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Oregon Ducks vs Ohio State Buckeyes - Rose Bowl Recap

A Pac-10 championship for the first time since 2001 meant a great deal to the University of Oregon. A Rose Bowl appearance for the first time since the 1994 season made the residents of Eugene jump for joy. The 2009 Ducks forged some fabulous feats on the football field and created a multitude of memories that will endure in the Willamette Valley.

Just not the ones they left behind in Pasadena, Calif., on the first day of 2010.

After a 12-game joyride past rival USC and into the Granddaddy Of 'Em All, coach Chip Kelly's crew didn't handle the big stage afforded by the 96th Rose Bowl on Friday afternoon. While the Ducks attained a pronounced comfort zone in their own conference this season, the reality of playing a national game on New Year's Day represented a new experience for the Quack Attack. Meanwhile, the levelheaded veterans from Ohio State - thoroughly accustomed to the spotlight of a BCS bowl - did not figure to be unsettled by this showdown in the Arroyo Seco.

Oregon figured to have the more explosive artillery in its matchup with the Big Ten champions, but the conventional wisdom on this game also suggested that if nerves - and not raw open-field skill - decided the outcome, the Ducks would be in trouble against the Bucks.

That's exactly how this pigskin passion play unfolded in the shadows of the San Gabriel Mountains.

It's true that on some occasions, Oregon committed penalties because Ohio State's players were stronger and faster; a lack of familiarity with the Buckeyes' physicality made a difference for certain stretches of action in Pasadena. Yet, the ultimate reason why the Big Ten finally won in Southern California on January 1 (for the first time since the 2000 Rose Bowl, when Wisconsin topped Stanford) was that Oregon sweated and slipped on the big stage.

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The face mask penalty that prolonged an eight-minute Buckeye scoring drive in the first half was completely unnecessary, and it came on a third-down sack of OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

The missed tackle by UO's Talmadge Jackson on Ohio State's first touchdown - a 13-yard pass from Pryor to Brandon Saine - was the product of nothing more than a simple lack of concentration. With the sideline acting as an additional defender, there was no reason for Jackson to not push Saine out of bounds. Yet, the Oregon cornerback failed to do his job. Saine wasn't athletically superior on the play, but in a theme that would repeat itself throughout the afternoon, Ohio State tended to the little details of football, while Oregon pressed and panicked in a number of telling ways.

LeGarrette Blount - who helped UO win the Civil War against Oregon State and advance to this grand game - failed to wrap up the ball and lost a key fumble precisely when the Ducks were on the verge of retaking the lead in the third quarter. And for good measure, kicker Morgan Flint - who wasn't trusted by an indecisive Chip Kelly in the earlier stages of the game - essentially blew Oregon's last chance at victory when he missed a 45-yard field goal at the 5:10 mark of regulation.

Throughout all four quarters, Oregon gave away yards, points and time of possession in some form or fashion. From start to finish, the Ducks wobbled and wavered, while Ohio State shook off its weaker moments to dominate the first and fourth stanzas. Because the Buckeyes handled the adrenaline rush of the Rose Bowl's early minutes and the pressure of its final minutes, Jim Tressel was able to put his program's bowl woes to rest. Oregon, meanwhile, was left to wonder why it couldn't prevail in Pasadena the same way USC had done in previous seasons.

The cruel reality is that Oregon wasn't able to handle the magnitude of this event, while Ohio State's steadiness and poise emerged in the latter stages of the latest edition of the Granddaddy. As a result, the Ducks - for all of their accomplishments in 2009 - had to absorb the mother of all defeats.

Yes, this team won the Pac-10, but after falling short against Team Tressel before a national ABC audience, Oregon will wonder why the swagger of the regular season did not reappear in the game the Ducks had been dreaming about for years.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer