Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas Football Picks
Written January 4, 2009 by Jason Lowry
This Monday the No. 3 Texas Longhorns take on the No.10 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl from Glendale, Arizona. The Longhorns finished the season at 11-1 and with a big win over the Buckeyes there will definitely be talks about how this team got screwed out of a shot at the National Championship, along with the likes of USC and Utah. The Longhorns finished with the exact same record as Oklahoma, and actually beat the Sooners, but since the Sooners handled Texas Tech with ease, the Sooners play for the National Championship. The Buckeyes came into the 2008 season big time favorites to run the table and play for BCS title for the 3rd straight year, but finished just 10-2 and is a team desperate for a big time bowl win. For those of you looking to do some NCAA football betting on this one, the oddsmakers have Texas 8 point favorites over Ohio State at Sportsbook.com.
The Buckeyes were banking on a huge Heisman like season from running back Chris “Beanie” Wells, but instead the junior played just 9 games running for 1,091 yards and 8 scores averaging 5.7 yards per carry, and was the big reason the Buckeyes were as good as they were. It didn’t take long for freshman Terrelle Pryor to take over at the quarterback position, as his ability to run and pass was just to much for head coach Jim Tressel to pass up. Pryor finished the season with okay passing numbers with 1,245 yards and 12 scores to just 4 interceptions, but was a force running it for 553 yards and 6 scores. There isn’t a lot of big play receivers on the outside, but Brian Robiskie put together a pretty solid season grabbing 37 passes for 419 yards and a team high 8 touchdowns. The key for this unit against the Gators, is finding a way to get Wells going early and often, and then hope that Pryor can play mistake free when he drops back to pass.
Looking at the Buckeyes defense, its what will likely decided this game, as this unit is going to have to somehow find a way to stop the high flying passing attack of the Longhorns. Good thing this is one of the better defenses in the country, coming in allowing teams just 13.1 points a game, and only 279.2 yards a game. The reason this unit is so good, is they have outstanding players all over the field, but none more impressive than All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis and corner Malcom Jenkins. Bet Ohio State Buckeyes +8 at Sportsbook.com.
The Longhorns come in with one of the more exciting offenses in all over college football, as this unit score 45 or more in 7 games this year, and failed to score less than 28 in all 12 of their games. The reason this offense is so good, is they have one heck of a quarterback in Colt McCoy, who completed nearly 78% of his passes while throwing for 3,445 yards with 32 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, and even more impressively he was the teams leading rusher running it 128 times for 576 yards and 10 touchdowns. McCoy has had a pretty good time throwing it to the sure hands of Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby, as Shipley hauled in 79 catches for 982 yards and 11 scores, with Cosby right behind with 78 catches 952 yards and 8 touchdowns. McCoy is the Longhorns offense, and they will be as good as he is in this one against the Buckeyes, as the Longhorns try and show everyone just how good they really are.
Texas also has a pretty solid defense it will be sending out on the field this weekend, as this unit allowed opponents just 18.6 points a game, and was on one of the best in the nation at stopping the run, as they allowed just 73.6 yards a game and only 7 rushing touchdowns this season. The Longhorns are also one of the best teams at bringing down the opposing quarterback, as this unit racked up 44 sacks this season, including 10 from Brian Orakpo and 9 from Sergio Kindle. Where this team struggles is forcing the opposing to make mistakes, as the Longhorns forced just 16 turnovers this season, and had only 6 interceptions all season. The key is seeing how well that run defense holds up against Wells and Pryor, as there aren’t many Big 12 teams that like to pound the football, and when they faced a team like Oklahoma State who loves to run the football, they gave up 217 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bet Texas Longhorns -8 at Sportsbook.com.
Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Ohio State +8
I am still not sold on the Big 12, as they haven’t had the success many thought they would this bowl season. I think Texas will win this game, but I don’t see them beating the Buckeyes by more than a touchdown. Look for Ohio State to run the football and use up enough clock to keep this one close, as the Longhorns had its lowest scoring outing of the season (28) when it let Oklahoma State have so much success on the ground.
Predicted Score: Texas 31 Ohio State 27
Check out the best NCAA football picks and grab the latest NCAA football odds for all the big games at Betfirms.
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4 Responses to “Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas Football Picks”
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The Longhorns got penalized for not running up the score in games where they got way out in front early. It is a shame that being good sports may have cost them the championship.
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Jack Jones Reply:
January 4th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Also, they may have lost at Texas Tech, but beating Oklahoma on a neutral field pretty easily didn’t allow them to jump the Sooners?
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Great job tonight! Hook’em Horns…. Congradulations Guys you played one helluva game!
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Jack Jones Reply:
January 6th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
That was a great game. I’m even happier since I thought Texas should have been in the title game, but had Ohio State plus the points!
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