I was a freshman at Ohio State in 2003, and the first bowl game that the Buckeyes played in while I was a student was the 2004 Fiesta Bowl against Kansas State.
That game was, in many ways, an echo of the Fiesta Bowl from the previous season, where Ohio State won a national championship over the Miami Hurricanes; Craig Krenzel was still the starting quarterback, many offensive skill players were in place, and the specter of Maurice Clarett continued to hang over the team. The Buckeyes won that game, 35-28, after holding off a furious rally from KSU quarterback Eli Roberson, and Krenzel was named offensive MVP (as he was in the championship).
It was fun as hell and a significant win, but the 2004 Fiesta Bowl also felt like a denouement to the story of the 2002 team rather than something unique unto itself.
The next season, a 7-4 Ohio State team, ostensibly less accomplished (although they had just beaten Michigan, while the previous year's squad had not) and talented, played Les Miles' Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Alamo Bowl, and I think most people had approximately zero expectations for that matchup.
For one, both teams were just barely ranked in the BCS standings, and Oklahoma State wasn't ranked in the AP or Coaches' Polls at all. Secondly, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith had been suspended for allegedly taking 500 bucks from a booster, and Justin Zwick, his backup, had been benched in favor of Smith earlier in the season. That, plus the idea of a matchup between a guy like Les Miles and the most buttoned-down person on the planet in Jim Tressel, didn't exactly inspire confidence that it'd be an exciting game.
But there was a wrinkle. Ohio State had, inexplicably, transformed itself into a must-watch team over the last half of the 2004 season. In part because of the play of Troy Smith, who brought a dynamic playing style to the quarterback position that the rest of the Big Ten was having trouble adjusting to, but moreso because of Ted freaking Ginn, Jr.
In roughly half a season of actual game time, Ginn, Jr. had four punt returns for a touchdown, four more from receptions and rushes, and had generally set the college football world's hair on fire with his speed and talent. In addition to the goofy bonkers reception seen above, at one point in the Alamo Bowl he lined up in the shotgun and ran for a touchdown. The Buckeyes won 33-7 and Les Miles was so humiliated that he fled for LSU to lick his wounds and plot eventual revenge, but more importantly, it established both Ginn and Ohio State as a legitimate threat.
It was a fun, ridiculous contest that ultimately ended up meaning so much more for 2005 than it did for 2004.
And, I think, that's one of the few times that I've felt that way in recent-ish history about an Ohio State bowl game. I got blasted on Reddit in the aftermath of the Michigan loss for talking about the "curse" of being an Ohio State fan; the idea that as fans we can't be happy or excited unless the Buckeyes are playing for a national championship. And what the screaming hordes completely missed was that I wasn't looking for sympathy, I was pointing out the inherent absurdity of that self-inflicted attitude.
Which is why I'm personally excited about the Cotton Bowl.
I have no real idea how this game is going to play out. I don't know much about the Missouri Tigers beyond box scores and overall record, and at this point I feel that I know almost as little about the team Ohio State is going to trot out in Texas because so much is in the air about starters and returnees and even what the quarterback situation is going to look like.
And hell, that's exciting. While I would naturally want Ohio State to be in the playoff every year over any other option, the idea of learning a little bit about the future of the Buckeyes is awesome, too.
Devin Brown might come out and be a revelation, passing for 300 yards and rushing for another 150. Carnell Tate might reel in 20 catches for 400 yards. TreVeyon Henderson might announce he's returning next season and rush for 350 yards and five touchdowns, or maybe none of that happens and everyone is terrible. But the idea that any of that is possible is what makes bowl games like these fun and interesting.
Essentially, I don't really need Ohio State to play to win the Cotton Bowl, I want Ohio State to play to win the future of Ohio State football. That creates its own kind of drama, and one that I'm looking forward to watching.
