Ohio State’s return trip to the Sugar Bowl proved that the sequel can be better than the original.The Buckeyes jumped on Texas A&M early with a 21-point first quarter and never looked back in their 24-14 victory over the Aggies on Friday in front of 76,503 at the Louisiana Superdome.”We wanted to come out here and play hard and redeem ourselves from last year’s loss to Florida State),” split end David Boston said. “I’m happy for all of the seniors.”The win improved OSU’s record to 11-1 while A&M fell to 11-3.OSU must now wait until tonight’s Fiesta Bowl game between undefeated Tennessee and once-beaten Florida State to find out if it will have any chance of sharing the national championship.Coach John Cooper said he thinks his team still has a shot at the title.”I think it depends on what happens Monday night in the Fiesta Bowl,” he said. “If it’s a sloppy game and Florida State wins the game, I think you can make an argument that the Buckeyes could be No. 1.”Cooper said he was particularly proud of the team’s seniors who leave OSU as the school’s winningest class with 43 victories.A&M looked good early as their defense forced OSU to punt after going three and out on the first possession of the game. The Aggies then drove the ball 59 yards on six plays and scored on a nine-yard run by tailback Dante Hall.”On the first drive, Ohio State kind of laid back,” Hall said. “After that, they blitzed more. They blitzed on about two out of every three downs.”OSU bounced back on their next possession with an eight-play, 71-yard drive capped off by an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Germaine to wide receiver Reggie Germany with 8:34 left in the first quarter.”I got the defender off of me, I gave him a quick move to the outside and went back to the inside and Joe threw a good ball and I was able to catch it,” Germany said.The Buckeye defense then forced A&M to punt and the offense again scored on a 71-yard drive. This time it took OSU six plays including runs of 29 and 10 yards by tailback Joe Montgomery, the second going for a touchdown.”My line did a great job for me,” Montgomery said. “It’s not about Joe Montgomery, it’s about the offensive line as a unit. My job is a lot easier than those guys.”The Aggies failed to get a first down on the following possession and cornerback Derek Ross blocked Shane Lechler’s punt. Special teams captain Kevin Griffin picked up the loose ball and ran 16 yards for the score. The touchdown ended a flurry of three touchdowns in just over six minutes for the Buckeyes.”The whole time I was on the line of scrimmage the guy playing in front of me was kind of playing off the ball and I knew I could beat him,” Ross said. “I just blew off the ball as soon as it was snapped and I got there luckily.”After the first quarter the only OSU points came from a 31-yard field goal by Dan Stultz with 16 seconds left in the first half.”I was a little disappointed at halftime that we didn’t score a couple of more touchdowns in the first half,” Cooper said. “In the second half both defenses buckled down.”The Buckeye offense was held to 140 yards in the second half after racking up 292 in the first, but the team was never worried about the Aggies making a comeback.”We didn’t have to hang on at all,” left guard Rob Murphy said. “We didn’t have any sense of nervousness. It did get a little frustrating in the second half, but that’s why we all play football and it’s a great game.”Cornerback Antoine Winfield said after the first half the defense knew they had the game won.”When we put up 24 points we knew right then and there Texas A&M wasn’t going to score that many points,” he said. “We have a lot of great players on defense and they stepped up.”