Our Honor Defend

No, we don’t have any grudge against Texas A&M. In fact, I for one think Texas A&M’s fanbase is one of the better fanbases in all of college football. But with that said, some great moments in Buckeye bowl history came to their detriment. Below, I link to the recent uploads from the 1999 Sugar Bowl and the 1987 Cotton Bowl. The story of the 1999 Sugar Bowl was the first quarter outburst. The story of the 1987 Cotton Bowl was the comedy of second-half interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, that ultimately meant the Aggies’ demise in their quest to win back-to-back Cotton Bowls.

And, if you’re curious why anyone would have so many YouTubes of Earle Bruce’s tenure (and I have much more too…), wondering if the reason for the love to Earle Bruce might have something to do with a not-so-subtle attempt to get Earle Bruce himself to notice this crappy blog and give his official seal of approval… you would, well, be correct for the most part. It’s my fervent belief that practically no Buckeye my age has any idea who he is or why we should honor his tenure. If that parlays into him finding out that some mid-20yr olds haven’t forgotten about him and him willingly hold up a sheet of paper that says “I’m Earle Bruce and I support this blog of dubious quality and factual veracity” for a photo-op, then so be it. For what it’s worth, Gabby swears he already has a Photoshop ready for the occasion.

You can watch the videos embedded below or head right over to YouTube-o-vision (TM) to get your fix.

First up is the 1999 Sugar Bowl clips. The Buckeyes were ogling for a first place finish and a national title, though the loss to Michigan State precluded a Fiesta Bowl trip. The Buckeyes exploded in the first quarter to take a 21-7 lead, ultimately unable to do anything else for the rest of the game. That said, two series in particular emerged from this game.

First, Joe Montgomery gets inserted into the game after a David Boston reception to make the down-and-distance 2nd and 4 in the Aggies’ half of the field. Joe Montgomery takes care of the rest.

Afterwards, the Aggies’ responding drive stalls, forcing a punt… or at least an attempt at a punt. Derek Ross comes free on the edge and stuffs the A&M punter, allowing Kevin Griffin to scoop up the ball for six.

The 1987 Cotton Bowl was the first game to feature a Big Ten team. Earle Bruce also pimped himself out for the occasion, donning a fedora and suit in lieu of his usual red shirt, gray pants and headset. The Buckeyes first struck with two big plays from Cris Carter and Jamie Holland to put the Buckeyes up 7-3 in the first half, ultimately resulting in a 7-6 halftime lead against the defending Cotton Bowl champions.

However, the comedy of interceptions began for the Aggies in the second half, where Chris Spielman added to the Buckeyes’ lead with a 24yd INT return for a TD.

On the Aggies’ next drive from the kickoff, Sonny Gordon made an athletic strip on a reception to be awarded an interception, kicking off another TD drive to make the game 21-6 Buckeyes. On this play, the image I captured that Gabby posted is at the 4 minute and 56 second mark. We don’t know if it’s Urban Meyer, but you have our utmost assurance that we didn’t doctor anything.

I didn’t upload the Kumerow interception, which was the third interception of the game. However, I did upload Spielman’s second interception. Spielman had two picks and 11 tackles, ultimately picking up defensive MVP honors.

The Aggies did score, though, and missed on the 2pt conversion. The Aggies were now only down 21-12, hoping to get a score of some kind to make the game a one possession ballgame. However, Michael Kee picked off Kevin Murray for the fifth time in the game and took it to the house with under 3 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to ultimately finish off the Aggies. Kee’s 49yd return set a Cotton Bowl record, as did Murray’s fifth interception toss.

I should have more coming up from other Earle Bruce games over the weekend, if you’re interested.