Buckeye fans are disappointed in losing yet again in another BCS bowl game but claim to take comfort in the close loss to Texas.

Was the game really that close or is it more likely that Texas was not too thrilled about being in Glendale?

Texas has a legitimate complaint about not being in the national title game. I’m sure that complaint was still ringing loudly in the minds of the Texas players when they took the field on Monday night. The truth is playing in the Fiesta Bowl was just about as interesting to Texas as a Christmas visit to Steubenville, Ohio.

Mack Brown somehow got a fired stirred up in his players at halftime and awakened them from their zombie-like first half play. Beanbag Wells was quickly shut down at the beginning of the second half and then mysteriously disappeared for the rest of the game. Chances are he was faking some injury to protect his NFL draft status a la Ted Ginn.

Texas definitely had a formula worked out for beating Ohio State. I hope Rich Rodriguez paid close attention.

1 – When Boeckman enters the game, let the dogs loose. Being no threat to run, Boeckman is a sitting duck in the pocket and usually makes mistakes under pressure. To his credit, Boeckman did hit a few nice passes – one or two of which may have been pretty lucky. Boeckman will be gone next year so that won’t help Rich Rod much.

2 – Pryor is a long, long way from becoming a legitimate passing threat. Apparently, his legs got him through high school football. I’m not sure if his running ability alone will get him through college ball. He’s one good hit away from being out for the season. His running ability alone will not get him to the NFL; that’s fo sho. Without Beanbag, Robiskie and Boeckman next year, Pryor is going to be under tremendous pressure to produce. Sayne and the other running backs are fairly ineffective. If Pryor remains one dimensional, look for teams not to respect the pass against Ohio State. Or look for teams to contain Pryor’s running and force him to pass. Chances are he won’t be able to come through.

3 – The hurry up offense killed Ohio State’s defense. I hope Rich Rod was paying attention to this as well. Buckeye players were often hunched over on their knees between plays as well as out of position time after time. Texas’ hurry up offense destroyed OSU’s defense. It appeared as if Ohio State players lounged on the couch for most of their Christmas and Thanksgiving breaks as they were clearly out of shape and ill-prepared.

4 – Let Ohio State players self-destruct under pressure – Thaddeus Gibson made a number of bonehead plays under pressure including two roughing the passer penalties. On Texas’ final touchdown, OSU’s secondary was playing up with no free safety back which resulted in an easy score.

So much for beating Michigan all those years. OSU will be remembered for blowing it on the national stage in non-Big Ten games.

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