[size=+2]Rose Bowl[/size]
[size=+1]#12 Ohio State (10-2) vs #10 Oregon State (11-1)[/size]
Pasadena, CA - It is the granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. A sea of orange has descended on Pasadena as the Beaver Believers are out in full force to cheer on Oregon State in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1965.
Not to rain in on the Beavers' parade but there has been a lot of talk in the media about the selection of Oregon State and Ohio State for this year's Rose Bowl. Both teams were declared conference champions in their respective conferences. However, with Penn State playing for a national title and with the Buckeyes being obliterated by the Nittany Lions, the selection does not make a whole lot of sense since there was a four-way tie in the Big Ten. Clearly, Penn State should have been the conference champs. As for Oregon State, there was a three-way tie in the Pac-10. The Beavers are the third highest ranked team of the conference. UCLA lost to USC. Oregon State lost to UCLA and USC lost to Oregon State. But one would think that UCLA would be the victors in that scenario.
So as a result of Oregon State and Ohio State being declared conference champions and with Ohio making the Fiesta Bowl, teams like USC, LSU, and Wisconsin were left out of the BCS picture. A recent poll of college football fans found that a whopping 83 per cent believed that Oregon State and Ohio State did not deserve to be in the Rose Bowl. That might be true but nobody could argue that it would not be a good matchup as the two top tailbacks in the nation squared off against one another. Heisman Trophy winner HB Roy Nolen of Oregon State versus Ohio State HB Mike Tellis. But with two great run defenses on both sides of the field, would the game live up to the hype?
Many pundits believed that the Beavers would not be able to play with the Buckeyes and Ohio State proved that theory correct on their opening possession when QB Marvin Coleman threw a nice touch pass to WR Brian Butler who got the better of the superb Beaver CB Matt McDaniel for a 23-yard touchdown as the Buckeyes came right out of the gates with an early
7-0 lead.
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Buckeye WR Brian Butler gets the better of Beaver CB Matt McDaniel for a 23-yard touchdown.[/size]
The Oregon State offense on the other hand looked completely unprepared to play on this stage as they had one of their worst opening possessions of the season, going three-and-out. Ohio State would capitalize off the ineptness of the Oregon State offense as the Buckeyes marched right into position to kick a 27-yard field goal to quickly take go up
10-0.
This was by far the best defense the Beavers had faced all season and it showed as the Buckeye defensive line was owning Oregon State's offensive line. The victim would be QB Justin Rust who found very little time and found himself on his back more than he would have liked. The Beavers were in real trouble at the outset as they went three-and-out again.
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Ohio State welcomes Beaver QB Justin Rust to the Rose Bowl.[/size]
About the only thing good that Oregon State was doing early on was holding Ohio State to field goals as the Buckeyes were unable to go for the knockout punch, only managing a 47-yard field goal to go ahead
13-0.
At this point, it almost appeared that Oregon State had already started the partying, just happy to be here, and really had no desire or belief that they could win. However, a good return by Beaver WR Alex Whitehead on the kickoff to the Buckeye 45-yard line gave Oregon State its first decent field position. Even then, the Beavers went three-and-out. The problem was that the Buckeyes had made it their goal to stop the sensational HB Roy Nolen, and they were having success so far. Although, the punt by Beaver P Nick Carpenter was beautiful as it was downed inside the 1-yard line. The Buckeyes would go three-and-out as the Beavers had turned the tables field position-wise and it was Oregon State ball in Ohio State territory as the 1st quarter came to an end.
Even with the excellent field position, Oregon State could only get a 36-yard field goal out of it to put the Beavers on the scoreboard but down
13-3. What followed was some terrible offense on both sides as neither team get get anything going. After five consecutive punts, Oregon State QB Justin Rust just before the end of the first half tried to make a play to maybe score before halftime. However in doing so, Rust threw into coverage where Buckeye FS Derrick Parker easily picked him off. Then to make matters worse, nobody could tackle him. It looked like Parker was going to take it all the way to the house for a pick-six with only Rust to beat. But Rust was able to make the tackle, saving a touchdown just as the clock ticked 0:00. One of the worst 2nd quarters in Rose Bowl history came to an end with Ohio State still ahead
13-3.
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Beaver QB Justin Rust saves a touchdown, tackling Buckeye FS Derrick Parker on the interception return.[/size]
The situationl looked pretty bleak for Oregon State to start the second half. But finally Beaver HB Roy Nolen found some running room and was starting to get going. The Beavers made their way into the red zone but the drive stalled. However, they were able to score on a 26-yard field goal to make it only a seven point game,
13-6 Buckeyes.
Then Ohio State did the one thing that they could not do as QB Marvin Coleman was intercepted by Beaver FS Scott Vinson and returned it to the Buckeye 25-yard line. Suddenly, the Beavers were in business and that sea of orange came to life.
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Beaver FS Scott Vinson with a big time interception.[/size]
Oregon State now had the momentum but after a nice 13-yard gain on the ground for HB Roy Nolen, the tailback did not get up and was holding his wrist in pain. The stadium was silent until he got back, walking off the field to a spectacular ovation from not just the Oregon State fans but also the Ohio State fans as they were witnessing a sensational college season come to an end early for Nolen. The Heisman winner would not return as he had sprained his wrist and was out for the rest of the game. But the Beavers still had a game to play with or without Nolen. Oregon State QB Justin Rust dropped back to pass, could not find anybody open, tried to scramble but was rocked by Ohio State LB Brooks, coughing up the football which the Buckeyes recovered.
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Beaver QB Justin Rust fumbles the football after being rocked by Buckeye LB Brooks.[/size]
Ohio State had come up with a clutch play on defense to prevent the Beavers from a possible tie. However, QB Marvin Coleman made it all for naught when he was picked off by Oregon State CB Matt McDaniel who not only made the interception, but returned it all the way for a pick six. Just like that, we had a tie game,
13-13.
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Beaver CB Matt McDaniel ties up the game with a pick-six.[/size]
Now Ohio State QB Marvin Coleman was looking a lot like he did when he played against Penn State in Happy Valley as he would be picked off again. This time it was Oregon State OLB Carlos Matthews with the interception just as the 3rd quarter came to an end.
This time however, the Beavers could not take advantage of the opportunity and were forced to punt. But the Buckeyes did not look any better offensively as they too were forced to punt. Oregon State, completely unable to do anything on the ground with HB Tim Taylor, attempted a jet sweep to WR Marcus Sullivan who got the handoff motioning from the slot position. Sullivan was able to turn the corner with some fantastic blocking by WR Alex Whitehead. Then Sullivan slipped through an arm tackle and was off to the races down the side line as half the stadium roared. Nobody was going to catch him and he took it 41 yards to the house for a touchdown. The Beavers now had their first lead of the game,
20-13 Oregon State.
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Beaver WR Marcus Sullivan scores a 41-yard touchdown on the jet sweep.[/size]
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Oregon State was now in command and Ohio State could not find their rhythm offensively as the Buckeyes were forced to punt again. Buckeye HB Mike Tellis was not finding any running lanes and with the exception of that one great touchdown pass to WR Brian Butler, QB Marvin Coleman was not finding open receivers. However, on the punt return, Oregon State WR Brian Herring was lit up Buckeye FS Derrick Parker, as the ball fell to the turf. Ohio State recovered and suddenly the Buckeyes were in business.
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Beaver WR Brian Herring is lit up by Buckeye FS Derrick Parker for an Ohio State fumble recovery on the punt return.[/size]
But the Beavers' defense stepped up to the plate and shut down the Buckeyes' offense yet again to a three-and-out. Oregon State had the ball back in their hands and only needed to run the clock out to get the victory. However, Beaver HB Tim Taylor ran up the middle and amazingly he fumbled the ball. The Buckeyes scrambled to get on top of the ball which they were able to recover. Just as the Ohio State was running onto the field, the referee announced that the play was under review. A Rose Bowl victory really came down to this call. "After further review, the runner was down, and the play is reversed," announced the referee. Music to the Beavers' ears as it was still Oregon State football.
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Beaver HB Tim Taylor's fumble is reversed.[/size]
However, the Beavers could not kill the clock and were forced to punt with :54 left to go in the game. But Ohio State QB Marvin Coleman ended any chance to tie the game when he threw up a prayer that was intercepted by Oregon State CB Matt McDaniel. The Beavers have won the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1942 to finish off arguably one of the best seasons in Oregon State history. It was not the prettiest of wins but the Beavers will take it any way they can get it.
Ohio State 13
QB Marvin Coleman: 18-31, 206 yds, td, 4 int
HB Mike Tellis: 17 car, 79 yds
WR Chance Botts: 5 rec, 69 yds
FS Derrick Parker: 7 tkl, int, ff
Oregon State 20
QB Justin Rust: 14-20, 109 yds, int
HB Roy Nolen: 13 car, 43 yds, 3 rec, 21 yds
WR Marcus Sullivan: 2 rec, 28 yds, car, 41 yds, rush td
CB Matt McDaniel: 7 tkl, tfl, 2 int, td