Ohio State ended a 22-year winless drought against SEC teams as the Buckeyes held off a late rally to defeat Arkansas 31-26 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Razorbacks’ coach Bobby Petrino established himself as an offensive guru many years ago, but on Tuesday against the Buckeyes some of his decisions proved very costly.
With the Buckeyes leading 14-7 early in the second quarter, Arkansas was faced with fourth down and less than a yard from the Ohio State 30.
Instead of attempting a field goal or having his 6’6″ quarterback Ryan Mallett sneak the ball for the first down, Petrino opted for a pass play.
The Buckeyes’ Cameron Heyward batted down Mallet’s pass attempt and Arkansas turned the ball over on downs.
Ohio State capitalized on Petrino’s poor decision with an eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive that took only 2:50, putting the Buckeyes up 21-7 with 12:43 left in the half.
Despite the Razorbacks ability to run the ball against an Ohio State defense ranked second in the nation, Petrino had Mallett attempt 47 passes during the game.
While some of those pass attempts can be attributed to the Buckeyes early lead and the inability of the Razorbacks defense to keep Ohio State out of the end zone, Arkansas was consistently in third and long situations by not running the ball.
The Razorbacks finished the game with 125 yards rushing, but that figure was skewed by the 28 yards Mallett lost getting sacked four times.
Knile Davis had 139 yards on 26 carries for the Hogs while Mallett completed 24 of 47 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Arkansas gained 402 yards against a Buckeyes defense that was allowing an average of 250.5 yards per game.
The Buckeyes’ team that beat the Razorbacks had an element that past Ohio State teams haven’t – a dual threat quarterback like Terrelle Pryor.
Pyror’s performance was one of the keys to Ohio State’s victory, their first win over an SEC team since beating LSU in 1988.
The Ohio State QB accounted for 336 yards against the Hogs, passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 115 yards.
The Buckeyes defense was able to put pressure on Mallett throughout the game and stepped up late after the Razorbacks blocked an Ohio State punt with just over a minute left.
Arkansas took over at the Buckeyes 18 and after an incomplete pass on first down, Ohio State’s Solomon Thomas intercepted Mallett’s second down pass attempt with 58 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State earned their win over Arkansas, but the Razorbacks could have easily won the game had it not been for several dropped passes, too many penalties and the questionable decisions by Petrino.
Buckeyes’ fans can finally crow about beating a team from the SEC after getting drubbed in their most recent contests against Florida and LSU.
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