It was hard to watch last nights title game and not think about how SC would have fared against Ohio State. To me there is no question that SC would have done close to the same thing. We have a very fast defense that could have put a lot of pressure on Troy Smith.
What I saw last night was an Ohio State team that was out of sorts and couldn't bye a score if their life depended on it. Full props to Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer as he had the Gators ready to play. The tOSU tackles never knew what hit, or blew past, them as the speed of the Gators completely overwhelmed them.
Is he thinking what I am...what might have been?
Photo: The Columbian
The fact is if SC takes care of business against an underachieving Bruin team, as a whole, with a much-improved Bruin defense at the forefront, SC is in that game and we could very well be celebrating another NC today. But that isn't how it played out.
The Buckeyes couldn't cover anyone. They couldn't tackle anyone.
They couldn't solve Florida's spread-the-field offense.
They couldn't run the ball. They couldn't move the chains. They couldn't protect their quarterback.
And, perhaps most shocking, Troy Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner, was helpless. He passed for 35 yards on 4-of-14 inaccuracy, with an interception and a lost fumble. He was so bad, the Downtown Athletic Club may call for another round of Heisman balloting.
Ohio State finished with 82yards. That's right, 82. Against a good Florida defense, but one that had been giving up 269 yards a game.
USC would have had the same advantages against Ohio State that Florida did.
Too much speed. Too many good receivers. A defense too strong to move, too quick to out-run and too experienced to fool.
Picture this last night against Ohio State!
Photo: SI.com
That's pretty much what I thought. If you look at tOSU's last two games they gave up 80 points. That's a lot for a #1 ranked team. Ohio State played some great games this season, the Texas and Penn State games were great to watch and the Michigan game was an absolute donnybrook but we should have seen this one coming.
So the off-season starts and the recruiting wars officially start to boil. There are stories about the future of Pete Carroll and it looks like Jarrett is apparently moving on. It was a great season with a few ups and downs but it was memorable for sure. Last night was great game and it showed just how great college football is but I am still left wondering...
What could have been.