5. QB Cardale Jones
There are some players that play great in the regular season and absolutely fold in the bowl games or other national stage. Cardale Jones got his first career start in a title game, his second career start in the Sugar Bowl, and his third start in the biggest game in College Football history.
Jones did not, by any means, play a perfect game – he made several critical mistakes that could have cost his team dearly. But on the biggest stage he made some of the most incredible throws and runs we’ve ever seen, soaring through the air a la Cam Newton and throwing absolute lasers into tight coverage against the Oregon defense.
He wasn’t invaluable to the team, but he stepped up his game in the biggest spot.
4. The Offensive Line
Let’s give credit where credit is due: With the amount of time that offensive line gave to Cardale Jones he had enough time to order a pizza, get a manicure, file his taxes, wish his 6-month old child goodnight and still have time to make the throws he needed to win that game.
The pass protection was superb but the run-blocking was out of this world. As great as RB Ezekiel Elliot was (more on him later), the holes that offensive line made were big enough to drive minivans through. It was reminiscent of the Dallas Cowboys massive offensive line that helped keep Tony Romo on his feet and helped RB DeMarco Murray lead the league in rushing this past year.
There were many questions as to whether the Oregon Ducks were physical enough to beat them, and outside of perhaps a couple of broken plays, the Ohio State offensive line answered with a resounding “No.” And the best part is: Most of those guys are still underclassmen who aren’t NFL-eligible yet. Imagine what they’ll look like with more time in the gym and more time to develop into NFL linemen.
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