Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas

What Happened to Ted? OSU wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. electrified the crowd with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, then played just one more play in the game before heading to the locker room with an ankle injury. Ginn was in a boot and on crutches after the game.

Ted Ginn Jr.

"I got tackled one time and that was in the end zone during the celebration," said Ginn.

"I didn’t feel immediately when we went back out and that first play on offense

"I was trying to run an out cut and couldn’t. it is a crazy little deal. I told my guys that I was going to take the opening kick off back to the house and I did but then I came up limping. I think I could have made a difference. I think I could have made some plays that we were looking for. They locked down Gonzo and that was kind of our offense," Ginn said.

According to OSU wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, the injury hurt Ginn in more ways than one.

"Everyone's emotions were on high obviously," said Gonzalez.

"That's an unfortunate situation. Nobody wanted to play as much as Ted Ginn did. You could see it all over his face before, all week, during the game. Once he went out you could see he was really devastated."

Not Much Production: The OSU offense was held to less-than 100 yards of total offense by the Florida defense. According to OSU wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, that's not surprising given the way the Buckeyes played.

Anthony Gonzalez

"We weren't getting open, we weren't blocking, we weren't running, we really weren't doing anything well," said Gonzalez.

"Speed probably had something to do with it, physicality, talent, I can say with complete honesty I think the better football team won," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez, who has been mulling a move to the NFL after this season, said the loss could impact his decision.

"If anything would make me want to come back, it would be this," said Gonzalez.

"Who would want this to be your last memory, but no, I haven't thought about it. As I said before the game, I wasn't going to, it would be disrespective of the game."

Not the Layoff: Much was made all week leading up to the game of the long layoff the Buckeyes had after the Michigan game. OSU certainly was sluggish, but none of the players who were on the field blamed their play on the layoff.

Antonio Pittman

"That didn't have nothing to do with anything. It was just that we didn't execute what we were taught. Flat out," said running back Antonio Pittman.

"You can't blame it on no layoff, you can't blame it on anything else. It was just that we didn't do the things we were taught to do. It wasn't that they didn't let us do anything, it was that we didn't do it. I don't know if it was lack of focus or guys were just amazed by the scene or anything like that."

Linebacker Marcus Freeman also speculated that the Buckeyes perhaps simply lost focus for the game.

"You're in this crazy atmosphere. We go out there and score first touchdown on that kickoff, and then they come and score on us real fast. It's a little bit of everything, getting caught up in the hype, just not being focused. We just let them have big plays and we didn't have a lot of field position."

"It wasn't really a layoff," added Kirk Barton.

"We scrimmaged every-other-day, and we were practicing hard. It's not like we were sitting around. We were getting hammered by each other. It's one of those things. I don't think the layoff was the reason it turned out like that."

Bitter Pill: The Buckeyes had a great season and the OSU senior class was a big part of that season, but it's likely that this season will be remembered as much for its one loss as it is for it's first 12 wins. For the outgoing seniors, the game in Glendale was a bitter pill after a season of sweetness.

Jay Richardson

"This isn't how you want to finish your season, this isn't how you want to finish your career," said OSU senior defensive end Jay Richardson.

"I feel bad more bad for these seniors than anybody, because they don't have next year. Me and the rest of the younger guys, we have next year," explained linebacker Marcus Freeman.

"We can get ready and prepare to try to go to another national championship, but the seniors, this is their last game and it's tough knowing this is how they ended," Freeman said.

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