2011 Sugar Bowl
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The 2011
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Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
was an American
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
that was part of the
Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...
(BCS) for the
2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 2, 2010, and ended on ...
and was the 77th Sugar Bowl. The contest took place on January 4, 2011, in the
Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...
in
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. The game had an 8 p.m. (ET) kickoff. Paul Hoolahan was the executive director. The Sugar Bowl Committee overlooked the #4
Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...
and selected as its participants the #6
Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...
from the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
and the #8
Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...
from the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
. The Buckeyes won 31–26. Ohio State quarterback
Terrelle Pryor Terrelle Pryor Sr. (born June 20, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver and quarterback. Considered the most recruited high school football-basketball athlete in southwestern Pennsylvania since Tom Clements, Pryor was widely regarde ...
was named the game's Most Valuable Player. On July 8, 2011, under scrutiny from the NCAA due to a variety of program irregularities and violations of Ohio State University and NCAA policies, Ohio State vacated the 2011 Sugar Bowl win along with 11 other victories in their 2010 season. Ohio State head coach
Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the ...
, initially dismissed during the scandal, was subsequently allowed to retire from his position as head coach. The game's MVP, Pryor, did not finish his fourth year of eligibility for football at Ohio State, opting instead to seek employment in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. Initially barred from the postseason play by the Ohio State coaching staff were Pryor, leading rusher
Dan Herron Daniel "Boom" Herron (born March 21, 1989) is a former American football running back. Herron played football at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio, and later Ohio State University. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL dr ...
, wide receiver
DeVier Posey DeVier Stewart Posey (born March 15, 1990) is an American professional gridiron football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Houston T ...
, offensive tackle Mike Adams, and defensive end Solomon Thomas. On December 23, 2010 Pryor and the four other players were granted permission to participate in the upcoming Sugar Bowl contest. This reversal came after the five suspended players publicly committed to remain at the institution for the 2011 season if allowed to participate in the upcoming Sugar Bowl. Subsequent to the 2011 Sugar Bowl, Pryor reneged on his promise to complete his fifth year. The 2011 Sugar Bowl was the first-ever meeting between Ohio State and Arkansas. Prior to this game, the Big Ten Conference had a 1–4 record in the Sugar Bowl, with the sole victory coming when the 1998 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
in the
1999 Sugar Bowl The 1999 Sugar Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on January 1, 1999. It was the 65th edition of the Sugar Bowl and featured the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Texas A&M Aggies. Ohio State entered the game ranked number 4 in the B ...
. The Buckeyes came into the game 0–9 against SEC schools in bowl games all-time and they had not beaten a SEC opponent since 1988, when they defeated
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in a regular-season game by a score of 36–33. This bowl game win was vacated due to NCAA violations.


Teams


Ohio State

Coach
Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the ...
had a record of 105–22 at Ohio State. His team was led offensively by
Dan Herron Daniel "Boom" Herron (born March 21, 1989) is a former American football running back. Herron played football at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio, and later Ohio State University. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL dr ...
with 192 rushes for 1,068 yards and 15 touchdowns, quarterback
Terrelle Pryor Terrelle Pryor Sr. (born June 20, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver and quarterback. Considered the most recruited high school football-basketball athlete in southwestern Pennsylvania since Tom Clements, Pryor was widely regarde ...
with 196 of 298 passes for 2,551 yards and 25 touchdowns, and receiver
Dane Sanzenbacher Dane Sanzenbacher (born October 13, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Ohio State. High school career Sanzenbacher played high ...
on 52 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. Defensively, Brian Rolle had 70 tackles, Nathan Williams had 4.5 sacks for 35 yards, and
Chimdi Chekwa Chimdi Chekwa (born October 7, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Ohio State. He was drafted by the Raiders in the fourth round in the 2011 NFL Draft. College career As a senior in 2010, Chekwa was n ...
with 3 interceptions for 22 yards. On December 22, 2010, it was reported that Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron,
DeVier Posey DeVier Stewart Posey (born March 15, 1990) is an American professional gridiron football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Houston T ...
, Mike Adams, and Solomon Thomas had traded autographs for tattoos, a violation of NCAA rules. The school investigated the allegations and reported that the five players would not miss the Sugar Bowl but will miss five games of the 2011 season. The sixth player will miss Ohio State's season opener. The five players involved stated their intentions to return to Ohio State for the 2011 season, but after Coach Tressel's resignation in May, 2011 Terrelle Pryor announced that he would not return to play for Ohio State in 2011 and would probably enter the NFL supplemental draft.


Arkansas

Arkansas Coach
Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head coa ...
was in his third year with the team, with a 23-14 record. Offensive leaders included tailback
Knile Davis Knile Rashaad Davis (born October 5, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Arkansas and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also had brief stints with t ...
, who ran 178 times for 1,183 yards and 13 touchdowns, quarterback
Ryan Mallett Ryan Mallett (born June 5, 1988) is a former American football quarterback who is currently the head football coach at White Hall High School in White Hall, Arkansas. He played college football at Arkansas, and was drafted by the New England ...
who completed 242 of 364 passes for 3,592 yards and 30 touchdowns, and a pair of receivers in D.J. Williams (49 receptions for 589 yards, 4 TDs) and
Jarius Wright Jarius Wright (born November 25, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, where ...
(38 catches for 718 yards, 4 touchdowns). Operated on a 4–3 defense scheme, the team was led by
Jerry Franklin Jerry Franklin (born January 10, 1988) is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent in the National Football League (NFL). He was originally signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Franklin played col ...
with 93 tackles, Jake Bequette on 7.0 sacks for 36 yards, and Tramain Thomas who had 4 interceptions for 24 yards.


Game summary

The Buckeyes struck first, with Dane Sanzenbacher recovering a fumble in the end zone after Terrelle Pryor fumbled on the 3-yard line. Arkansas struck back with Ryan Mallett connecting with Joe Adams on a 17-yard pass. Dan Herron added a 9-yard run, and Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey caught touchdown passes of 15 and 43 yards respectively to give the Buckeyes a big lead. Zach Hocker hit a 20-yard field goal as time expired and the Razorbacks were down 28–10 at the half. In the third quarter, the momentum shifted Arkansas' direction. Hocker and Devin Barclay traded field goals, then Mallett connected with Jarius Wright for a touchdown, then made the two-point conversion on a pass to D. J. Williams to pull within ten. The Razorbacks closed the gap further in the fourth, on a safety by Jake Bequette and another field goal by Hocker. With just over a minute left, Arkansas blocked Ohio State's punt and recovered on the 18-yard line. However, on 2nd down & 10, Mallett's pass was intercepted. The Buckeyes would run out the clock for a 31–26 victory. This was Ohio State's first bowl win over an SEC opponent.


Scoring summary


Statistics


Notes


References

{{Ohio State Buckeyes bowl game navbox
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
Sugar Bowl Arkansas Razorbacks football bowl games Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
January 2011 sports events in the United States