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GLENDALE, Ariz. - An early lead, missed opportunities, a heartbreaking finish.
Ohio State lost its third consecutive BCS bowl game Monday night. The previous two were numbing blowouts for the national championship. This 24-21 loss to No. 3 Texas in the Fiesta Bowl meant less but might have hurt more.
The 10th-ranked Buckeyes scored 15 straight points to take a 21-17 lead with 2:20 to play. A stunning victory and vindication for a limping Big Ten was in sight. Then, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy put together the winning drive, capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass to Quan Cosby with 16 seconds to play.
Ohio State’s Anderson Russell lay face-down on the turf after missing the tackle that allowed Cosby to break free.
“Of course it hurts to come this close and lose,” defensive tackle Nadar Abdalla said, “because we tried so hard and gave it everything we had. This is my last game and it meant a lot to me. It would have been a lot worse if I didn’t know that everybody gave it their all.”
Chris “Beanie” Wells, in what might be his last Ohio State game, rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries, but just 15 yards on four attempts before leaving the game with a concussion in the third quarter.
“My guys fought out there and I’m proud of them for that,” Wells said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t be out there to help my team when they needed me most.”
Asked when he’d make a decision on whether to go forego his senior season to go to the NFL, Wells said, “I haven’t even thought about that.”
In so many ways it was a tremendous effort by the Buckeyes, who held Texas to its lowest point total of the season. But that was hardly consolation for a defeat that left the Big Ten 1-6 in bowl games this season.
“It’s tough,” wide receiver Brian Hartline said. “You grab the wins, you grab the Big Ten titles, but I’m sure the bowl losses will haunt me for years from now.”
Ohio State rolled up a big advantage in yards in the first half but managed just two field goals for a 6-3 lead.
Texas kicked in gear in the third quarter, with a 14-0 advantage in first downs and two touchdowns that put the Longhorns up 17-6.
The Buckeyes (10-3) weren’t finished, though, proving that they belonged in a game many thought they didn’t deserve.
Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State’s slippery-quick freshman quarterback, caught the first TD pass of his college career, a 5-yarder from Todd Boeckman to cut it to 17-15. The senior Boeckman had several plays at quarterback, often with Pryor as a wideout, a plan that eventually paid off.
“Todd is a special guy,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “Every one of us wanted to do all we could to make him a part of the plan. ... And I thought Terrelle in a big game as a true freshman did some very good things.”
Pryor’s 2-point conversion pass failed, but Ohio State held the Longhorns to three-and-out, then came back and took the lead on Daniel Herron’s 15-yard touchdown run with 2:20 to go.
That was too much time to prevent the Buckeyes from another loss in a big bowl game. Pryor said coming close was not at all satisfying.
“It’s not good enough to say at least we hung on,” he said.
Senior All-America linebacker James Laurinaitis said it was a tough way to go out.
“You wish the defense to be put in a chance to win it and we didn’t make plays,” he said. “They made the plays. That’s all there is to it. There is no perfect call for anything. We had a chance to make a tackle. We have a chance to get to the quarterback or do this or do that. We’ve got to do it.”
In the 2007 national title game, Ohio State led Florida 7-0 and lost 41-14. In last season’s national championship game, the Buckeyes led LSU 10-0 and lost 38-24. And this year against USC, Ohio State led 3-0 and lost 35-3, then led Penn State 6-3 before losing 13-6.
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