Thursday, December 31, 2009

Rose Bowl Preview


Players to Watch: Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor has underachieved this season and has to be great for the Buckeyes to have a chance at victory. Pryor is at his best when he gets outside of the pocket and can use his legs. That might be a problem in Pasadena though. Pryor has a torn PCL in his knee and if he is restricted to making plays from inside the pocket, the Buckeyes could be in big trouble. For the most part, Pryor hasn't been able to make plays down the field from inside the pocket. He completed just 11-25 passes and a pick in the loss to USC and threw two interceptions in OSU's loss to Purdue. Pryor's most efficient outing came when he was limited to short, dink and dunk passes, going 14-of-17 and 93 yards in OSU's win over Iowa but couldn't make plays when not on the move.



Oregon's LaMichael James ran for more than 100 yards in nine of his last 10 games this season. The only game the speedy freshman running back was held under 100 yards was against Washington State in a blowout (he was pulled after 81 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries.) James isn't the powerful runner the Ducks had in LaGarrette Blount but is more speedy and can make anyone miss in a one-on-one open-field situation.



While James is the Ducks' open-field runner, junior QB Jeremiah Masoli is the powerful runner that will run over anyone. The junior made his mark in the Holiday Bowl win over Oklahoma State last year, he ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns, also completing 18-of-32 passes for 258 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He threw just five interceptions this season compared to 15 touchdowns. Masoli's job will be to take care of the ball and keep the chains moving with his legs and his arm.


If Oregon gets up early, the Buckeyes are in trouble, the last thing OSU needs is to try and play from behind against this high-scoring Ducks team. This game will either be a close Ohio State win or an impressive Oregon blowout that could lead to a top five preseason ranking.


Quickfacts: The last time the Big Ten won the Rose Bowl was in 2000 when Wisconson beat Stanford, 17-9. The last time a Pac-10 team other than USC or Washington won the Rose Bowl was in 1987. The only time the Ducks won the Rose Bowl was in 1917 over Penn.

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