Fiesta Bowl

[jtsneaks]

found this online, this is a good read


Fiesta Bowl Preview - ND vs OSU

This is not your everyday College bowl game. And it’s not your typical Tostitos Fiesta Bowl This is Notre Dame vs. Ohio State and it promises to be a honey.


Yes, USC and Texas will be playing for the national championship, but the rest of the college bowl season will be highlighted by this happening of heavyweights before a sold out Sun Devil Stadium (73,752) in Tempe, Ariz., on Tuesday, Jan. 2. They could have sold 100,000-plus tickets for this matchup – and still watch the television ratings soar.


The Fiesta Bowl corporate types were licking their lips and drooling for this one – ever since Ohio State beat Michigan. The Rose Bowl may be the granddaddy of all bowl games, but this battle will be a marquee monster.


Both teams are 9-2, the Buckeyes are ranked fourth and the Irish fifth. OSU finished fourth in the BCS standings, while Notre Dame finished sixth. Both teams are only a mere few plays away from being unbeaten (Ohio State two losses came by a combined 10 points. Notre Dame’s two losses are by a combined six points.) Both teams played power schedules. Both teams have highly-respected programs and head coaches. And both teams have a proud history. This will be Notre Dame’s fourth trip to the Fiesta Bowl. It is Ohio State’s fifth trip to this bowl. It’s not Woody Hayes against Ara Parseghian. But it is Jim Tressel vs. Charlie Weis. And those two guys can flat out coach.


But the similarities end there.


The Buckeyes feature and promote their stingy defense. The Irish tout their big-play, prolific offense. Something will have to give on Jan. 2. The teams haven’t played each other since 1996, and only have met four times in history with each team winning two. Let’s look at both teams.


DEFENSE:

Do you like defense? Then you will love the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s D ranks first in the nation against the rush (74.4 yards per game), fourth in total defense (275.3 yards) and seventh in scoring defense (14.8 points allowed per game). Ohio State held No. 2 Texas to 25 points and only a dropped pass in the end zone kept the Buckeyes from winning that game.


Buckeyes’ linebackers A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter are household words across football in America. Hawk led the Buckeyes with 109 tackles (13 for a loss), while Carpenter had 49 tackles.


But there are more solid Ohio State defenders. Anthony Schlegel (75 tackles), Donte Whitner (64) and Ashton Youboty (50) made their presence felt against all offenses.


Notre Dame’s defense was more penetrable, but still solid enough. The Irish held USC to its lowest point total in two years, and kept Michigan to 10 points in the Big House. Nonetheless, the Irish defense allowed 23.6 points a game.


Two linebackers lead the Ohio State D. Two linebackers are the bread and butter for the Irish defense, too. Brandon Hoyte is the team leader in tackles with 82, while Corey Mays was second with 68.


Defensive backs Ambrose Wooden and Mike Richardson improved their pass coverage in the second half of the season, while deep back Tom Zbikowski excelled in making the big play – returning two punts and two interceptions for touchdowns during the 2005 campaign.


OFFENSE

This is where the Irish excel, yet no one can call the Ohio State attack weak. The Irish offense ranks fourth nationally in passing offense (334.3 yards) and sixth in scoring offense (38.2 points). The Irish are 10th in total offense at 489 yards a game.


The triggerman for Notre Dame is junior quarterback Brady Quinn, whose numbers this season were incredible. Quinn completed 263 of 405 passes for 3,633 yards and 32 touchdowns. He shattered virtually every single season and career quarterback mark under the shadows of the Golden Dome.


The tandem of junior Jeff Samardzija and senior Maurice Stovall made big catch after big catch. Samardzija caught 71 passes for 1,190 yards and 15 touchdowns. Stovall had 60 catches for 1023 yards and 11 touchdowns. That duo was the only one in the country to each have more than 1,000 yards and 11 TDs.


Sophomore Darius Walker is the go-to guy for the Notre Dame running game, carrying 237 times for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns in 2005.


Once Ohio State settled on Troy Smith, the Buckeyes offense took off. Ohio State averaged 32.7 points a game. Smith was the team’s second leading rusher with 640 yards on 123 carries – and he poses a constant threat to defensive coverage because of his running ability.


Antonio Pittman was the leading ground gainer for the Buckeyes, totaling 1,222 yards and six touchdowns on 222 carries.


Smith’s passing numbers pale in comparison to Quinn’s. Smith completed 130 of 209 for 1,940 yards and 14 touchdowns. Santonio Holmes (48 catches for 853 yards and 10 touchdowns) and Ted Ginn Jr. (43 catches for 636 yards and three touchdowns) were Smith’s favorite targets.


Ginn for Ohio State and Zbikowski for Notre Dame give each team breakaway potential on special teams. Josh Huston had a super season for the Buckeyes, kicking 20 of 24 field goals and 40 of 41 extra points. The Irish kicker, D.J. Fitzpatrick, was injured in the Syracuse game, kicked his 50th consecutive extra point against Stanford. He then missed an extra point and a field goal that kept the Stanford game close.


The game marks a noteworthy turnaround for the Irish, who were 6-6 in 2004 and on no one’s radar entering the 2005 season. But the 9-2 mark speaks for itself, just like the same record speaks volumes for the Buckeyes – who were mentioned in terms of potential national champions in the preseason.


This one is for a lot of pride and a lot of money. The buildup will be monumental. The game promises to be a classic.


JT