DALLAS -- All-American Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward finished his college football career on the sideline, wearing his No. 12 jersey with no pads and interacting with teammates throughout Friday night's 24-7 win in the Cotton Bowl.
At one point, freshman corner Marcus Williamson even switched out of his No. 21 for a play and wore Ward's jersey on the field, so that No. 12 saw action one last time.
In a decision that Ohio State said he finalized the day of the game, Ward joined the trend of future first-round draft picks sitting out bowls that aren't part of the four-team playoff, and the Buckeyes beat USC without one of their best players.
In a cleveland.com poll, 50 percent of voters said they were mad that Ward sat out, that healthy players should be on the field in a bowl. Another 36 percent were disappointed but understood it, while 13 percent said they were fine with Ward's call.
* Reaction to Ward sitting out
In this video, Bill Landis and I gave our opinions on Ward's decision and talked about how it fits into the rest of the OSU football program.