Buckeyes Take the Field – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 8, 2007
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Top-ranked Ohio State made the 35-minute commute from the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, where it will face off against the second-ranked Florida Gators Monday night in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.
The team arrived to the stadium just after 5:30 p.m., EST, for the game which kickoff at approximately 8:30 p.m., EST, and be televised by Fox Sports.
A hoard of media greeted the Buckeyes as they got off the buses and headed to the locker room. Special teams players took the field first to get use to the closed roof. The retractable roof at University of Phoenix Stadium will open for a pre-game fly over and then following pre-game activities, will close for the duration of the game.
The Ohio State sideline is on the east side of the stadium, the end opposite the primary FOX television cameras, while the Ohio State University Marching Band will sit in the south end zone.
Ohio State’s painted end zone will be at the north of the facility or left for the FOX audience, while Florida’s end zone will be at the south end, or the right side of the TV audience. Both end zone’s are adorned in school colors. Ohio State’s turf is painted scarlet with the words “Ohio State” in gray, while Florida’s end zone is painted blue with the word “Florida” painted orange with a white outline. Both end zones have the BCS logo at the left. The Tostitos BCS National Championship logo is at mid-field with Tostitos logos on each 20-yard line.
Ohio State is seeking its eighth national championship and the second in four years after claiming its last, a 31-24, double-overtime thriller, against Miami across town at Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium in the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Florida is seeking its second national championship, its first since 1996.
