Next Stop: Fiesta Bowl

Question often posed by Ohio State fans around this time of year: How do you get to Michigan? Answer: Drive west until you smell s—-, then head north. Jim Tressel would disapprove of that joke, and not just because it is only marginally clever. It contains profanity, upon which the clean-cut Buckeyes coach frowns. This is part of his appeal to Ohio State fans, who also love him for his Ohio roots, for the trim figure he cuts in those V-neck sweater vests that fill his closet and for the fact that he has taken his team, their team, now 13-0, to the cusp of a national championship, which the Buckeyes last won in 1968. More than anything else, they love him because he beats Michigan.

Let's face it: The only reason Tressel has a job in Columbus is that his predecessor, John Cooper, won all of two games against the Wolverines in 13 tries. With Ohio State's 14-9 victory over Big Blue at the Horseshoe last Saturday, Tressel upped his record against the school's most despised rival to 2-0. What is this guy doing right?

Cooper was criticized early in his Buckeyes tenure for soft-pedaling this rivalry as "just another game." As his losses to Michigan mounted, Cooper's desperation seemed to infect his charges, who played tight and found ways to lose. Tressel has struck just the right balance by acknowledging the rivalry for what it is—a game that can make or break a season—and keeping his guys loose enough to play well in it.

"He talked to us this week about playing within ourselves," said Matt Wilhelm, a senior linebacker who had 15 tackles in his final game at Ohio Stadium. "You can't be so overexcited that you try to do too much and blow a play." Even as Michigan quarterback John Navarre dinked and dunked his way to the Buckeyes' 24-yard line in the game's closing minute, Wilhelm and company kept their composure, yielding yardage in modest chunks. Navarre's last-second pass toward the end zone was picked off by free safety Will Allen, sealing Ohio State's Fiesta Bowl berth and triggering a chaotic celebration that was dampened, slightly, by the sight of cops pepper-spraying students trying to tear down the south goalposts.

You'd think the athletic department could eat the cost of new uprights. By qualifying for the Fiesta Bowl, which will determine the national champion, the football team will add $13.5 million to a Big Ten bowl kitty that could reach $32 million, with equal shares going to all 11 conference members. Are the Buckeyes, who've won six games this season by a touchdown or less, worthy of playing for the national title? Hell, yes. Their likeliest opponent, Miami, seemed to regress in its 28-21 victory over Pittsburgh last week. "They're beatable," says Wilhelm of the Hurricanes. With each close call, meanwhile, Ohio State has added to its aura as a team that never panics, that finds ways to win. The defense and kicking game are outstanding. What about the offense, led by brainiac quarterback Craig Krenzel? The fourth-year junior, a molecular genetics major destined for med school, has engineered an average of two touchdowns per game over the last six games. Let's just say the offense picks its spots.

Thankfully for the Buckeyes, tailback Maurice Clarett will now have until Jan. 3 to heal his bruised left shoulder. Even with the joint dinged up, Clarett was the difference against Michigan. As he jogged onto the field on the Buckeyes' second series, a roar arose from the crowd of 105,539. Clarett energized the offense, gaining 45 yards on four plays before reinjuring the shoulder. As he gingerly left the field, the electricity ebbed from the stadium.

Power was restored three plays later. Clarett came off the bench—"It's Michigan," he said after the game, explaining why he didn't stay on the sideline—took a handoff and outraced Wolverines free safety Cato June to the right corner of the end zone for a two-yard touchdown. In his first significant action in nearly a month, Clarett rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries. No back on Rivalry Weekend showed more grit than the 19-year-old freshman from Youngstown. Said Ohio State cornerback Dustin Fox, "He was a warrior today."

The Mighty Mo Show doesn't stop when he steps off the field. When Clarett isn't helicoptering a towel to exhort the crowd, he's pumping up his teammates. (Who's that guy in the middle of the huddled-up kickoff team? Why, it's Maurice!) More often, he can be found shadowing Tressel, pacing behind the coach on the sideline, tilling his ear with pleas and suggestions, such as the one he made in the first half on Saturday. Referring to a play-action pass that the Buckeyes had drawn up especially for Michigan, Clarett said, "You better call that play, 'cause they can't check me."

That play was Gun Switch Right Dart 59 X Skinny Wheel, and Tressel pulled the trigger on it midway through the fourth quarter, his team trailing 9-7. From his tailback spot, Clarett slid behind Michigan linebacker Joey Sarantos and out to the left sideline. Krenzel's pass was on the money: Clarett's 26-yard reception gave Ohio State first-and-goal at the six. Two downs later tailback Maurice Hall scored the game-winning touchdown on an option play to the right. It was an inspired call—the Buckeyes seldom run the option—and another one that Clarett said he'd been lobbying for. Since when do freshmen have the cheek to appoint themselves advisers to their coaches?

Since Clarett arrived in Columbus, apparently. While most first-year players keep a low profile as they learn the lay of the land, Clarett has no interest in such a modest role. That's O.K. The feeling among the Buckeyes' upperclassmen is: A guy who backs it up the way Clarett does should pipe up. Yes, he has ruffled feathers. There was a brief period of crisis in October when he said in ESPN the Magazine that he was considering a jump to the NFL after this season. (He has since discounted that possibility.) Ohio State athletic officials didn't mind the story as much as one of the pictures, which showed Clarett throwing away his Buckeyes jersey.