Monday, November 26, 2001
Ohio State sees Outback or Citrus
Buckeyes get bowl upgrade after beating Michigan
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It looks like Ohio State might be headed back to Florida for New Year's Day.
It is “highly possible” that the Buckeyes will play in either the Outback Bowl in Tampa or the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Ohio State Athletics Director Andy Geiger said Sunday night. The Buckeyes likely will play a Southeastern Conference opponent that is yet to be determined.
Ohio State's bowl destination probably will be known within 48 hours, Geiger said Sunday night following a conference call with fellow Big Ten athletics directors.
Illinois (10-1, 7-1) has clinched the Big Ten championship and the conference's Bowl Championship Series berth. That leaves Michigan (8-3, 6-2) and Ohio State (7-4, 5-3) — the second- and third-place teams in the league — as the likely options for the Citrus and Outback bowls.
Under the Big Ten's bowl agreements, the Citrus Bowl gets to choose first, followed by the Outback Bowl and then the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
“Inclination is that they'll pick Michigan, and then we'll go back to Tampa, which we're, I think, excited to do,” Geiger said of the Citrus Bowl's pending decision.
He said the Buckeyes — 26-20 winners over Michigan on Saturday — could get their bowl invitation before an opponent is determined because the SEC title race is not finalized.
“You'd just have to look at the standings and see if you can figure it out,” Geiger said. “They've got games to play yet.”
The SEC has a full slate of games Saturday, including a Top 10 showdown of Tennessee at Florida. After that, the SEC title game will be played and an opponent for Ohio State probably won't be determined until the fallout of those games.
Teams in the Buckeyes' bowl mix could include Auburn, Georgia, LSU or South Carolina — which defeated Ohio State 24-7 in the Outback Bowl last season.
If the Citrus picks Ohio State over Michigan, it would be the Buckeyes' first trip to Orlando since 1996, when they lost to Tennessee 20-14. Michigan has played in two of the last three Citrus bowls.
“We want the best matchup we can get,” said Randy Burns, a scout for the Citrus Bowl. “We've got some pretty deep relationships with the people from Michigan ... but Ohio State has also got a deep base of fans in our state.
“Either of them would be attractive,” Burns said Saturday.
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