No, it was because that game did nothing for OSU but sum up a disappointing and frustrating season. The only things you can take away from this season are:
1. Joe Bauserman is NOT a quarterback -- not first string, not second string...
2. Braxton Miller has a LOT of potential.
and
3. It is exciting to look ahead to the tenure of Urban Meyer at Ohio State, most especially as we continue to hear of the coaches he has stolen away from other schools, the most recent of which were two offensive assistant coaches at Notre Dame.
And who would have thought, as we lost to the Florida Gators in the National Championship Game 5 years ago that we would meet them again, in the Gator Bowl, with Urban Meyer now set to take over as head coach for the Buckeyes?
This bowl game wasn't like that of 5 years ago. No, it didn't mean much to either university in the grand scheme of things. It is the last bowl game for OSU for 2 years. It capped a 6-6 season for two teams that were pretty mediocre in their respective conferences this season.
If you wanted to watch a game with down-to-the-wire excitement, you should have watched the Outback Bowl. If you wanted a game that had a lot of offense and scoring, you could have caught the Rose Bowl. Wanted to see the likely #1 NFL Draft pick for 2012? Watch Andrew Luck in the Fiesta Bowl.
But if you are like me, a die-hard fan, you watched Ohio State lose to Florida 24-17 in the Gator Bowl. It was basically a home game for Florida, though there was the normal speckling of scarlet throughout the stadium. It was full of penalties, turnovers, and special teams blunders. And oh how I loathe listening to Mike Patrick. On one play, he claimed that Tyler Moeller forced a turnover by an OSU player. Tyler Moeller must be tired, having played defense for BOTH teams.
The offense began with a bang, then fizzled as it had in games all season. Once Florida's defense figured out how to get around the linemen and get to Miller, they sacked him more often than not. On one play, the commentators even remarked that the lineman must have known the snap count. OSU would drive down the field, only to stall outside of field goal range. And, as if to sum up his career at OSU, when OSU needed him most, DeVier Posey fumbled the ball after Miller had finally freed up enough to make a beautiful pass to him and get the Buckeyes the closest to the red zone they had been in the half. (This came after two questionable drops by Posey that could have been TDs.)
Jon Simon was held more often than not. It wasn't called. That is a tune I sing every game, to no avail. But I can't say that was the difference in the game, because the bulk of Florida's scoring came on special teams plays. The first was a runback from a kickoff and the second was a punt-block returned for a touchdown. The defense gave up a mere 10 points, but with the stagnant offense, it was enough.
But I fear I am being too negative. So what positives can we take away?
- Jordan Hall looks pretty good as a runningback. He had some up-the-middle runs in the game that were fairly impressive.
- I am pretty sure we won the award for being less injury-prone than the Gators. Seriously, if one more Gator got hurt in that game, I was going to start wondering if they were going for a record.
- Speaking of records, J.B. Shugarts ended his OSU career on not one, but TWO false start penalties. That has to be the most false starts by a player in NCAA FBS football.
- I continue to see promise in Braxton Miller. Though he often seems to hold onto the ball way too long, with a halfway decent offensive line (which we are promised year after year), Miller could really develop into a Heisman candidate. Under Urban Meyer, his decision-making will only get better. And here's hoping Meyer is landing some top wide receiver recruits, because it just baffles me that there were 4-5 Gators in the backfield so often and yet NO receivers were open.
And look at it this way, at least Miller didn't get hurt, so we didn't have to watch Joe Bauserman play. That's always a plus.
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