Ohio State Buckeyes at University of Maryland Terrapins photos
In SECU Stadium, the University of Maryland Terrapins have the football and there is 36 seconds left on the play clock. At the opposite end in the horseshoe student endzone of SECU I walk up and stand next to Washington Post’s photographer Jonathan Newton and ask queasily “do we follow the bucket”?
Bear with me while I give some context and then I’ll explain.
On this cold 32-degree November night the storyline is now at this end of the stadium. The Terps need a miracle to go 90 yards with no time outs trailing nationally ranked #2 The Ohio State Buckeyes 36-30.
A touchdown and the Terps win this game.
A memory lore in the making to be repeated over the generations in the Free State, as in “I was there when …”
SECU stadium is still packed nearly 4 hours after the 3:30 p.m. kickoff with over 45,000 fans of mixed college lineage. At “Bdub – Buffalo Wild Wings” across the nation a TV audience watches on ABC (an ESPN College Football broadcast) as they eat wings and sip Miller Lite’s.
Vegas sports books are getting ready to pay out to those on the under end of the 27.5 points favorite they graciously bestowed on OSU in this away game. OSU can’t cover.
Kirk Herbstreit, the former Buckeye, now a lead ESPN College Gameday (CGD) anchor was comfortable miles away in William-Brice Stadium awaiting the switch to Columbia, SC from College Park for the 7:30 p.m. ABC network broadcast, Tennessee versus South Carolina.
Hours earlier in Bozeman MT he and his talking head friends had torched the Terrapins chances on Game Day. No doubt he was aware of the live feed from College Park, wondering, what if.
Meanwhile back in College Park, members of the ALLSTATE “Good Hands” netting grounds crew to my left just finished futzing with the bottom of this endzone’s goal post.
I ask them what they were doing.
Their answer was simple.
They said the goal posts are on hydraulics and when necessary, they will flip a switch lowering them to the field. Then they pointed out the CSC security crews filtering in behind us between the goal post and the vocal horseshoe student section.
I then thought to myself – “do they practice this” and “will the hydraulics really work”. They don’t get to do that too often in CP, if at all. I began looking for cover.
SECU was a powder keg, its fuse lit and about to explode. You could feel it.
That’s when I walked up beside Jonathan.
He and I together have covered many state football championships in Maryland.
In the moments prior to a school making that big statement win he would work his way onto the winning sideline. He’d capture that celebratory moment. His rule is to “follow the bucket”.
How do you do that?
Well, you locate the full Gatorade buckets that a big lineman can carry, lifting it to shower the head coach. Then you position yourself with your cameras near the coach and pull up your big boy pants because if you do it right you too are on the receiving end of a sticky orange bath.
Our dilemma, within that defining timeline what moments do we capture.
The endzone miracle winning score(s)? The delirious Terp players? The field storming student body? The attack on the goal post? Sad OSU faces? Or, Coach Locksley, who is now a good 40 yards away awaiting that incoming Gatorade bath.
He looked at me sort of dumbfounded, and for once he didn’t have an answer.
We waited out the next two plays. The miracle win dissipated. The Buckeye’s escaped with an ugly win as MD’s quarterback Tagovailoa fumble was returned for a one-yard scoop and score, stomping out the fuse.
43-30 game over. OSU will head home undefeated to face an undefeated Michigan.
Prologue: The Time After
Post MD/OSU game ABC’s Reese Davis and Kirk Herbstreit broadcasted that snoozer of a game in Columbia SC where the Gamecocks upset #5 Tennessee 63-38. They didn’t have to fill their game time banter with College Playoff pairings had OSU lost. And to think they could have been celebrating with us at Looney’s in CP if MD won, instead. But, whew – no more Rocky Top earworm.
ESPN’s College Game Day Home Depot crew departed Bozeman for Columbus, OH. it’s OSU’s 30th time hosting ESPN who will fulfill promotions broadcasting the next game of the century with #2 Ohio State versus #3 Michigan on Saturday, the 26th from Columbus.
The goal posts in front of the Maryland Student section at SECU stadium are safe for another year, it’s hydraulics untested.
Head Coach Mike Locksley’s Gatorade bath will have to wait, hopefully it’s coming soon.
I am taking bets that Jonathan Newton won’t miss Locksley’s future Kodak “bucket” moment for the Washington Post.
And remember this, Vegas sports books always win.
