Chalky White likes the Buckeyes giving three.
On Arkansas. It's been assumed for a while, but finally made official last night: Ohio State will square off against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl. So what do we know about the Razorbacks? Well, we know we've never faced them before and they're entering on a hot streak, much like Ohio State. After Auburn hung 65 on Arkansas to drop them to 4-2, they've won six-straight, averaging 42.5 points per game. The streak incudes a win at South Carolina, at Mississippi State and 31-23 triumph over LSU to end the regular season. All told, the Razorbacks have four wins over ranked opponents, the second-most in the country.
Former Wolverine Ryan Mallet is the catalyst behind Arakansas' high-flying offense. He enters the bowl game with 3,592 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air, including a national best nine 300-yard games. Mallett also does a great job of spreading the ball around with five different receivers owning seasons with at least 500 yards receiving. Tressel joked last night that he thought Mallett was a thing of the past, but instead he's getting him "at his peak." The Razorback passing attack going against the Big Ten's best pass defense (albeit one that causes some concern amongst the fanbase) will be a focal point of the game to say the least. Finally, there's the Justin Boren connection as both were once teammates at Michigan before opting for programs that would place them in better bowls.
There's more to the Arkansas offense than Mallet, however. Running back Knile Davis has 1,183 yards on just 178 carries (6.6 per) and the sophomore closed strong, averaging 148.2 yards per game over the course of the Hogs' six-game winning streak.
The good news is that defense has been largely optional in the SEC at times this season and Vegas has taken note, installing the Buckeyes as three point favorites. We'll have much, much more to say about this matchup in the coming weeks, but for now, here are some other interesting storylines:
- Bobby Petrino is kind of a dick. Sure, he is very good at what he does -- he joins Urban Meyer and Nick Saban as the only coaches in FBS history to take two different teams to BCS games -- but most remember him for constantly looking to bolt for greener pastures at Louisville, and then there's that time when he quit midseason on the Atlanta Falcons, not telling his players, but instead leaving an apology note in the locker room on his way out the door.
- 0-9. It's there looming large for the players, coaches and the fans. The last two outings against SEC teams were national championship games, and the exceptional teams that sit on the other side of those games, but this Razorback team, while good, is not one of those teams. If ever there was a time to rid ourselves of that albatross, this is it.
- Meet Anthony Oden. Greg's half brother (same father) played his junior year of high school ball at Dayton Dunbar and then finished up back at Lawrence North in Indiana before signing with the Razorbacks as part of their 2008 class. Ohio State stayed away from offering likely because he was too much of a project and his year after high school at Hargrove Academy seemed to validate that move. Still, Petrino resigned Oden after his year at military school and the sophomore is a mammoth 6-8/328, though he hasn't yet cracked the two-deep. In other roster trivia, this guy is the special teams coach, which should bode well for us. (TFJ @ourhonordefend for the find).
Going to the game won't be cheap. Though Fayetteville is 600 miles away from New Orleans, the two states do share a border, so expect plenty of Razorback fans, no doubt excited to attend their first BCS game, to make the trip, driving up ticket prices. Information on the public sale of tickets from OSU's allotment will be released today, but if you're shut out of that, StubHub lists seats ranging in price from binocularland in the upper deck of the endzones ($199) to an entire luxury suite ($36,845). To get a good seat, you're probably in about $400 or so, but that's before the library opens tomorrow morning and residents of the Land of (Meth) Opportunity flood in and connect to the internet to order tickets.
Flights aren't much cheaper. Rates out of CMH to New Orleans, leaving Sunday 1/2 and returning Wednesday 1/5, are running around $350 roundtrip. Flights out of Cincinnati Kentucky are running about the same, while you can tack on $10 if you plan to leave from Cleveland.
Getting there and into the game may not be cheap, but the nightlife opportunities in New Orleans will help you forget about the bruise to your wallet.
It's bowl season, meaning we'll come to your place. Gerd did the math and Big Ten teams will travel 8,111 miles this bowl season to just 4,101 for their opponents. That's the way it's always been and always will be unless global warming decides to hurry itself up, but it is worth pointing out that the league will have teams playing Florida in Tampa (Penn State), Baylor in Houston (Illinois), and Texas Tech in Dallas (Northwestern). For once at least the Big Ten doesn't face the prospect of taking on a West Coast team in the Rose as TCU and their fans will have a trek of their own (1,402 miles).
Of the matchups that were announced, Michigan State certainly will have its hands full with Alabama, but the Wolverines might have the toughest draw because Mississippi State is the real deal under Dan Mullen this season. After going 5-7 in his debut season the former Gator assistant has led the Bulldogs to an 8-4 season, with the four losses to Auburn (by three), at LSU, at Alabama and a double overtime setback to Arkansas on November 20th.
If Rodriguez has one more game to audition for his job, he couldn't have asked for a less favorable matchup.
The one ballot the coaches don't delegate. The ballots for the final pre-bowl Coaches Poll are online and available for inspection, the only time all season they are made public. Tressel's top five reads: Auburn, Oregon, TCU, Wisconsin, Ohio State and he was one of several Big Ten coaches to rank the Badgers and Buckeyes ahead of Stanford. Though he had them 6th on his ballot, Bielema, Dantonio and Zook all had the Cardinal 7th, perhaps attempting to undermine Stanford's chances of gobbling up an at-large BCS bid. Not to be outdone, Harbaugh had his own team 3rd, Ohio State 7th, Wisconsin 8th and Michigan State 10th (though he somehow sees Virginia Tech as the 6th-best team in the land).
The SEC and Pac-10 had their share of homer ballots as well, with each conference voting along party lines with the exception of Florida's Urban Meyer who had Oregon ahead of Auburn at the top of his ballot.
