By: Lesley McCaslin (News8Austin.com) —
It may seem like a second place game, but Texas is ready to play Ohio State, and the Buckeyes are ready to play the Longhorns.

“To play in the Fiesta Bowl, to play against Texas, those are opportunities they’ll think about and talk about for the rest of their lives, so it doesn’t get much better than this,” said Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressell.

“It’s going to be really fun, it’s going to be fun to prepare for them, because they have one of the best defenses in the nation,” Texas quarterback Colt McCoy said.

Colt would know.

The Horns lost to the Buckeyes in just his second start at Texas, and the one thing that sticks out in his mind is linebacker James Laurinaitis.

“The thing I remembered from him is, I threw my first interception in college to him. I won’t ever forget that. I started him on his All-American campaign for sure after that. I enjoy watching him play. I think he’s kind of the guy, of any college team, that I’ve kept up [with] and watched,” McCoy said.

The respect is mutual.

“He’s just matured so much. I said, “Out there the completion percentage that he’s done, I can’t even do with my creative player on Madden. I can’t get him to complete that many passes,’ ” said Buckeyes linebacker Laurinaitis.

The two times Texas and Ohio State played each other, there were national implications on the line. Now it is all about breaking a tie.

“We split the series so to speak. We won on their field. They won on ours. We can kind of play on a neutral site, you know, and finish it off,” Horns defensive end Brian Orakpo said.

“I’m excited,” McCoy said, “about having one more chance at them.”

They get that chance January 5.