The Ohio State Buckeyes were one of the top 2-3 teams for the early part of the NCAA football season, but they lost 35-3 to USC on the road and ended up pulling starting QB Todd Boeckman for Terrelle Pryor, the super freshman.
Boeckman's ineffective play combined with a tough foot injury to Chris "Beanie" Wells at running back would be the Buckeyes' undoing against USC.
Texas' 2008 Season
The Longhorns would follow a much different path. Somewhat overlooked early in the year, the 'Horns managed to go all the way through the season until their matchup with Texas Tech as an undefeated team.
But a last-second, improbable TD catch by Michael Crabtree ended up doing in the Longhorns.
Then they were passed over by Oklahoma, a team they beat, for the national title game despite both teams having one loss.
Texas' Motivation in the Fiesta Bowl
A lot of fans think that Texas will be fired up to prove that the BCS got it all wrong by picking the Sooners instead of them.
Ohio State also has a lot of motivation because they have been embarrassed in their past two BCS Title game appearances.
Texas vs. Ohio State Breakdown
This game is a battle of a great offense in the Longhorns vs. a very good defense in Ohio State. The Longhorns haven't seen a defense with as much natural talent as the Buckeyes except maybe Oklahoma.
Malcolm Jenkins will most likely be the top cornerback taken in the NFL draft this year.
Texas on the other hand has a strong defensive line led by Bryan Orakpo, with their weakness being an undersized secondary.
The key to this game will be Pryor, the Buckeyes' QB. He will need to mix in more running than he has in the past and try to do his best Vince Young impersonation to keep the chains moving.
He spent the regular season working on his passing mainly and he will need to make sure he doesn't throw any costly interceptions in this game.
Wells' return for OSU will be huge as he is one of the top RB's in the country eager to prove that point yet again on national TV.
Colt McCoy probably should have won the Heisman and he should make some big plays for the 'Horns in this game.
Texas-Ohio State Prediction
The Longhorns are a better team for sure but OSU has dominated Big 12 competiton in recent years. They are 28-4 all time against the conference and they do well in BCS bowls vs. non-SEC teams for whatever reason.
Texas has a great shot to win but OSU will pull it out the upset here if Pryor can avoid the big mistake in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.
