Orange Bowl - Clemson

Yeah, pretty much I forgot we had a game tonight until a friend reminded me.  I think a lot of fans are feeling this way.  The Orange Bowl would have been great had we lost earlier in the Big Ten (say Wisconsin or Northwestern) and couldn’t make the Big Ten Championship, but after 12-0 . . . meh.

The biggest story is not whether the players will be motivated to play (they will), and it is not the injury/suspensions (we have many, they have none).   Rather, the key factor in the game is uniform choice.  The Buckeyes will be wearing the home Scarlet jerseys, but not the regular uniforms, but the alternate ones.   Why is this a big deal?   In the Buckeyes’ past 15 bowl appearance (tracking back to the 1997 Rose Bowl – Joe Germaine to David Boston with 19 seconds left), we have worn our away Whites 11 times (including 9 of the last 11 times).  The two times we wore Scarlet were the 2008 BCS game v. LSU (a 38-24 loss which was closer than the media would have you remember) and our 2004 Alamo Bowl win over Oklahoma State.  I don’t know why Tressel always preferred to go with White, but he did.  FYI – I could have gone back further but those numbers would have been skewed because Cooper lost virtually every bowl game early in his tenure.   If you want to know the complete history back to the 1984-85 Rose Bowl:

8-8 in White jerseys

3-5 in Scarlet jerseys

0-1   in unknown (1990 Liberty Bowl v. Air Force)

But I digress.  Urban will have the boys ready to play and I think the team will be highly motivated after that MSU loss.  The trouble is they are playing a very good (and healthy) Clemson team.  Taj Boyd is a really good passer and he has two excellent WRs.  NFL good.   Given our defensive, and especially secondary, woes, I fear it will be a very long night.

But that is my feeling, which is often times wrong.   This is Urban’s first bowl game for the Buckeyes.  He’s 7-1 in the bowls.  4-0 in BCS bowls (Fiesta, BCS, BCS, and Sugar).  He has Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde and a huge offensive line.  There are many reasons to be optimistic.   And, let us not forget that Clemson has a history of folding like a cheap chair if they get punched in the mouth and fall behind early.  

But, I cannot do it.  I see Boyd to Watkins over and over again in my sleep.   Sorry Buckeye fans, Schaef says:

Clemson 44, Ohio State 34.