Rose Bowl Game
The Florida State win streak is over, and it was ended by Oregon in the most emphatic manner imaginable. I had a feeling the Ducks would win in the end, but to see them absolutely trounce the defending National Champion Seminoles 59-20 in Pasadena was nothing short of spectacular – unless you’re a Florida State fan. And if you’re a Buckeye fan, the Ducks effort was an ominous one.
Whilst the red-hot Oregon offense, led by Heisman Trophy winning QB Marcus Mariota, will get plenty of press in the coming days, the Ducks defense played to as high a standard as the offense, forcing five turnovers in perhaps the best performance we’ve ever seen from an Oregon defense.
It was the Oregon D that blew the game right open. A narrow 18-13 Oregon lead at the half turned into a complete avalanche in the second half, and it was largely thanks to the Ducks on the other side of the football. Man, did they pick the right day and the right stage to turn it on, turning Oregon into a team with a great offense and a potentially great defense into a team whose offensive and defense are both humming along. Yes, they gave up a lot of yards, but they stiffened when it was necessary, and Florida State had few answers.
Mariota finished 26-36 for 338 yards and two touchdowns passing, and added 70 yards and a score on the ground. It was the powerful performance we expected.
Conversely, Florida State’s Jameis Winston wasn’t nearly good enough what he needed to be, and he clashed verbally with coaches on the FSU sideline. Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner threw only one touchdown amongst his 348 yards passing, and committed a shocking fumble that the Ducks defense, sniffing blood in the water by then, gleefully returned to the house for a defensive score.
That was about the end of the game. Oregon scored 41 second-half points. They scored the most points in Rose Bowl history. They trampled their opponents.
At least Winston managed to stay on the field to shake the hands of the Oregon players after the game. Too many of his spoilt teammates didn’t. Scenes of Seminoles players streaming up the tunnel as the clock ticked down to zero will cast something of a shadow over the game, in a shocking display of sportsmanship.
Oregon deserve every plaudit they’ll receive in the next few days, for their Rose Bowl effort was about as complete a game of football as we’ve seen all season.
Sugar Bowl
Did anyone see this coming? I defy you to admit that you had Ohio State, controversial fourth-ranked inclusion in the playoff, beating Alabama, the most dominant team in college football the past half-decade! Outside of Ohio – or maybe just outside the city of Columbus, Ohio – there weren’t many people who believed in the Buckeyes. I was amongst them.
Yet the Buckeyes are the victors, beating a ten-point favourite Crimson Tide 42-35 in shocking circumstances, on big plays – a 13-yard touchdown pass from receiver Evan Spencer, a 41-yard interception return by lumbering defensive lineman Steve Miller, a 47-yard touchdown pass from QB Cardale Jones to Devin Smith and an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown run of 85 yards amongst a Sugar Bowl record of 230 yards on just 20 carries, and the Buckeyes executed a successful two-point conversion, as well – against a team that just doesn’t give up big plays.
The incredible thing is that the Buckeyes are doing this with their third string quarterback, and Jones seemed to get better as the game went on, running and throwing with supremacy, despite many – myself included – thinking that he wouldn’t be able to stand up against a Saban defense with the best part of a month to prepare, a Saban defense ready to throw everything including the kitchen sink at him. In that context, it was an even more improbable and impressive effort.
Jones was 18-35 for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and absolutely excelled on third down, passing and running against a Crimson Tide defense that didn’t seem to be able to stop him. Ohio State were an impressive 10-18 on third down. How about Alabama? 2-13, which is just about a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
Third down was the major difference in the game, and why so many Crimson Tide fans are currently besieging Alabama sports-talk radio demanding that offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin be fired. It’s interesting that the Tide went away from the run game for almost all of the second half, despite the obvious influence Derrick Henry was having on the contest. Kiffin has always been a controversial figure, and the loss to Ohio State won’t help him on that front! It was a strange game from the Tide. Some things were just…off. And it cost them.
Tremendous performance by the Buckeyes. Of course, they’ll go into the National Championship Game underdogs against Oregon, but they were underdogs against the Crimson Tide and look what happened! You’d be brave to bet against a team that obviously has an incredible amount of faith and belief.
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