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| Cardale Jones http://media.cleveland.com/osu_impact/photo/ cardale-jones-vs-oregon-3-57f25651515b2de8.jpg |
Oregon, being the higher seed, got to call the opening coin toss. They chose heads and it was heads. The Ducks elected to receive. In the 2011 BCS Championship Game, Oregon called tails, the coin came up tails, and they elected to receive the kick as well. Oregon lost both games.
Missed Tackles
What lost the game for Oregon was the amount of tackles they missed. Multiple times, Cardale Jones bulldozed an Oregon defender, who had stopped the 6'5", 250 pound signal caller a few yards from a first down, and got a first down. The Ducks also had difficulty tackling running back Ezekiel Elliott and Jalin Marshall on kick returns. If Oregon tackled Jones or Elliott on a few third downs behind the first down marker, Ohio State would have punted more often, giving Oregon more chances to score. Oregon's inability to make a big tackle, especially on third down, was the team's downfall.
Turnovers
Ohio State had four turnovers. Oregon had one, an interception at the end of the game. While, it is never good when a team commits four turnovers, the Buckeyes need to be applauded for their ability on defense to make stops after turnovers and for the offense for forgetting about the turnovers. The Ohio State defense stopped the Oregon offense twice after turnovers, including one time inside the five, and gave up only ten points off of turnovers. That is very good when facing a fantastic Oregon offense. On offensive, Cardale Jones had a bad fumble and an interception, yet put that behind him to lead Ohio State to the victory.
The Dropped Passes
Oregon scored first, stopped Ohio State on the Buckeyes' first possession, and looked to be rolling on their second possession. Then, on a 3rd and 3, Charles Nelson drops a pass and Oregon punts. On the next Oregon possession, Mariota throws a beauty to Dwayne Stanford on a 3rd and 12 that was guaranteed to be a big play. But, Stanford dropped it. On Ohio State's possessions after both drops, they scored a touchdown. Those two drops changed the whole momentum of the game. Oregon's offense was not the same after the drops, while Ohio State gained confidence and momentum.
Ezekiel Elliott
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| Ezekiel Elliott http://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/zeke.jpg |
76 Years Ago
The First NCAA Basketball Tournament was in 1939. Eight teams competed in the tournament. The final was between: Ohio State and Oregon. In this first tournament, however, Oregon pulled off the victory 46-33 behind John Dick's 13 points.
Now What? Oregon
Before the game, it was almost guaranteed that Marcus Mariota would declare for the NFL Draft. Now, there are some murmurs that Mariota will stay for a final season at Oregon. While I love it when college players stay an extra year (or two), Mariota should go pro. It is his time to leave Oregon and become a professional. He is at a peak ranking (even after the championship) and is more likely to be highly criticized and lose his high ranking (ex: Jake Locker). Mariota's draft stock may fall slightly after the loss, but there are too many teams in need of a QB in the top ten, even top five, for him to slide to far down. The next QB for the Ducks will most likely be either Jeff Locke or Morgan Mahalak. With either of them, there is likely some struggles in 2015, but Oregon should still be a good team.
Now What? Ohio State
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| Cardale Jones, JT Barrett, and Braxton Miller https://nbccollegefootballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/ j-t-barrett-braxton-miller-cardale-jones.jpg?w=320&h=165 |
