Familiar feel

Buckeyes' 'upset' mirrored a season's worth of close calls

TEMPE, Ariz. -- So now we know why they play the darn game.

Now we know why so many people congregated in the middle of the desert for a week and hemmed and hawed and stuffed themselves with Tostitos.

The voice of the people said Ohio State wouldn’t even show up for the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, nevertheless score points, nevertheless jump to a 17-7 lead, nevertheless silence Miami star Willis McGahee, pick off Ken Dorsey twice or turn its own quarterback, Craig Krenzel, into a running machine.

And not in a million, trillion, bijillion years would the Buckeyes end Miami’s 34-game winning streak.

Fortunately, the powers that be decided to go ahead and hold the game anyway. And what transpired was a new standard for the modern classic, a heart-stopping double-overtime thriller that ended with the new national champion stopping the old national champion at the 1-yard line.

CNNSI.com's Stewart Mandel The fact that Ohio State won may have been surprising, but the way they pulled off another close call certainly wasn't. As the disappointed Hurricanes found out, it was the exact same way the Buckeyes have been doing it all year. FULL STORY Closer Look The pass fell incomplete. The 'Canes stormed the field in celebration. But a few seconds later, a flag fell on the floor as well. It was a pass interference call that kept Ohio State alive and will be talked about for years to come. FULL STORY Up in Smoke There would be no wide lefts to save Miami this time. For the first time in 34 games, the Hurricanes were besieged with bad luck in a stunning loss. FULL STORY Tough Enough All of the pregame talk centered on Ken Dorsey, but it was Craig Krenzel who lifted his team to victory with an array of clutch scrambles and key passes. FULL STORY Multimedia Photo Gallery: Fiesta Bowl Tressel: A 'fitting' title game Talent not enough for 'Canes Clarke: A truly testing finale Most Outstanding Players Ohio State Miami Craig Krenzel The junior signal-caller led the Buckeyes with 84 yards rushing, scoring on 1- and 7-yard runs. Kellen Winslow The stud tight end was unstoppable, catching 11 passes for 122 yards and a huge touchdown in overtime. More Stories SI Flashback: Fiesta Bowl Game draws record TV ratings McGahee needs knee surgery Ohio St. looks to repeat 'Canes take Fiesta loss hard Buckeyes top final AP poll Krenzel's crazy runs carry OSU Dorsey struggles in last start Clarett's strip stuns 'Canes Notebook: Flier fires up OSU Columbus hopes to avoid riots Complete Bowl Coverage

“It’s probably the best football game I’ve ever seen or ever been a part of,” Miami defensive tackle Matt Walters concluded despite his team's coming in on the short end of a 31-24 score.

In the days and weeks and years to come, the token “Upset for the Ages” label will be tossed around.

The thing is, upsets are supposed to be surprising. How surprising can it be when a team does the same thing it’s been doing for 14 games?

The events that took place Friday night certainly had to look unfamiliar to someone who follows Miami. But for the sea of scarlet that engulfed Sun Devil Stadium, this was simply the final chapter in a season-long story.

Shutting down a standout running back. Forcing turnovers. Winning without a speck of razzle or dazzle on offense.

All common traits of the Buckeyes’ entire season. But none more so than the nail-biting ending.

“This is the only way our season could end,” said cornerback Dustin Fox, who broke up Dorsey’s final pass attempt. “We had to win this game close. We had to go to double overtime.”

When will we ever learn?

When we will stop obsessing over stats and 40-yard dash times and SportsCenter highlights? Can’t we see they promote a bad habit of underestimating perfectly good undefeated teams?

Neither ’92 Alabama, ’98 Tennessee, nor 2000 Oklahoma steered us right. What are the chances 2002 Ohio State will be any different?

“They can’t doubt us now,” said Ohio State safety Will Allen. “We beat 34-0. We killed the dynasty.”

It’s true, no one can possibly doubt the Buckeyes now. But they can still scratch their heads in utter bewilderment trying to comprehend how this could have happened.

Regardless of Friday’s result, Miami 2000-02 goes down as one of college football’s greatest runs.

Unfortunately for the 'Canes, they ran into 2002’s greatest team.

“Team” is the key word when it comes to describing these Buckeyes. From day one -- that eye-opening rout of otherwise respectable Texas Tech -- this team had a chemistry that seemed to ooze off their uniforms. Players repeatedly used words like “love” and “camaraderie” in discussing the aura created by their head coach and father figure, Jim Tressel, and displayed time and again on the field.

“This day is a culmination of a lot of work and sacrifice,” said Tressel. “Our coaches are tireless workers, and our players sacrificed tremendously. What we did [after the game] is found each other and hugged each other and reminded each other how much we loved one another.”

Imagine that: a bunch of big, brutish football players holding a love-fest. Sounds straight out of Remember the Titans.

But you know what? It works. And maybe nothing else would have against a team that seemed to have the edge in every physical category but came up one yard short in willpower.

“That last play of the game summarized our whole season,” said defensive end Simon Fraser. “The only people who thought we would win this game were in our locker room. This just goes to show that no matter what people say, no matter how many people doubt you, if you have 105 guys working hard, your dreams can come true.”

Those 105 guys weren’t the only ones who reaped the benefits of their labor.

Try all of us who were treated to the masterpiece that was their final effort.

Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com.

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