Down to the Wire

Posted by DontBendDontBreak | Filed under Failing To Deliver, Media Bias

Watching last night’s absolutely amazing Super Bowl that will undoubtedly go down as the best of all time mainly because of the classic, game-changing play-making orchestrated by the Steelers’ future hall of fame QB Big Ben, I couldn’t help but think about a recent epic game that we failed to highlight.

The Fiesta Bowl.  Texas vs. Ohio State, where once again, Texas won due to last second heroics from a star quarterback.  And this wasn’t against a USC team riding a wave of media success into a national championship game they’d already been deemed the winners of, led by a coach whose ego barely fit into the Rose Bowl that night.  No, this was against a Buckeyes team desperate not to be embarrassed on the big stage during bowl season for the third year in a row.  And they more than accomplished that task.

Also, unlike USC, Ohio State had TWO great quarterbacks at their disposal, Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor.  Now, by no means am I saying that these two QBs are as good as Matt Leinart was, at least not separately.  But when taken together in a one-two punch, they add a factor to the game that USC has always been lacking.  (Not to mention the fact that by the time the Rose Bowl came around, Leinart had been practically brainwashed by the media and Pete Carroll into thinking his team couldn’t lose, as evidenced by this clip.)

Boeckman, a quarterback who stands a high chance of not being drafted at all, literally had nothing to lose.  He played the game of his life simply because it was the highlight of his life.  Meanwhile, as the Dude would say, “new shit has come to light” regarding Pryor’s less than truly dynamic play during the game.  He was playing with a severely sprained throwing shoulder which affected his throwing and resulted in him running out of bounds with plenty of open space still in front of him.

Now, a novice to the world of college football would think that this makes Texas’ win less impressive.  Not so.  Because you aren’t taking into account one very important factor.  Heart.  It’s what wins football games, more so than talent or coaching.  Pryor wanted to prove to his coaches that he belonged out on that field despite not being able to throw a decent spiral with any accuracy.  This is why he bravely shoved off defenders with his hurt shoulder in order to haul in a touchdown pass.

In the final game of the season, Tressell opened up the playbook, and when he did so, he realized that there were more than three plays he could call.  He threw everything he had at the Texas Longhorns, but Mack Brown, being the amazing coach that he is, found a way to win the game by utilizing a talented quarterback who doesn’t fold under pressure.  I couldn’t argue with the man had he voted his team #1 in the final coach’s poll, but I don’t have to since he didn’t realize he could do this.

Considering their head-to-head record and Brown’s ability in close games, it’s obvious that he is light years beyond Carroll and would have easily won had their two teams matched up this year.

Disagree all you want, but before you do, answer this.  When’s the last time Pete Carroll won a bowl game in the closing seconds?

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Permalink | February 2nd, 2009

2 Responses to “Down to the Wire”

  1. Anonymous Says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm

    What in the world is “winning a bowl game in the closing seconds” a sign of great coach???? Sorry, dude but you’re dumb, and I don’t say that to be mean. You need to think thru your argument before you published it. Don’t let others know you are not that bright. Lame argument. As Tiger Wood’s typically said, “W man; it’s all about the “W”.

  2. a fans notes Says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    Yo BDB,

    You aren’t going to let St. Peter off the hook for yesterday’s recruiting fiasco, are you? Sure SC got the #1 OG, #DE and #1 QB in the country and the class is ranked between #2 and #4 nationally….but now is the time to really probe the loss of Randall Carroll and Xavier Sua’Filo to UCLA and Teo Manti to ND. Go get him. Hammer and tongs, please.

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