Ohio State DE Steve Miller predicted his Sugar Bowl interception
NEW ORLEANS – Ohio State defensive end Steve Miller was convinced he was going to get an interception during Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl against Alabama.
He was right.
Miller’s third-quarter interception that he returned 41 yards for a touchdown was vital to Ohio State’s 42-35 College Football Playoff semifinal win over the Crimson Tide.
“I had a vision,” Miller said. “I just want to thank my teammates and thank God.”
How convinced was he? Well, according to his teammates after the game, he had been talking all week about it after he had an interception in practice leading up to the College Football Playoff semifinal. The practice interception, however, was nothing like the pick-six in the game.
Miller’s practice pick came off a tip. On Thursday, he got his interception dropping back into coverage. His responsibilities, he said, were simple, as he dropped between Alabama QB Blake Sims and his intended target Amari Cooper.
“Just backpedal, drop 8-10 yards over the tackle, find the ball and then run to the end zone,” Miller said.
His touchdown turned Ohio State’s 28-21 lead into a 34-21 lead as the Buckeyes outscored Alabama 36-14 after trailing 21-6 midway through the second quarter. And his interception was the first of three interceptions that Ohio State had of Sims, the last of which was a pick by Tyvis Powell on Alabama’s last play of the game, a Hail Mary.
After getting his interception in the end zone and with no time on the clock, Powell wanted to emulate Miller after briefly thinking about taking a knee.
“For a split second, I said ‘Tyvis, do the right thing,'” Powell said. “But then I just – I caught it and I sprinted around and I was like – and I looked up and I’d seen all the grass and I was like ‘Pssshh, I’m taking this to the crib, nobody care no more.'”
“And I took off running but unfortunately they ended up getting me. They caught on to what I was trying to do, so they got me.”
And yes, Powell knew the potential consequences of darting out of the end zone and risking a fumble that Alabama could have picked up.
“Oh man, I went down with two [arms on the ball] because I know if I fumbled it they’d hate me forever,” Powell said. “So I’m going ahead to cover it up and as soon as the moment I feel contact I’m going to fall to the ground. And that’s what I did.”
But back to Miller. Will he have any more visions of turnovers before the title game against Oregon on Jan. 12? If he does, he’s not putting a timeline on it.
“I don’t know, it just comes to me,” he said.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
