Sugar Bowl Preview

(6) Ohio St. -3 vs. (8) Arkansas

The perception of the Big Ten has taken a severe hit since Ohio St. got blown out in the 2006 National Championship at the hands of Florida. The Buckeyes continued being the key contributors to the perception of the Big Ten not showing up in big games in the following years. They lost to LSU for the national title in 2007, and had losses to USC and Texas follow as well. More specifically the Big Ten has been accused of not being able to hang with SEC teams. This perception was not helped by the conference's 0-5 showing on New Year's Day that included 3 losses to SEC schools. Ohio St. gets the opportunity to face yet another SEC squad in Arkansas. This comes amidst all of the scandal that has been unveiled in the last week and a half in Columbus. Star players Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron, and DeVier Posey were among 5 players that were suspended for the first 5 games of the 2011 season for selling items that included game jerseys and conference championship rings. Despite this the players were deemed eligible to play in the school's 6th consecutive BCS bowl game. On the other hand, QB Ryan Mallett leads the Razorbacks to their 1st BCS bowl in the program's history. Mallett entered college at Michigan with the belief that the Buckeyes would be a fierce rival. After transferring to Arkansas, he gets to end his college career by finally leading his team into a meaningful game against Ohio St. Expect Mallett to produce yards through the air, as the Buckeyes' secondary has been susceptible to some big plays. Ultimately this game comes down to how well the Buckeyes players have been able to focus with everything swirling around them. Call it a hunch, but I think Pryor will put together a game reminiscent of last year's Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes get a small piece of respect back for themselves as well as the Big Ten.

Prediction - Ohio St. 31 Arkansas 26