“Before games, I’m probably the most calm person in the whole locker room,” Bosa said. “I like staying focused and not blowing all my energy. When I’m calm and not all worked up, I play my best.”
Before the Michigan State game Nov. 8, Bosa said he was worked up like crazy. He didn’t play well in the first half. Then he calmed down and had a better second half.
Ever since, Bosa has tried harder to maintain a calm approach before games by joking around with teammates.
Bosa tells himself, “It’s just another game. We’re going out there and playing football. It’s something we do every single day of our life. We shouldn’t be worked up about it.”
Bosa knows staying calm will be more difficult than ever Thursday when No. 4 Ohio State (12-1) plays No. 1 Alabama (12-1) at 8:30 p.m. in the Sugar Bowl with a spot in the national championship game on the line. This is not just another game.
“I’m going to be trying to hold back my excitement,” Bosa said.
The sophomore’s play could be a deciding factor. He’s a unanimous All-American, Ohio State’s first since linebacker James Laurinaitis in 2007. Bosa led the Big Ten with 20 tackles for a loss and 13½ sacks.
“Bosa is an issue,” Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said. “He’s a very long, strong player, relentless. An effort player. So we have to know where he is.”
Ohio State moves Bosa around so much, Kiffin said, it makes it hard to contain him.
“He’s inside. He’s right. He’s left,” Kiffin said. “He’s off the ball. He’s on the ball. So I feel like what they’ve done with him on defense is kind of what people do with offensive guys.”
Bosa’s numbers declined as the season progressed, a sign that teams started to tailor their game plans to stopping him. He had 10 sacks in the first eight games and 3½ in the last five.
With teams focusing on Bosa, defensive tackle Michael Bennett’s numbers started improving. He had one sack in the first eight games and five in the last five.
“In the beginning, I was a little bit upset when people starting scheming towards me,” Bosa said. “But it really doesn’t bother me now. It just opens up opportunities for all the other linemen and the other defensive players to get single blocked. If you just leave one guy on Adolphus (Washington) or Mike, it’s going to be a bad day.”
Bosa didn’t have a sack in Ohio State’s 59-0 victory against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 6, but it was still far and away the defense’s best performance of the season.
“It was a big confidence booster,” Bosa said. “I think we needed it as a defense. We really knew what we could do, but we never really showed it. We always say we are what we put on tape, and we finally put on tape what we could do.”
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