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That was another double OT win, as I recall, a preview of the Fiesta Bowl as OSU fell behind by a TD in the first OT.
I'm a 'Canes fan who chuckled Saturday night when our soph reserve left corner, Glenn Sharpe, made a nifty interception of a quick pass to the right sideline in the 4th quarter vs East Carolina. Great, Glenn, about 8 months late. Sharpe was the victim of the oft-discussed and remarkably tardy interference penalty on 4th and 3 in the first Fiesta OT.
I just spent 4 weeks in Miami. The locals are ignorant disbelievers who are clamoring for a rematch and convinced the 'Canes would have waltzed past the Bucks in a second meeting last year, or minus the miscues. Win-ugly teams like OSU never garner the respect they deserve. Miami offensive line coach Art Kehoe made no secret of his obsession with the Buckeyes. "They outcoached us and out toughed us," he said. "But they're not tougher than us and they're not better than us. I just don't know if we'll ever get a chance to prove that."
The same brilliant analysts who are annointing Michigan this year had Iowa as two TDs better than OSU in midseason last year. OSU wins close, but never displays great vulnerability, always the mark of a true champion. Miami was down 33-10 late 3rd last week and the vaunted USC team of last year was down 21 points to Kansas St in the middle of the 4th, before losing by 7. This Oklahoma defense that everyone is gushing over was decimated by both Okla St and Texas A&M (frosh QB) last year, producing huge point swings and deficits. What's Ohio State's biggest deficit been in the last 2 seasons, especially in the second half? Probably 8 or 9 points, if I remember correctly.
Ohio St has a great coach who figures to stay. The biggest challenge is to take advantage of this peak period and recruit well enough to remain on top for an extended period. The Florida schools have such a surreal recruiting base that many more personnel and coaching gaffes can be overcome.
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