Fiesta Bowl Aftermath: Tressel's "Pryor-ities" Should Have Included Playing Boeckman More

Congratulations to Texas on its hard-fought 24-21 over Ohio State. To come from behind with only about two minutes to win the game was very impressive. I would be surprised if Texas is voted national champions by the AP, but it is still possible.

I was pleased with how Ohio State competed against Texas. The last two bowl games against Florida and LSU were over by halftime; this game literally went down to the final seconds. Considering I predicted Texas to defeat Ohio State 31-17, I can only hope that Ohio State gained some minor level of redemption in the eyes of the national media with their strong effort against Texas.

Where was the turning point in the game? I believe the third quarter, when Ohio State's offense had two series back to back when they went out three and out. Not only was Ohio State's offense ineffective, but Ohio State's defense was fatigued from being out on the field for almost the entire quarter. By the time Todd Boeckman entered the game, Ohio State trailed 17-6 with only 1:04 left in the third quarter.

Terrelle Pryor's passing statistics should give someone an idea as to what I am talking about: 5-14, for 66 yards; that's almost 5 yards per pass. Compare those stats to Todd Boeckman's: 5-11, for 110 yards and 1 touchdown; that's around 10 yards per pass. Yes, I know, Pryor ran for 78 yards and caught a crucial touchdown pass from Boeckman, but Pryor's inability to pass effectively severely hindered Ohio State when they needed time-consuming drives in the second half.

I find it odd that people suggest Terrelle Pryor will leave for the NFL after his junior season. Unless Pryor has aspirations of playing wide receiver in the NFL, Pryor needs every possible repetition at quarterback he can possibly get the next three seasons to fulfill his NFL quarterback ambitions.

Think about other college quarterbacks who run or play in a spread offense. Does anyone think Pryor is a better passer right now than West Virginia's Pat White? Missouri's Chase Daniel? Florida's Tim Tebow? All three of those players are being downgraded by NFL scouts as quarterbacks, and all of them are better passers than Terrelle Pryor. I would guess working on Pryor's passing technique and fundamentals will be the primary concern of the Ohio State coaching staff this off-season.

Again, congratulations to Texas for its Fiesta Bowl win. I can only suspect Ohio State's coaching staff will look back at this game's third quarter and second-guess their handling of their quarterback situation.