Texas Will Win Because…
The Longhorns are mad and they have a right to be. On October 11th, they beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl 45-35. Oklahoma will be playing three days later for the national title.
Colt McCoy had an amazing year playing with much less support than his Big 12 counterpart, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. On top of finishing 3rd in the nation in passing efficiency at 179.2, McCoy also led the team in rushing with 704 yards. Sophomore Vondrell McGee finished second on the team with 399 yards.
With the exception of the brutal four game stretch where they played four straight ranked opponents (Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech), Texas handled their schedule with ease, never playing a game closer than 24 points. On top of that, they played very well against ranked opponents and McCoy was at his usual best, throwing 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions in those four games.
Ohio State Will Win Because…
While the Buckeyes ranked 78th in total offense, they ranked 8th in total defense. They controlled the line of scrimmage well all year, ranking 28th in rushing offense and 19th in rushing defense.
Chris Wells ran for 1,091 yards despite not playing in three games and Terrelle Pryor is the type of run/pass combination that head coaches dream about and defensive coordinators have nightmares about.
On top of this, Jim Tressel has been there and done that, having coached in several BCS bowls, including 3 national championship games, during his tenure at Ohio State. Looking back, the Buckeyes seem to play much better when the weight of being the favorite is on the other team.
BCS Controversy
There are some that think that with a Longhorns victory and a Sooners victory, the Longhorns will vault to #1 in the final AP poll and claim a split national title. In short, it isn’t going to happen.
Texas fans will inevitably point to one game, their 45-35 win in the Cotton Bowl against the Sooners, in making their claim and it is not without merit. However, when it came to breaking the tie in the Big 12 South, there were not only two teams to consider.
The SEC boasts a slightly better tiebreaking system where, in the event of a three-way tie and all other tiebreakers are exhausted, BCS standings are used and the top team gets in unless the second team is within 5 spots of the top team in the BCS standings. Texas fans point to this rule and say they should have had the opportunity to paste Missouri in the Big 12 title game and then play for a national title.
Again, we face the same problem, that pesky third team, the Texas Tech Red Raiders. On November 30th, Oklahoma was 2nd in the BCS and Texas was 3rd (well within 5 places). Texas Tech was 7th, also within 5 places. No matter which way it comes out, beating ranked teams later in the season helped Oklahoma to where they are today.
The Verdict
Texas has a chip on their shoulders the size of the state they play in and with each passing day, the Big Ten appears more and more suspect. Colt McCoy will dominate and Terrelle Pryor will look lost.
Texas 34, Ohio State 17
