Buckeye Rosters

Recap

Tempe, AZ — Perfectly shocking! Perfectly thrilling!

Ohio State worked two overtimes to rip the national championship from the confident Miami Hurricanes in one of the greatest college football games ever.

Maurice Clarett ran 5 yards for the winning touchdown, and Ohio State’s defense turned back one final Miami bid to tie the game. With that, the Buckeyes completed an unlikely, unbeaten run to their first national title in 34 years with a 31-24 win. The Buckeyes, nearly 12-point underdogs, ended the Hurricanes’ bid for a second straight title and their winning streak at 34.

Just like it had all year long, Ohio State was forced to make big plays when it had to. On the last play of the game, on 4th-and-goal at the 1, Cie Grant blitzed and forced Dorsey to heave a desperation pass that safety Donnie Nickey batted to the ground.

The Buckeyes’ punishing defense had rattled and pounded Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey all night.

A few plays earlier, linebacker Matt Wilhelm hit Dorsey with such force it sent the quarterback to the sideline for one play. He came back in, but the Buckeyes would not be denied against a team trying to secure its place in history as one of college football’s great dynasties.

While Miami coach Larry Coker lost for the first time in 25 games, Ohio State’s Jim Tressel now has a major college title to add to the four he won in Division I-AA at Youngstown State.

Trailing 24-17 in the first OT, Ohio State converted a 4th-and14 on a pass by Craig Krenzel. But the Buckeyes then faced a 4th-and-3 at the 5 when Krenzel threw to the right corner of the end zone for Chris Gamble, who was being covered by Glenn Sharpe.

A flag was thrown from the back of the end zone indicating pass interference.

Three plays later Krenzel scored from the 1 to send the game to a second OT.

By then, it already was a classic – the first national championship to go into overtime, in a matchup of the nation’s last two undefeated teams.

After losing All-American running back Willis McGahee to an injured left knee early in the fourth quarter, Miami had the ball first in overtime. The Hurricanes went ahead on Dorsey’s 7-yard TD pass to Kellen Winslow Jr., but the Buckeyes answered with Krenzel’s 1-yard score.

In the second OT, the Buckeyes went first from the 25 and Clarett capped off a five-play drive with his spinning, slithering cutback through the Miami defense.

Ohio State led 14-7 at half, and extended the margin to 10 points on Mike Nugent’s 44-yard field goal. The Hurricanes closed to 17-14 on McGahee’s 9-yard scoring run with 2:11 left in the third quarter. And that set the stage for Todd Sievers’ 40-yard kick as time expired in regulation play, leaving the Sun Devil Stadium crowd of 77,502 breathless.

The Buckeyes’ ferocious defense had Dorsey in trouble from the opening series with two sacks. Although Ohio State fell behind 7-0, the constant pressure paid huge dividends in the second quarter as the Buckeyes took a 14-7 halftime lead, turning two turnovers into touchdowns in a 78-second span.