You're right about Gamble and Wilhelm. Those guys gutted it out all season and I like to see that kind of effort from ballplayers, win or lose.
On the matchup issue, maybe you're right, I don't know. USC got hot towards the end and would have been a tough opponent. OTOH, Miami was tough all year, as was OSU. Its hard to argue against the position that the two best teams were on the field last night with everything on the line.
Ohio State vs. Iowa? I don't know, some have argued that the Bucks were lucky not to have played the Hawks this year. Maybe so. But I might argue that it could very well be the other way around. The Bucks could have played the Hawks close and pulled it out, as they seemed to do all year. Then Iowa would have had two losses and instead of the Orange, they could have been playing in the coveted Poulan Weedeater Bowl, or some lunchtime bowl in Florida on New Year's Day. I say the Hawkeyes were lucky they didn't run into the Bucks, because a lot of teams did who thought that they would win and the Bucks were overrated, but somehow ended up leaving the field with their tail betwen their legs.
Remember, this is a team that won all their games but didn't really dominate anyone. Except for that one early season game against a weak opponent (was it Kent State, something like 55-7 score?), the Buckeyes, in general, didn't clobber their opponents, they edged them. I think this was Tressel's strategy all season. Just do what it takes to win and get yourself in a position to win it all, then play your game and let the chips fall.
It shows you that champions just find ways to win their games, whether its by making a defensive stand at your own goal line, or a player coming out of nowhere and stealing the ball from your opponent who has just made an interception. It doesn't take a dominating performance. The Giants did it that one year when they beat Buffalo by a point in the Super Bowl. They played tough defense and whether it was by a touchdown or a field goal, they came out on the winning side of the score. That's all you have to do.
Not to be hypercritical, but: 45-21 v. Texas Tech (you remember Texas Tech -- beat Texas, won their bowl game against Clemson 55-15); 25-7 v. Washington State (you know, beat USC, won the Pac-10). ;-D