In this edition of a random Ohio State football bowl victory we’ll dive into the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Even though it was vacated, Buckeye fans will never forget the battle against Arkansas.
For the longest time Ohio State couldn’t shake the criticism that they couldn’t beat a team from the SEC. Funny how the narrative has changed in the last 15 years, as now the Buckeyes hold big wins over Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas.
Back in 2010, things were a lot different, as scars from losses in the BCS National Championship Game to Florida and LSU in back-to-back years were still fresh. Entering the 2010 season, Ohio State was 0-9 in bowl games against SEC teams. Their last win against an SEC team came all the way back in 1988 against LSU, and even that victory was vacated.
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Expectations were high in Columbus for the Buckeyes after Jim Tressel’s team capped off their 2009 season with a 26-17 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl to finish the season 11-2. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor was returning to Ohio State, leading to the Buckeyes entering the season ranked number two in the country.
In their second game of the season, Ohio State and No. 12 Miami squared off in a marquee game at Ohio State, with the Buckeyes winning 36-24.
The national championship hopes of the Buckeyes took a major hit in October when they suffered their first loss of the season, falling 31-18 to Wisconsin in Madison. Ohio State would rally to finish the regular season with just the one setback, closing out their schedule with a 20-17 win at Iowa, followed by a 37-7 thumping of Michigan at home.
With an 11-1 record, the Buckeyes were primed to play in another BCS bowl.
When the bowl games were set in early December, it was announced that Ohio State would take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl. New Orleans hadn’t been especially kind to the Buckeyes in the past, as not only were they just 1-3 in past Sugar Bowl appearances, Ohio State also lost the BCS National Championship Game to LSU in New Orleans.
The matchup with the Razorbacks would be the first between the two programs, and it remains the only time the teams have squared off.
As if Ohio State didn’t have enough to deal with heading into the game with their poor history against SEC teams, just before Christmas there was even more to worry about. Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, and Solomon Thomas were all found to have traded autographs for tattoos.
Despite the infractions, the players were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, as instead they would be punished by being suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season.
Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino had the Razorback football program on the rise entering the 2010 season. In 2009, Petrino’s squad finished the season with an overtime win over East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl to finish 8-5. Expectations were even higher entering his third season in Fayetteville, with the Razorbacks ranked 17th to start the year.
Both of the losses Arkansas suffered in the season came to top-10 teams. In September, Alabama escaped Fayetteville with a 24-20 win, and a month later the Razorbacks lost a wild game to seventh-ranked Auburn 65-43 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Arkansas closed out the regular season with a 38-31 win in double overtime at No. 22 Mississippi State, followed by a 31-23 win in Little Rock over LSU, who was ranked sixth at the time.
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What was scariest about the Arkansas team entering this game was their offense. Ryan Mallett started his college career at Michigan before transferring to Arkansas back in the day when there was no transfer portal and players had to sit out a year when they changed schools.
Mallett did suit up once against the Buckeyes, but only threw three passes in the 2007 game against Ohio State. In the 2010 regular season, Mallett threw for over 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns with a group that saw five receivers catch at least 30 passes.
Ohio State didn’t take long to get going after Arkansas’ first possession where Mallett threw three incomplete passes before the Razorbacks punted. Pryor was on his way into the end zone on a rush from over 30 yards out before he fumbled at the three-yard-line.
Luckily for Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher jumped on the football in the end zone to give the Buckeyes the early lead. Arkansas would find their bearings and respond within two minutes when Mallett found receiver Joe Adams for a nine yard touchdown to tie the score.
The Buckeyes would strike back just over two minutes when Dan Herron rushed for a nine-yard score. The touchdown would kick off a 21-0 run by Ohio State, with Sanzenbacher hauling in a 15-yard touchdown reception at the 9:53 mark of the second quarter, followed by a DeVier Posey 43-yard touchdown catch two minutes before halftime. Arkansas would put three points on the scoreboard before halftime when Zach Hocker hit a 20-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Hocker would score the first points of the second half just over five minutes into the third quarter when his 46-yard kick went through the uprights. Ohio State would match the score when Devin Barclay hit from the same distance at 4:10 of the quarter. The field goal would be the last points the Buckeyes would put on the scoreboard, but at the time Ohio State fans had to be feeling good with an 18-point lead.
The good vibes wouldn’t last too long, though. Mallett found Jarius Wright from 22 yards out, followed by adding a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 31-21 with 58 seconds left in the quarter.
Buckeye Nation would get even more nervous early in the fourth quarter when Jake Bequette tackled running back Dan Herron in the end zone for a safety to make it a one-score game. Hocker would connect on his third field goal of the night just three minutes later to make it a 31-26 game.
By this time the Buckeyes were on their heels and it looked like they were on the verge of choking away the game. Things got even worse when Herron was stopped on fourth down at Ohio State’s 37 with just under six minutes to go.
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Even though momentum was clearly on the side of the Razorbacks, Arkansas wasted their great field position on the next drive, losing seven yards and being forced to punt. While Ohio State was able to bleed about three minutes off the clock when they got the football, Ben Buchanan’s punt was blocked by the Razorbacks, giving Arkansas the football inside the Buckeye 20.
After throwing an incompletion on first down, Mallett’s next pass was intercepted by Solomon Thomas of all people to seal the game for Ohio State and finally earn the Buckeyes a win against a team from the SEC.
The Sugar Bowl win was the last good feeling for Ohio State football for a while. In late May, Jim Tressel resigned, leading to co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell being named interim head coach for the 2011 season. Pryor would never play another snap for the Buckeyes, instead opting to enter the NFL’s Supplemental Draft.
At least with Pryor having moved on, Braxton Miller was able to see the field earlier than he had anticipated, setting the table for him to lead Ohio State at quarterback during Urban Meyer’s first two years as head coach. The Buckeyes would finish the 2011 season 6-7 under Fickell, losing the Gator Bowl to Florida.
Arkansas would have a more enjoyable 2011 season than Ohio State did, posting an 11-2 season that was capped off with a 29-16 win over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. The Razorbacks would run into controversy of their own following the 2011 season when Bobby Petrino’s motorcycle ride with a former Arkansas volleyball player that he hired for a position within the football program went wrong.
Who can ever forget the road rash/neck brace photos of Petrino just days following the crash? Since Petrino’s firing, Arkansas has failed to win more than nine games in a season.