At From the Marbles, we end every interview with a staple question that has nothing to do with the interview topic at hand to let our subjects have some fun and let their imaginations run wild for a moment. We wanted to give Ohio State and Oregon players the same opportunity.
We settled on the question "If you were facing a critical fourth down with two yards to go, who are you giving the ball to and why?" The two yards took out the overwhelming possibility of a quarterback sneak and hopefully brought a pass play into the equation.
There were conditions on the question too. To prevent any creativity stifling, teammates couldn't be chosen. And the pool of options was not limited to current college or professional players. The possibilities were almost endless.
The most popular answer? Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch. He was more popular with Oregon players than with Ohio State players, but he had by far the most support among our sample size. Second was Jerome Bettis, even though his playing career ended over nine years ago.
Other former running backs got support too. Ohio State offensive lineman Joel Hale picked Edgerrin James because he grew up a sports fan and Guy Ferrelli dove back into the early 2000s and chose Mike Alstott.
Oregon players liked to give former Ducks support. RB Byron Marshall said he'd choose New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount or Carolina Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart, while OL Doug Brenner chose Baltimore Ravens DT Haloti Ngata.
Oregon OL Hamani Stevens also would pick a defensive lineman, albeit one who has scored a rushing touchdown in the NFL. He went with someone he classified as a childhood idol in former Chicago Bears DT William Perry, who had three touchdowns in 1985.
Then there were the choices that got creative.
Ohio State OL Pat Elflein chose his dad. Why? His dad, Ken, is a concrete contractor. Carrying around bags of concrete probably means you could get two yards if necessary. Heck, his nickname is Ken-crete.
Oregon RB Royce Freeman, the team's leading rusher, said he'd take running backs coach Gary Campbell, who played fullback at UCLA. Campbell has been with the team since 1983. His response to Freeman's answer?
"He'd put me in the backfield?" Campbell said, laughing. "That's good. I'd like to be there."
"I would put my pads down and just drive everybody into the end zone."
Batman, the Flash and Superman were also chosen. Snorlax even came up as an option among Oregon's offensive lineman, which led to a debate about its mobility. What is Snorlax? It's a Pokemon character that weighs over 1,000 pounds and stands nearly seven feet tall.
But the best and most creative option was easily the scenario Ohio State RB/WR (and emergency quarterback) Jalin Marshall created.
"I'm going to take you back to 1993. Episode 2, season 3 of the Fresh Prince," Marshall said. "I'm giving the ball to Will Smith. Fourth and two, mark it down. He's getting the first."
And what about Carlton and Uncle Phil?
"Uncle Phil at center. Carlton at fullback ... Uncle Phil, he's going to push the [nose tackle] out, work up to the mike backer, I've got a guard, I'm not going to tell you who that is, he's going to kick out to the three technique ... I'm going to hand to Will, he's going to go right up the middle, make the safety miss and go score."
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - If you need a fourth down conversion, who is getting the football?
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