Pryor, Buckeyes prevail in Rose Bowl
Right about the same time Terrelle Pryor put down his helmet and clutched that first rose between his teeth, Jeremiah Masoli was trudging disconsolately into the Rose Bowl locker room.
Ohio State's quarterback had just performed brilliantly on the biggest stage of his young career, while his Oregon counterpart had endured his worst outing of an otherwise charmed season.
Both Pryor and Masoli could agree: the difference was defense in the eighth-ranked Buckeyes' 26-17 victory over the No. 7 Ducks in the 96th Rose Bowl Friday in Pasadena, Calif.
The Buckeyes' Big Ten bruisers never allowed Masoli and his creative Ducks to take flight, while Oregon couldn't keep up with Pryor at the controls of Ohio State's surprising aerial approach.
"We have a great defense that causes turnovers, and then our offense ends up scoring," said Pryor, who passed for a career-high 266 yards and two touchdowns. "We owe a lot to those guys. We score the points, but they put us in that position."
The former Jeannette High star also rushed for 72 yards and threw a 17-yard scoring pass to DeVier Posey with 7:02 to play, putting Ohio State in prime position to end its three-game BCS skid while closing the 10-year gap since the Big Ten's last win in the Rose Bowl.
And Ohio State (11-2) did it in a most unlikely manner while running 89 offensive plays to the Ducks' 53. Pryor came out flinging it from the opening possession, completing a career-high 23 of 37 in an aggressive, inventive plan for an offense that often stayed safe and ground-bound this season, worried about Pryor's ability to live up to his enormous potential.
"We felt like we really needed to come in flinging it around," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "I thought (Pryor) made good decisions. He was engaged in the game, talking between series. (He) knew what they were doing, and why they were doing it."
Gator Bowl Florida State 33, No. 18 West Virginia 21
At Jacksonville, Fla., Bobby Bowden capped his coaching career with one final win as Florida State rallied past West Virginia.
The 80-year-old Bowden rode into retirement, carried on the shoulders of his Seminoles.
"It's got to be memorable," Bowden said. "It's my last dadgum ballgame after 57 years of coaching."
Jermaine Thomas ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns, and MVP E.J. Manuel threw for 189 yards and ran for another score.
Florida State (7-6) overcame a 14-3 deficit in the first half, giving Bowden his 33rd straight winning season at the school. Noel Devine ran for 168 yards and a touchdown for West Virginia (9-4).
Bowden finished 389-129-4 and left as major college football's second-winningest coach — Joe Paterno earned his 394th victory in the Capital One Bowl Friday.
Outback Bowl Auburn 38, Northwestern 35
At Tampa, Fla., Auburn stopped Northwestern's final trick play of the game and, after two earlier celebrations, the Tigers held on to win in overtime.
Wes Byrum kicked a 21-yard field goal in overtime, and the Tigers (8-5) overcame several mistakes that gave the Wildcats chances for their first bowl victory in 61 years.
On the last play, the Wildcats sent backup kicker Steve Flaherty onto the field to try to force a second overtime. He was subbing for Stefan Demos, who had been injured earlier in the overtime.
Northwestern faked a field goal, and receiver Zeke Markshausen took a handoff between the legs from holder Dan Persa and circled right end. Auburn's Neiko Thorpe stopped him after a 3-yard gain to the 2.
The Wildcats (8-5) fell to 1-7 all-time in postseason games. The lone win came against California in the 1949 Rose Bowl.
Mike Kafka went 47-for-78 passing for 532 yards with five interceptions and four TDs for Northwestern. Walter McFadden returned one of two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown.
