NEW ORLEANS — Tyvis Powell is sitting in his locker at the Superdome after toppling mighty Alabama palming the game ball. There’s a lot on his mind.
The first is his New Year’s resolution, which was to give Urban Meyer a win over his old foe in Nick Saban so he knows his coach can “go to sleep peacefully at night and not have to worry about that.”
The second is how he wanted to earn Ohio State’s first win against an SEC team in a bowl game. “I’m so glad that we finally got this win.”
The third is a broader concept, one in which he ponders what life might be like if the Buckeyes can defeat Oregon for the national championship in Dallas next week.
“Maybe, if we go out there and win this championship game, just maybe, people will start saying the Big Ten is the best conference,” he said. “Just maybe.”
Because in a monumental 42-35 win against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State looked bigger, faster, stronger and just plain better than the Crimson Tide, winners of three of the last five national titles and a program that’s the biggest and baddest dog in the biggest and baddest league. Or so we thought.
On New Year’s Day, a time that’s more or less becomes a battle royal for conference supremacy with high-profile bowl games from start to finish, the Buckeyes’ victory capped a 24-hour span that saw the Big Ten score major triumphs and the SEC suffer major defeats.
Ohio State upset Alabama, Michigan State beat a Baylor team that thought it belonged in the playoff and Wisconsin took down Auburn in overtime. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide, the Tigers, LSU, Ole Miss and Mississippi State (who all entered as favorites to win) lost and, in some cases, lost badly.
“We gained a lot of confidence to know that the Big Ten is actually able to compete with the SEC because a lot of people thought, if they can hang with them, then why can’t we?” he said.
“That’s what I couldn’t seem to figure out. Nobody in the world actually paid attention to that.”
But now, and especially after the way Ohio State punched Alabama in the mouth Thursday night, it appears impossible to disregard any longer.
“You see them on film. Great team,” Meyer said. “But we're pretty good, too.”
No, the SEC isn't dead just yet, but the Buckeyes proved they and the Big Ten aren't plodding inferiors to their southern counterparts. Any gap that existed has narrowed.
“Maybe the Big Ten's not that bad,” Meyer said. “Maybe the Big Ten is pretty damned good and it's certainly getting better.”
If a balance of power is in store for college football’s immediate future, Ohio State is leading the charge.
