Ohio State Buckeyes season recapAdam Rittenberg
You know life is pretty good when you have to settle for Big Ten titles and BCS bowl appearances.
Ohio State entered the season with legitimate national championship hopes and climbed to No. 1 in the polls after Week 6. Life at the top was short lived, however, as the Buckeyes lost to Wisconsin to fall out of the title race. Although a decorated senior class didn't reach its ultimate goal, it kept three very important streaks alive. Ohio State won a record-tying sixth consecutive Big Ten title, beat archrival Michigan for the seventh consecutive time and will play in a BCS bowl for the sixth consecutive January.
The Buckeyes made legitimate improvements on offense, rising from 68th nationally in yards per game in 2009 to 18th this fall, and from 49th nationally in points per game in 2009 to 11th this fall. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor continued to evolve and Dan Herron established himself as the Buckeyes' premier running back in Big Ten play. The defense overcame several key injuries, especially in the secondary, to finish in the top five nationally in scoring (3rd, 13.3 ppg), rush defense (4th, 94.3 ypg), pass defense (4th, 156.3 ypg) and total defense (2nd, 250.6 ypg).
The only thing Ohio State lacks is a true signature win. Victories against Miami and Iowa looked decent at the time, but both teams fell out of the rankings.
How good is this Ohio State team? We'll likely learn more in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Offensive MVP: Terrelle Pryor. His haters will always be out there, but Pryor took another step forward as a quarterback this fall. The junior finished the regular season ranked 14th nationally in passer rating (157.98) after completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,551 yards and a Big Ten-leading 25 touchdown strikes. Is he a finished product? No. But Pryor is becoming a more complete quarterback. Receiver Dane Sanzenbacher and Herron also merit mentions.
Defensive MVP: Brian Rolle. The senior linebacker was one of Ohio State's most consistent performers and got better as the season went along. Rolle led the team in both tackles (70) and tackles for loss (10), and he added two interceptions, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. He earned consensus first-team All-Big Ten honors for his efforts. Cornerback Chimdi Chekwa and defensive lineman Cameron Heyward also should be mentioned.
Turning point: Ohio State trailed Iowa 17-13 late in the fourth quarter Nov. 20 and was dangerously close to a second league loss that would have ended its streaks of Big Ten titles and most likely BCS bowl appearances. But Pryor came up huge on fourth-and-10 and Ohio State rallied for a 20-17 win. Ohio State's second-half turnaround against Penn State the week before also stands out.
What's next: The Buckeyes try to end their often-discussed postseason drought against SEC teams (0-9) on Jan. 4 against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State looks for back-to-back wins in BCS bowls and its highest wins total since 2006. Although a sizable senior class departs after the bowl game, Pryor vows to be back for one more run at a national title.
Ranking the Conferences
according to espn
1. Big Ten 43.7
2. Big East 44.1
3. Big 12 55.9
4. ACC 61.1
5. SEC 87.1
6. MWC 92.0
7. Pac-10 102.8
8. C-USA 118.0
9. Atlantic 10 133.0
10. Horizon 136.4
11. MVC 139.9
12. Colonial 144.4
13. WAC 175.5
14. West Coast 176.5
15. Ivy 181.0
16. Atlantic Sun 187.2
17. Summit 195.6
18. MAAC 203.1
19. Southern 203.1
20. MAC 203.8
21. Southland 204.8
22. Big West 210.6
23. Sun Belt 213.8
24. Big Sky 218.2
25. Big South 228.3
26. America East 230.1
27. Northeast 232.1
28. Ohio Valley 245.1
29. Patriot 254.9
30. MEAC 275.5
31. SWAC 285.7
32. Great West 306.0
Polls
AP Top 25 RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Duke (65) 8-0 1,625
2 Ohio State 6-0 1,534
3 Pittsburgh 9-0 1,494
4 Kansas 7-0 1,403
5 Kansas State 7-1 1,291
6 Connecticut 7-0 1,285
7 Michigan State 6-2 1,168
8 Syracuse 8-0 1,126
9 Georgetown 8-0 1,011
10 Baylor 6-0 990
11 Tennessee 6-0 914
12 Villanova 6-1 870
13 Memphis 7-0 802
14 San Diego State 8-0 759
15 Missouri 6-1 726
16 Illinois 8-1 715
17 Kentucky 5-2 557
18 Brigham Young 8-0 515
19 Purdue 7-1 432
20 UNLV 8-0 426
21 Washington 5-2 302
22 Minnesota 7-1 294
23 Notre Dame 8-0 291
24 Louisville 6-0 162
25 Texas 6-2 146
Others receiving votes: Florida 72, Vanderbilt 52, North Carolina 43, Arizona 38, UCF 28, Cleveland State 13, Texas A&M 9, Gonzaga 9, Cincinnati 6, Northwestern 6, Saint Mary's 5, Temple 3, Wichita State 3
Complete Rankings »
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Duke (31) 8-0 775
2 Ohio State 6-0 734
3 Pittsburgh 9-0 715
4 Kansas 7-0 685
5 Kansas State 7-1 589
6 Connecticut 7-0 587
7 Syracuse 8-0 581
8 Michigan State 6-2 558
9 Baylor 6-0 487
10 Georgetown 8-0 481
11 Missouri 6-1 417
12 Villanova 6-1 396
13 Tennessee 6-0 376
14 Memphis 7-0 332
15 San Diego State 8-0 315
16 Kentucky 5-2 284
17 Illinois 8-1 280
18 Purdue 7-1 259
19 UNLV 8-0 233
20 Minnesota 7-1 222
21 Brigham Young 8-0 162
22 Washington 5-2 151
23 Notre Dame 8-0 109
24 Florida 6-2 92
25 Texas 6-2 85
Others receiving votes: Louisville 37, West Virginia 27, Vanderbilt 20, North Carolina 14, Wisconsin 12, Northwestern 9, Arizona 9, Cleveland State 7, New Mexico 7, Temple 7, Texas A&M 5, Gonzaga 5, UCF 4, Richmond 3, Wichita State 2, Virginia Tech 1, Washington State 1
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