After 3 straight years of BCS game disappointments, the Ohio State Buckeyes finally scored a sweet victory in this year's Rose Bowl Game, defeating the Oregon Ducks by the final score of 26-17. And making this year's Buckeye victory all the sweeter was the fact that I was able to make the trip out to Pasadena to witness it in person!
Nothing could have prepared me for the experience of attending the Rose Bowl Game...
I had never been to Southern California before. But now having been there, I can easily see why so many people gush about it. It is absolutely gorgeous! Even on New Year's Day, which conjures up memories of snow, ice, biting wind, and freezing cold temperatures for us folk from Ohio, it was 70 degrees and sunny with only a slight breeze in Pasadena. Just absolutely perfect weather. The grass is green, the trees are full, and the sky is a perfect blue. And with the majestic San Gabriel Mountains serving as the background, the Rose Bowl Stadium venue itself is breathtakingly beautiful. It's no wonder it has been called the greatest venue in college sports.The stadium itself looks deceptively small from the outside. The stadium capacity is about 93,000 (this year's game attendance was right at 93,963), but it doesn't appear more than a few stories high from the outside. The trick is that the playing field is actually below street level.
Fans enter the stadium through any of about 28 tunnels evenly distributed around the stadium. Once you get through the tunnel, you can either go down to seats nearer the field or go up to higher level seats. There are no other entry/exit levels. This makes for a very simple and effective design. And all concessions and restrooms are actually outside of the stadium at street level. To me, this is a much better way to handle large amounts of people than putting multiple concourse levels and concessions and such inside the stadium, as is done in most modern stadiums. However, in the warm to mild Southern California weather, shielding fans from the cold winds and rain/snow is not necessary. But this design also allows for seats that make you feel like you're really close to the action. There is really not a bad seat in the house.
So the tickets we had were near the Ohio State endzone, about 40 rows from the playing field. The Ohio State Marching Band (TBDBITL) was seated right in front of us, with the College Gameday team nearby as well.
As kickoff approached, a surreal feeling came over me. I couldn't believe I was actually at the Rose Bowl watching my Ohio State Buckeyes go for a win on New Year's Day. I was happy just to get a chance to make the trip to Pasadena with my dad and my brother-in-law and to experience watching the Buckeyes play in the Rose Bowl for myself. At that point, a Buckeye victory would have been just icing on the cake. Besides, all the big-time prognosticators (even Lee Corso) were picking Oregon to win by a couple of touchdowns. I just figured I would soak in the experience even if my Buckeyes were likely to lose.
Or were they?
After an exhilarating pregame show, complete with "Script Ohio" by TBDBITL, fireworks, and a flyover by a group of F-18 jets, we settled in to enjoy the game action.
Ohio State got the ball first on offense and the Buckeye faithful cheered loudly as the offense took the field. Surprisingly, against his bland low-risk run-oriented offensive tendencies, OSU coach Jim Tressel opened up the playbook a bit on the first OSU drive.
Tressel called 9 pass plays and only 1 run as QB Terrelle Pryor led the Buckeyes on a 10-play scoring drive culminating with a 13-yard TD pass to Brandon Saine. So after the smoke had cleared, Ohio State held an early 7-0 lead over the Ducks. It appeared that Tressel was finally ready to unleash Pryor's full potential, rather than bottle him up as he had done towards the end of the regular season.
After the teams traded a few punts, OSU struck again. This time, after Pryor completed another big pass to Saine, a Devin Barclay field goal gave OSU a 10-0 lead after one quarter of play. At this point, we looked at each other and wondered seriously if OSU just might pull out a win here.
But just as quickly as OSU had built up a 10-point lead, it evaporated away. Oregon came storming back on a field goal and a LeGarrette Blount TD run to tie the game at 10-10 mid-way through the 2nd quarter. This immediately conjured up memories of the LSU game a few years ago when Ohio State jumped to a 10-0 lead only to lose in a 38-24 blowout. We hoped a similar fate didn't await this year's team.
The Bucks responded with another Barclay field goal to put OSU back in the lead 13-10. Then, an acrobatic interception by linebacker Ross Homan gave the Buckeyes the ball back again with less than a minute left in the half. And long-distance kicker Aaron Pettrey nailed a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give OSU a 16-10 lead going into the half.
The Bucks had completely dominated the first half, but still only held a one-possession lead. At this point I was worried that the high-octane Ducks offense might break out in the second half. After all, how long could they be contained?
Sure enough, the Ducks took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove right down the field for a touchdown to take a 17-16 lead. Star QB Jeremiah Masoli, who up to this point had been playing poorly, scored the TD on a keeper run. Now it was time to see how OSU would respond.
The Bucks responded by driving down the field on their very next possession. The drive stalled, but ended with another Barclay field goal, giving Ohio State a 19-17 lead mid-way through the 3rd quarter.
As the fourth quarter opened, I became a little nervous. The Buckeyes were nursing a slim 19-17 lead, and I feared that Oregon's offense could awaken at any time. But the OSU defense continued to keep Oregon's offense under control and the OSU offense kept the clock running. Tressel's bunch was slowly tightening the vise.
Finally, the Bucks were able to get some breathing room. Pryor hooked up with DeVier Posey for an 17-yard TD pass mid-way through the final quarter to put OSU up 26-17. And the OSU faithful celebrated wildly, sensing that the victory was near.
But Oregon responded by driving right back down the field. Fortunately, the OSU defense stepped up and stopped the Ducks short. Down by 9 points, the Ducks ordered a field goal to try to shave the deficit. But kicker Morgan Flint missed wide right and OSU took over on offense.
After the missed field goal, it was only a matter of running the clock out. Ohio State picked up a few more first downs and celebrated as the clock counted down to zero.
Then the Rose Bowl scoreboard flashed "2010 Rose Bowl Champions OHIO STATE BUCKEYES" while confetti sprayed out and players rushed the field. Just an indescribable feeling to witness the euphoria in person. Following the awards presentation, the team gathered in front of the band (right in front of where we were sitting) and sang "Carmen Ohio" in celebration of the victory. Just an absolutely amazing experience.
Pryor was voted the game's MVP, and for good reason. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 266 yards with 2 TD passes and only 1 INT. He was also the team's leading rusher, picking up 72 yards on 20 carries. Overall, OSU gained 419 total offensive yards, including 153 rushing. Meanwhile, the Ohio State defense limited Oregon's potent offense to only 260 total yards of offense (only 81 passing). And Ohio State set a Rose Bowl record for time of possession, holding the ball for an amazing 41 minutes and 37 seconds.
But all good things must come to an end. After taking in the post-game victory celebration, we headed back to the car under the realization that we would soon be on our way back to the wintery cold of Ohio. But in nearly every regard, it was a perfect day. The perfect setting, perfect weather, perfect company, and an Ohio State upset victory providing the perfect ending.
Being able to witness my favorite team winning the Rose Bowl is an experience that I'll never forget.
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