Nick Vannett had to turn off the TV. The Ohio State tight end was in his Arizona hotel room the night before playing Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, but a game in Dallas caused irritation. The Ohio State tight end was in his Arizona hotel room the night before playing Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, but a game in Dallas caused irritation. Once he saw Alabama seize control from Michigan State, Vannett had to turn off the Cotton Bowl. The 2014 national champion Buckeyes had come so close to meeting the Crimson Tide in the semifinals for a second straight year. So to see another Big Ten team take a 38-0 beating didn’t sit well with Vannett and the other former Ohio State players participating in this week’s Senior Bowl in Mobile. “It kinda made us look bad,” Vannett said. One disappointing November afternoon was all that kept the Buckeyes from a rematch with Alabama. The same Spartans that were whipped by Alabama upset the defending champs 17-14 on Nov. 21 in a game they didn’t lead until a last-second, 41-yard field goal. The fact it happened so late in the year, Michigan State was the Buckeyes’ only ranked opponent and it effectively knocked them from the Big Ten title race doomed hopes of a repeat championship. Ohio State went on to crush archrival and 10th-ranked Michigan 42-13 and controlled No…
Continue Reading: Former Ohio State players frustrated by Cotton Bowl blowout, liked chances against Alabama
