Pryor Wins One for Ohio

PASADENA, Calif. -- On behalf of the Big Ten, LeBron James, Jim Tressel and grief counselors throughout Ohio, allow me to thank Terrelle Pryor.

They really needed that.

Superman finally showed up and delivered by far the biggest win of the decade for his school and conference. Never mind that the decade was only 18 hours old when Ohio State players started dancing around with roses between their teeth.

"This says a lot," tight end Jake Ballard said.

The Buckeyes' 26-17 win says the BCS should no longer consider giving the Big Ten's automatic bid to a more deserving league, like the Big Sky.

It says Ohio State can actually win a game that matters. It says the program may not have fallen behind Cincinnati as the finest in Ohio.

It says Tressel may actually know what he's doing, especially when it comes to quarterbacks. And it says that the current person in that position may actually be as good as advertised out of high school.

Check that. Not even Tim Tebow and his 12 disciples can be that good. But Pryor's performance should at least keep the Buckeyes from ever again thinking Pryor is a bust in the making.

"I felt like I could have this kind of game any time," he said.

This kind of game featured 266 yards passing, 72 yards rushing and more importantly, the feeling Pryor was figuring out how to channel all his athletic powers.

"At times he looked like a man amongst boys," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said.

You figured it might happen eventually. It's just that Oregon fans have to be asking why it had to happen Friday.

The Ducks hadn't won a Rose Bowl since 1917, back when they were called the Webfoots. They were the trendy pick this year, primarily because their spread offense looked so Space Age compared to the clunker Tressel had patched together.

So what happened?

"They studied well," Oregon tailback Kenjon Barner said.

Ohio State held Oregon to 12 first downs. Of course, it's hard to gain much yardage when you're on the field less time than the band.

The Buckeyes hogged the ball a bowl-record 41:38. That against a team that ran up 613 yards and 47 points against USC.

The same USC that beat Ohio State 18-15 in Columbus way back on Sept. 12. On top of three straight BCS bowl flops, that game cemented the notion that the Buckeyes can't win a notable game outside the Big Ten.

That's sort of like continually winning the Miss North Dakota pageant. Pryor said one reason he chose Ohio State was to help the Buckeyes get over that big-show hump.

Was Friday it?

"I don't know how to answer that," he said.

Maybe he was waiting on text-message advice from James. Ohio's preeminent sports star has taken Pryor under his wide wingspan, offering support the past few months when Pryor really needed it.

Like after his four-turnover game against Purdue. Pryor's development seemed so stunted that his high school coach said his former prodigy would be better off being coached by Rich Rodriguez at Michigan.

Ohio State was stuck being Ohio State, which means establish the run and waste five-star quarterbacking talent. But there was a reason Mr. Sweater Vest wasn't turning all the kid's talent loose. The kid wasn't ready.

"I was trying to force too many throws, trying to prove to everybody that I'm a quarterback," he said. "I wasn't taking off when I could run, and stuff like that. I need to use what I have, my feet, and try to throw the ball. So I need to use both."

When he uses both wisely, what is his potential?

"The sky's the limit," Pryor said.

And think what he can do with two good wheels. Pryor operated the second half of the season with a partially torn ligament in his right knee. Not that you could tell against the Ducks.

They were probably confused by the fact Tressel let Pryor throw 38 passes. The quarterback had spent much of the past month immersed in studying tape of players like Peyton Manning.

"We felt like this was a pivotal game because it marked the end of the first half of his career," Tressel said. "We felt like we needed to progress a little more. I think we did."

He's never been one to get too excited, and with good reason. One win really is not a cure-all for all the school and conference image problems.

But imagine if the Big Ten champ had returned empty from another bowl trip. Buckeyes fans might have been so batty they'd have wanted the entire team coached by Rodriguez.

Now the usual winter of discontent will be replaced by a spring of hope. Of all the things the Rose Bowl said, the loudest was that the sky really is the limit for Pryor.

And if Friday was an indication, he might even reach it.