on 3rd downs. Depending on who leaves early on defense, OSU should be legit next year.

OSU will be good, but they won't be the best. I'm glad OSU won yesterday, but they still didn't look that special throughout this year.

 

[buckeyevol23]

OSU will be good, but they won't be the best. I'm glad OSU won yesterday, but they still didn't look that special throughout this year.

Yesterday was the best their offense looked all year. If they can carry it over to next year, which I think they will since they're starting mostly soph and jr players, they'll be a top 5 team. Their D was great all season and will be again next year depending on who returns out of Heyward, Gibson, and Chekwa.

Not sure who will be much of a challenge in the Big Ten next year. PSU loses Clark, Iowa will be alright, Wisconsin could be tough, and UM is still probably another year away. They also get the Canes at home.

 

[tvolsfan]

Next year could be another year of losing to an SEC team in the title game.

 

[buckeyevol23]

Ha possibly but they'll be more talented than the 07 team and, if they make it that far, more focused than the 06 one.

 

[BellottiBold]

We lose safety TJ Ward, but he was overshadowed a number of times this year by freshman John Boyett. We also lose CB Walter Thurmond III, but as you probably know, he hasn't played since the 3rd game of the season due to injury. We will lose DE Will Tukuafu, and that's about the only significant loss to our defense. Our linebackers are returning, and we're actually much deeper there than you think.

Offensively we'll lose TE Ed Dickson, but we're kind of stacked at the position right now, and as you know Blount didn't figure all that largely once he made his return to the field.

We were very young this year.
And we'll be back, hungrier, and more focused.

Since we're playing the Ducks next year, anybody have any thoughts on what we're up against? A fair amount of their LB and secondary will be gone, but they're basically returning the whole offense, except Blount and Dickson. I'd expect the o-line, which was probably the greenest o-line in college going into the season, to be hitting the weights hard this offseason and get significantly larger.