The 2006 Fiesta Bowl: #4 OSU 34, #6 Notre Dame 20

In a bowl that was promoted as the game to decide the 2006 Heisman frontrunner, the game did not disappoint, with Troy Smith completing 19 of 28 passes for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns with no INT's. Brady Quinn also had a good day (29-45 for 286 yards), but it was not enough as the Buckeyes marched to a dramatic victory sealed by Antionio Pittman's 60 yard dash for the final touchdown to put the game out of reach.

hio State's Regular Season
Opening the year ranked #6 and with high expectations, Ohio State defeated lowly Miami of Ohio 34-14 in the first game of the season. The second week's tilt was huge, facing #2 Texas in columbus, but coming out with a disappointing 25-22 loss in a game that could have easily been a victory for the Buckeyes had not Ryan Hamby dropped what could have been the winning touchdown pass from Justin Zwick. The Buckeyes only other loss of the season was a disappointing 17-10 loss in Happy Valley to 16th ranked Penn State. The Buckeyes capped the season with a close shave at #17 Michigan, winning on the final drive as Troy Smith led the Buckeyes down the field. The most impressive play was a roll-out pass to Anthony Gonzalez, which put the Buckeyes in supreme position at Michigan's 4-yard line and eventually Antonio Pittman plunged into the endzone for the game-winning score.

The Bowl Game
Notre Dame took the ball at the opening drive and Darius Walker ran the ball in from 20 yards out to shock the Buckeyes with an easy 7 points. then Troy Smith hit Ted Ginn Jr. with a 56 yard pass in which he was wide open and the game was tied at 7-7. Neither team did much until the second quarter when Ted Ginn Jr. took a reverse 68 yards for a 14-7 Buckeye lead. Then with just over 2 minutes to go in the half, Smith hit Santonio Holmes for an 85 yard TD pass to make it 21-7 Buckeyes at half.

In the second half, Darius walker scored his second rushing TD to make it 21-13. The Buckeyes then added 2 field goals to make it 27-13. With 5 minutes left to go, Darius Walker scored his thirdrushing TD to make it 27-20. Troy Smith then put on a Heisman moment or two as he converted two key third downs to keep their final drive alive. After making the second third down play, Antonio Pittman took it the distance to seal the victory, which helped the Buckeyes vault into an impressive 2006 season (although I won't mention what happened in the end ... we all know what happened).

Let's face it, the Big Ten stinks ...

I've been trying to defend the Big Ten ever since Ohio State lost to Florida in the 2006 national title game. Being a Michigan native and a huge Ohio State fan, I love the Big Ten and I hate to see Big Ten teams lose in bowl games. I have been defending my beloved conference in the state where I live, Georgia, to a slew of SEC fans who rightly brag about how great their football conference is.

No more. The Big Ten stinks.

Wisconsin gets drilled by Florida State. Florida State?
Northwestern should have beat Missouri but of course found a way to lose.
Minnesota gets whacked by 7-5 Kansas.
Michigan State maybe plays the worst game of all time against Georgia. Georgia did everything but give them the game ball, and they still found a way to get doubled up.
Penn State gets steamrolled in the Rose Bowl.

Our lone ray of hope is Iowa, who did beat a team they should beat, South Carolina who can't pass the ball and probably couldn't even with a gun pointed at their QB's head.

Ohio State of course has yet to play. But even if they beat Texas ... then what? Will it really make that much of a difference for the conference? Not really. Folks will say, "Hey, Ohio State has their mojo back!" But even then, the Big Ten stinks. The fact of the matter is that the Big Ten needs desperately for Michigan and Wisconsin to be great. Teams like Northwestern and Michigan STate are just not going to get it done in big bowl games. The traditional powerhouses need to be powerhouses for the Big Ten. If Michigan and Wisconsin continue to dive bomb, then it could be a miserable few years for the Big Ten in bowl season.

Let's face it, Big Ten fans, the Big Ten stinks.