An annual rite of passion finally became a rite of passage for the Ohio State football team Saturday.
Playing before an Ohio Stadium record crowd of 105,539, the Buckeyes came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat archrival Michigan 14-9, completing their regular season at 13-0 and earning an invitation to play for the national championship Jan. 3 in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Buckeyes haven’t won a national championship since 1968. In 1993, ’95 and ’96, they went into the Michigan game undefeated and lost.
“The only thing we do with history is try to learn from it,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “We don’t worry too much about what happened in the past. Our focus needed to be, `What does it take for us to be successful today?’
“Anyone who thought this was going to be anything less than a game decided at the end hasn’t been around the Ohio State-Michigan game very often.”
In fact, the game came down to the final second. Ohio State free safety Will Allen made an end-zone interception of John Navarre’s pass after the Wolverines had driven from their own 20-yard line to the Buckeyes’ 24.
“There was some miscommunication,” Navarre said. “We wanted to get it to Braylon Edwards, and Allen stepped in front and made a great play.”
The interception was only the second turnover of the game. Both were by the Wolverines, and both were devastating.
The first came on a Michigan drive after what proved to be the winning touchdown run by Maurice Hall with 4 minutes 55 seconds remaining. The Wolverines drove to the Ohio State 30-yard line, but on first down, defensive end Darrion Scott sacked Navarre, forcing a fumble that Will Smith recovered for the Buckeyes with 2:02 left on the clock. “I was just stepping up in the pocket and looking downfield,” Navarre said. “Their guy got his hand on the ball and just knocked it loose.”
The Wolverines, who ended the regular season 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten, went into the fourth quarter leading 9-7, mainly because of Navarre’s passing, Edwards’ receiving, Chris Perry’s running and Adam Finley’s field goals of 36, 35 and 22 yards.
All of those points were scored in the first half. A 2-yard run by freshman Maurice Clarett and Mike Nugent’s extra point had given the Buckeyes a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter, but from then until late in the game they were outplayed.
The eight-play drive for the winning touchdown covered 57 yards. Quarterback Craig Krenzel and Clarett collaborated on the big play, a 26-yard sideline pass that put the ball on Michigan’s 6-yard line.
“Two quarters earlier Maurice told me: `You’d better call that play. They can’t check me,'” Tressel said. “We waited until the opportune time.”
On the next play Clarett ran the ball to the Michigan 3, one of his 20 carries for 119 yards.
An option play produced the touchdown. Krenzel froze the defense for a split second before giving the ball to Hall, who raced around right end.
“That was the first time [this season] that we ran the option,” Hall said. “We felt like it was going to be a good play on the goal line because it would keep them off balance, and it worked.”
“We needed to do something where we could block one more guy without actually blocking him,” Tressel said. “That’s what the option does.”
But to put the finishing touches on their perfect regular season, the Buckeyes urgently needed the defensive plays made by Scott, Smith and Allen.
“Ohio State did what they had to do to win the football game,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. “They are a great defensive football team. Adam Finley made three big field goals for us, but we knew, as a team, that we were going to need a touchdown to win the game. We had our opportunities in the second half but just couldn’t get it done.
“I’m tremendously disappointed for our guys. It was a heartbreaking loss.”
