Saturday, September 11, 2010
Ohio Stadium - 3:30 p.m.
Ohio State - 7.5
The last time these two teams met on the field, The U was in domination mode and Ohio State was the upstart team without much of a chance at the Buckeyes were 14 point underdog in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl...
Move ahead seven years later the roles are reversed...Jim Tressel has turned the Buckeyes into a perennial powerhouse while The U had to rebuilt...the 2003 Fiesta Bowl began the downturn for Hurricane football which eventually cost head coach Larry Coker his job...
Some forget that Tressel was almost the head coach at The U in the mid-1990s but instead turned down the job to remain at Youngstown State University...The U eventually settled on Butch Davis who started a brief Hurricane Dynasty II before bolting for the Cleveland Browns...
Almost seven years after the 2003 game, most of the major stars of that game ended up with a bleak future:
Sean Taylor - drafted in the first round by the Redskins...was shot to death in his Miami home by an intruder..
Craig Krenzel - the genetics major never made it in the medical field...he currently is a spokesperson for John Deere power equipment and serves as an Ohio State broadcaster...
Maurice Clarett - that would be the last game he would ever play for Ohio State...Clarett later served 3 plus years in prison and is now playing for the UFL...
Ken Dorsey - bounced around the NFL as a journeyman quarterback...in 2010 he signed with the Toronto Argonauts to serve as a back-up to former Miami Dolphins QB Cleo Lemon...
Willis McGahee - sufferred horrific leg injury in the title game...he was still drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Bills and sat out his rookie year...he is currently still playing in the NFL but never had the impact that he did in college...
Kellen Winslow - was a top 10 draft pick by the Cleveland Browns, but a freak leg injury in his rookie season sidelined him for the year...he then tore up his knee in a motorcycle accident...he never lived up to his potential...
Mike Nugent - was the Buckeyes field goal kicker with nerves of steel...was a second round pick of the N.Y. Jets...never was a clutch kicker in the NFL...now with the Bengals...
What the "experts" are sayin!!!
Pointwise - Ohio State 31 The U 16
The Gold Sheet - Ohio State 27 The U 24
Hurricanes Summary
Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald writes how the 2003 loss still hurts former players... "As the No. 13 Miami Hurricanes (1-0) and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) prepare to meet in Columbus on Saturday for the first time since the controversial national championship game in the Jan. 3, 2003 Fiesta Bowl, the Hurricanes from that team -- and their families -- eagerly await." ...
Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald writes how running back Graig Cooper worked hard to recovery from a knee injury... "The 6-foot, 205-pound senior, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the Champs Sports Bowl eight months ago, made his debut as promised Thursday night against Florida A&M." ...
Navarro writes how The U wants to put a pass rush on OSU led by Olivier Vernon... "But it never hurts for a pass rusher to have a little style, too. Vernon just chooses to hide his under his helmet with a haircut that could best be described as a mohawk surrounded by zig-zagging patterns." ... Miller Degnan writes how The U's Jacory Harris has his focus on Ohio State... "Harris, in his cool, mellow way, insisted Wednesday that the only matchup Saturday in Ohio worth watching will be the one between No. 2 Ohio State (1-0) and No. 12 Miami (1-0) -- not the quarterbacks wearing No. 2 (Pryor) and No. 12 (Harris)." ...
Buckeyes Summary
Ken Gordon of the Columbus Dispatch writes how this week's game is a "home" game for some Buckeyes... "Brian Rolle hadn't been with the Buckeyes for long when he looked at Ohio State's upcoming schedules. His heart jumped. In his senior season, the linebacker from Immokalee, Fla., saw, he would get to face his hometown team." ...
Jack Park of the Columbus Dispatch writes how former coach John Cooper had an impact on the 2003 title game... "Ohio State's 31-24 victory over Miami in double-overtime in the Fiesta Bowl to capture the 2002 national title is a solid choice for the Buckeyes' greatest victory. John Cooper, who was in his second year of retirement in 2002, had three distinct connections with the game:" ...
Doug Lesmerises writes about the paths of Maurice Clarett and Sean Taylor... "The play lasted six, maybe seven seconds. Fifteen strides took Miami safety Sean Taylor from the end zone, where he had intercepted a Craig Krenzel pass, to the 29-yard line, where he suddenly found Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett ripping the football from his right arm." ...
Gordon writes how the Ohio State defense wants to put Jacory Harris on his back... "Larimore said they hope to deliver Tatum's message in person to the Hurricanes, and in particular to quarterback Jacory Harris." ...
