The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeye football team (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten Conference) will have their hands full come Jan. 1, as they gear up to take on the No. 7 Oregon Ducks in the 2010 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
The Buckeyes enter the game with the top-ranked rush defense in the Big Ten Conference, which allowed just 83.4 yards per outing on the ground through 12 games. The Ohio State defense is scattered with all-conference talent as five starters received postseason accolades. Senior safety Kurt Coleman was named to the first team, while junior defensive linemen Thaddeus Gibson and Cameron Heyward and junior linebacker Ross Homan were each chosen to the second team. Junior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa was given an honorable mention.
OSU also features the No. 2 pass defense in the Big Ten, giving up just 179.1 yards per game and just 10 scores all season, while forcing 23 interceptions. Coleman was second in the conference with five interceptions, including an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown against Wisconsin on Oct. 10. He was one of three non-offensive players to score for OSU in the game, with junior linebacker Jermale Hines returning a pick-six as well and senior wide receiver Ray Small taking a kickoff 96 yards to the house.
“I think they’re really athletic on defense,” head coach Chip Kelly said. “They have a lot of depth at the linebackers. They’re solid.”
Coleman and Hines both recorded career-high tackles in that game with 14 and 11, respectively. But it’s been Homan that’s led the OSU defense all year long, as he’s tallied 96 tackles to go along with four interceptions, two sacks and one forced fumble. Fourteen
different players have recorded sacks on the year for the Buckeyes with Heyward leading the way with 5.5.
The Big Ten’s top-ranked total defense allows just 262.5 yards per game and has experienced a great deal of success on third downs this year, allowing its opponents to convert just 31.6 percent of the time.
On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes had three players receive all-conference honors, led by junior offensive guard Justin Boren earning first-team accolades. Junior running back Brandon Saine, who rushed for 694 yards and four scores on the year, was named to the second team, while junior offensive guard Bryant Browning rounded out the OSU awards as he was given honorable mention status.
Highly-touted sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor led the team with 707 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 142 carries and also threw for 1,828 yards and 16 scores on 144-of-258 passing.
Pryor’s two favorite targets, sophomore DeVier Posey and junior Dane Sanzenbacher, both had standout years for the Buckeyes as they each finished with more than 500 yards receiving. Posey pulled down 52 receptions for 727 yards and seven scores, while Sanzenbacher grabbed 27 catches for 506 yards and six TDs.
Similar to Oregon, the Buckeyes were able to overcome and early season loss — falling 18-15 to then-No. 3 USC in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 12 — and went on to win nine of their final 10 games. OSU’s only other loss came on Oct. 17 as they fell 26-18 on the road to an unranked Purdue squad. The Boilermakers were able to expose the OSU secondary as quarterback Joey Elliott completed 31-of-50 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense held Pryor to just 34 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
After finishing the year 10-2 in 2008, the Buckeyes made an appearance in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, where they lost their third straight BCS bowl game 24-21 to Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns.
The last time Ohio State played in the Rose Bowl was in 1997 when they defeated Arizona State 20-17, and this year’s matchup will mark the first time since 2003 that the winner will not come from the states of Texas or California.
[email protected]