Buckeyes vs Longhorns
Buckeyes vs Longhorns The Big 12 and the Big Ten faceoff in one of the best match-ups of the 2008-09 bowl season, as the Texas Longhorns take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night in Glendale, Arizona.

The Longhorns come in with an impressive 11-1 record with the Buckeyes not far behind at 10-2. This is an intriguing match-up that should be a fun one to watch.

For the Ohio State offense to be successful in this one, they will need to stay balanced. Look for running back Chris "Benie" Wells to try and get going early behind the huge Buckeyes o-line. Highlight the play of left guard Ben Person starting in place of Jim Cordle, just back from a late-season knee injury.

In the passing game, freshman Terrelle Pryor has thrown better than expected. If Wells can open up the passing game with a few big runs early on, look for receivers Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline to be able to get
open down the field.

For Texas and their offense, things need to go a little differently. Quarterback Colt McCoy will need to push the ball down the field to open up the run game against an Ohio State defense that held opposing runners to just 3.7 yards per carry. That being said, with McCoy under center Texas doesn't always need to worry about having a successful ground attack.

Texas' junior signal caller completed 77.6 percent of his passes with 32 touchdowns to just seven interceptions while throwing for over 3,400 yards. It will be interesting to see if McCoy goes after Ohio State's All-American cornerback Malcolm Jenkins or just stays away from the Buckeyes best defensive back. Jenkins has eleven career interceptions, including three this season.

The line in this one opened at Texas -10.5, but with a lot of early money coming in on Ohio State, some Vegas books have the Longhorns as low as -8. The total is right around 52, give or take a .5 point.