A Wrenching Defeat Plummer Lives Up To His Reputation And More Despite Loss To Ohio State

Down by 13 points in the fourth quarter against UCLA? No problem.

Trailing USC by seven with 90 seconds left? Not to worry.

Need a touchdown in the final minute to go ahead of Ohio State in Wednesday’s Rose Bowl? Relax.

Jake Plummer had rallied Arizona State so many times that his coach, Bruce Snyder, had come to expect it.

So when Plummer turned a seemingly sure sack into an 11-yard, go-ahead touchdown run against the Buckeyes, Snyder wasn’t surprised.

Plummer had simply done it again. And then he hadn’t.

Ohio State scored the winning touchdown just 1:21 later to claim a 20-17 victory, forcing Plummer to end his remarkable college career on a losing note.

“It’s tough when you think you got it,” Plummer said during his brief appearance in the postgame interview room, “but Ohio State executed the 2-minute offense and they won the game.”

Down 20-17, Plummer did his best to execute the lesser-known 19-second offense, moving the Sun Devils to Ohio State’s 35-yard line with a pair of completions over the middle.

There simply wasn’t enough time. The Buckeyes were thankful.

“Jake Plummer is all he’s built up to be,” Ohio State coach John Cooper said.

Cooper wasn’t the only Buckeye feeling a little anxious after Plummer’s TD run put the Sun Devils ahead 17-14 with 1:40 to play. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous,” strong safety Damon Moore said.

OSU holds out hope; yeah, right

Arizona State’s loss essentially made tonight’s Florida State-Florida rematch a national-title game, although the Buckeyes weren’t conceding anything.

“I think we definitely deserve it,” Ohio State receiver David Boston maintained. “We’ve worked hard all year long.”

Meaning about 100 other teams just became contenders.

A nice thought

With less than 6 minutes left and Ohio State leading 14-10, the Sun Devils appeared to score after returning a blocked field goal more than 70 yards.

However, ASU was guilty of a forward lateral on the runback and the ball was brought back to the ASU 42. But Plummer then took the Sun Devils down the field in 10 plays and scored on his 11-yard run.

Tooting their own horns

Any doubts about whether they take their football seriously in Columbus were allayed 45 minutes before kickoff, when an Ohio State official came through the press box with bound copies of the official media guide - of the Buckeye marching band.

The 18-page guide includes four pages of overhead diagrams depicting the band’s various formations - “sideline entrance” and “double-script Ohio,” for example - and includes everything from the corresponding music to the proper public-address announcement for each.

Keeping Pace

Ohio State left tackle Orlando Pace, the closest thing to a one-man double-team since Anthony Munoz played for USC, pushed back his self-imposed deadline to announce his intentions for next season.

The 6-foot-6, 330-pound junior had been expected to announce his candidacy for this spring’s NFL draft, but told reporters he wouldn’t address the issue until immediately following Wednesday’s game.

But Pace remained noncommittal, saying he’ll make an announcement in “three or four days.”

Quotebook

“You obviously prefer a game not to end on a penalty. The calls seemed to be in the eyes of the beholder … you have to make sure it is a true infraction before you throw a flag.” - Snyder, disputing late pass-interference calls that fueled Ohio State’s winning drive.

The officiating crew was from the Big East Conference.

Notes

Ohio State’s victory was its first in a Rose Bowl since a 42-21 win over USC after the 1973 season… . The Pac-10 leads the Big Ten 26-25-1 in the series… . Cooper is 2-0 in Rose Bowls, having led ASU to a win in ‘87.

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