Why Ohio State Deserved the National Title

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few days, you probably heard about the amazing college football national championship game between the Buckeyes of Ohio State and the Hurricanes of Miami. As you know, the game went into two overtimes with the Buckeyes emerging victorious at the end. Of course the win was not without some controversy, and lately I have heard a lot from Miami fans about a pass interference which supposedly should not have been called. Now, I am not debating here if it was the right call. Maybe it was pass interference, and maybe it was not. However, I do feel that the Buckeyes deserved to win the game, and here are the reasons why:

• Ohio State did everything they were supposed to. They shut down the run, and controlled the pass as much as possible. They forced turnovers, and did well on special teams. Everyone said if we did those things we would have a chance at winning.
• Miami could not score from first and goal on the Ohio State two-yard-line. In the previous overtime the Buckeyes were in a similar situation, first and goal from the two. At this point, my friend turned to me and said, "If we don't score here then we don't deserve the national championship." It's true, a national championship team should be able to drive the ball two yards in four plays. We did it, they didn't.
• the officiating was equally bad for both sides. In the fourth quarter with about two minutes left the buckeyes had the ball on a third and short. Krenzel passed the ball to Gamble who caught the ball but was ruled out of bounds, however replays clearly showed he was in bounds when he caught the ball. If that catch was ruled made by the officials then the game would have ended right there. No punt, no 40 yard punt return, and no field goal. Also, less we forget, there was a pass interference call made on Gamble in the second overtime which gave Miami the ball on the two yard line with four down to get it in (see the previous note). The bottom line is that Miami has no right to complain about the officiating.
• Our fans are better too. We basically moved Columbus to Tempe for that whole week. One of the most famous bars on campus brought signs in from Columbus and transformed a local bar into this famous Columbus bar. Thousands of Ohio State fans flocked to Tempe even though they didn't have tickets. Is that dedication or what? Ohio State has one of the most historic programs in the United States with deep rooted traditions. We have Script Ohio, Hang On Sloopy, the Buckeye Battle Cry, and fight the team to name a few. Miami has smoke when they run into the stadium.

All in all it was a great game. Yes, I think the Buckeyes deserved to win, but you know what? Miami has nothing to be ashamed of. Ohio State were underdogs the whole season. Nobody truly appreciated their talent and strength and that is what led to the upset. Miami played a great game, and really it could have gone either way. Despite my poking fun at the Miami team and fans here, I really do have a ton of respect for them. Winning 34 games in a row is not something to snub your nose at. What I do take offense to is when I hear people say that the refs handed us the game. No one handed us anything at all all year long. We fought for every single one of our wins, and in fact many times the refs seemed like they did not want us to win. So Miami fans (what few of you have not gone into hiding) suck it up and take the loss with class and dignity. Be proud of your team for winning 34 games. It will make the time 'till next year go a lot quicker. Believe me, as a fan of Ohio Sports teams, I know what its like to lose championship games. GO BUCKS!

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Why Ohio State Deserved the National Title
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