WEBVTT - The 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes: 14 Wins And One Pass Interference Penalty 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:04.240 Welcome to Special Teams, a production of I Heart Radio 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.919 Greetings and Welcome inside the latest Special Teams with Jason 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:26.320 Smith and Mike Harmon podcast. On Special Teams, we take 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:29.240 a look back at individual seasons in sports history and 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:32.960 celebrate what made them so great for those teams, whether 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:38.040 it's football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, archery, highlight. We're gonna 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:39.720 go back and look at highlight at some point. I 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:41.839 can't wait. The history of high lot. Maybe in a 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:46.160 little AUSI rules football, Oh AFL, Collingwood Magpies, Yeah, okay, 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:50.560 uh goat roping? Is there really great moments and great 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:54.240 single seasons and goat roping history? I don't know. Calf roping, Oh, 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:57.000 calf roping, go roping? No, but I'll go to kaf rope. 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:59.440 I don't know there's any kind of roping. I don't know. 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:03.440 Maybe they're state fair than we can find some great stats, 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:06.040 are great performances, I don't know. I watched the King 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:08.680 of the Hill episode where Bobby became a Rodeo clown, 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:10.440 so suddenly that was in my head night game and 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:13.880 though it was rob ro ro ro rope Roro. Uh 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:16.640 So today on the podcast again, your host Jason Smith, 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.400 Mike Carmen. Our show is heard on Fox Sports Radio 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.920 Monday through Friday, ten pm to two am, East Coast time, 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:25.520 seven pm to eleven pm on the West Coast. We're 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:27.680 on over four d affiliates coast to coast. You got 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:31.800 our special brand of entertainment, humor, and whatever Harmon decides 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.280 he wants to say on a daily basis, Hey, sometimes 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.560 you gotta take it left turn and take people down 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:39.560 the road they don't know they want to go on. 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.200 And that's what we do each and every night. Tonight 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.000 is a tough road because my wife, being a Michigan 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.120 fan going to Michigan, She's had to sit around all 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:50.240 week while I have had notes on the two thousand 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:53.840 two Ohio State buck eyes all around the house, pictures 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.760 of Maarice Clarette and all those guys, Craig Krenzel, I 0:01:56.800 --> 0:01:58.840 got big fat heads on the wall. Why do you 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:01.640 have this Ohio States because we're gonna do Ohio State 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:03.480 this week. But I can't just put it somewhere I 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:07.000 don't see it. I said, look, we did Michigan. She was, yeah, 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:08.880 just put this someplace else. So I had to put 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:12.400 it someplace. That's kind of anger. The two thousand two 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.280 Ohio State Buckeyes, who played one of the most memorable 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:21.120 national championship games ever, became legendary over the course of 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:25.000 this college football season and in January. One of the 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:27.600 great college football years of all time in Ohio States 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.920 started two thousand and two, the second year under Jim Trestle, 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.320 who you could tell there was something special going on 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:36.480 because it was the year before when he got hired 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:39.239 from Youngstown State and he got up at the basketball 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.440 game and said, you'll be proud of this team. In 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:44.320 three and twelve days, and we played the Michigan Wolverines. 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.480 They played them, they beat them, and you realize, wait 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.440 a minute, this guy maybe ushering in the non John 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:54.520 Cooper era of Ohio State football, where Ohio State had 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:56.440 plenty of chances in the nineties to compete for a 0:02:56.520 --> 0:02:59.720 national championship. They lost to Michigan all these times, and 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.240 it was boy, no matter who Ohio State beats, they 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:05.240 can't beat Michigan. Jim Trestle ushered in that era, which 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.480 they've enjoyed for the better part of twenty years. No 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:09.240 matter what you did the rest of the year, it 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:13.120 didn't matter. I mean it's one of those rivalries. Many 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:16.440 go to the wayside based on scheduling, based on how 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:19.200 you go through the process, and certainly with the big 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.520 tenant and its evolution and growth, you've you've seen some 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.960 of that fractured, right because of the schedule imbalanced. But 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.320 Ohio State Michigan, you want to get people riled up. 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:31.680 I mean, you have the microcosm of your wife, but 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:34.839 it's certainly you going you go into any sports bar 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:39.160 when that game's on, and it's really an interesting sociological 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.160 experiment because there's a lot of anger being tossed back 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:45.600 and forth, even where we are in southern California. Heading 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:49.280 into the year, there were two big announcements that Ohio 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:52.000 State dealt with. Number one was Mike DAWs, two time 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:56.840 All American, decided to stay in an emotional announcement, and 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:01.000 Maurice Clarette enrolled early so he could play four Ohio 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:04.160 State in the fall. Laurice Clarette, who had one year 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:06.760 of college football and there are a few people had 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.200 a more memorable year than Maurice Clarette. No, obviously he's 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:12.000 run into trouble throughout the rest of his career, but 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:16.080 this one year Ohio State I mean he's gonna live forever. Yeah, 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:19.920 great comeback story in terms of life and post football 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.800 and some of those transgressions in some ways, well, you know, 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.119 look at the irony of a guy who graduates early 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:28.719 and then really didn't take a class while he was 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:31.520 at Ohive State. But that's a whole other thing. As 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:34.120 from Mike Dawson went on to a nice NFL career 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:36.400 when he was done. Perhaps we'll talk about him a 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.440 little bit. Uh in our where are They Now? Portion 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:44.920 of the podcast, Shodow Mike Dawson became a second round pick, 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.000 but that was gonna be the heartbeat of this team. 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.560 Whatever was gonna happen offensively, you knew you were bringing 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.880 back a stalwart defense. Here's some of the star power 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:57.880 on this Ohio State two thousand two team. Chris Gamble, 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:00.560 who were going to talk a lot about here on podcast, 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.599 played both offense and defense. Ben Hart soccer went on 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:06.599 to a long career in the NFL. Will Allen as well. 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:10.640 Bobby Carpenter linebacker, Dustin Fox who actually follows me on Twitter. 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.560 Uh now a media man, Yeah, a j Hawk. He 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:16.760 was a freshman on this team. Mike Nugent went on 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:19.240 to kick in the NFL for a really long time. 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.719 A lot of Jet ties to this team. Actually, no, 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:25.360 there's not. Santonio Holmes was on this team as a 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:29.200 fresh it's not and they were winners and then they 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.280 came to you. It's not about the Jets. Dick Mangold 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:36.919 was the center on this team. Troy Smith went on 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.400 to win the Heisman Trophy years later, was the backup 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.719 quarterback on this team as a freshman. Michael Jenkins was 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:46.479 the star receiver. Craig Krenzel was the quarterback, and on 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.960 Jim Trustle's staff a young man named Mark D'Antonio, who 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:52.320 then went on to a great career head coach at 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:58.040 Michigan State, the great Luke Fickle Mel Tucker distinguished careers 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:01.200 for all and and certainly D'Antoni has had some big 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.800 years for Michigan State, hanging around in the Big ten 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:08.280 and and vexing um well these Buckeys at time, so 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.559 Ohio State did have a great defense going into this year. 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:15.080 What else were people talking about as we get ready 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:18.360 for the two thousand two fall campaign? Here is two 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:26.640 thousand two pop culture in review. The big movies in 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:28.720 two thousand and two included Lord of the Rings, the 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:31.760 Two Towers, the middle one okay, alright, the really long 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:33.720 one in the middle that was, Oh my god, I 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:36.000 just ket Bridge from the first one of the last one. 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:39.159 They were long books. Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets. 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:41.760 There you go, Spider Man. But I mean like, this 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.600 is like four Spider Man. Yes, this is Are you 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.960 gonna get into an Elizabeth Banks thing about which Spider 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:51.559 Man iteration was listen, spider Man. Tom Holland was the best. 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:55.520 Everything else was gaha. William Dafoe was pretty cool. He 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:58.279 was good. William Dafoe was a good villain. I I oh, sorry, 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.960 spoiler if you haven't seen that Spider right Men in 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:07.359 Black two Star Wars episode, Yeah, I know ago. I 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:10.000 remember going with a group from work to a very 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.800 early showing of both Phantom Menace and then later on 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:14.840 Attack of the Clones. I was the guy armed with 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:18.640 two very large jugs of quote unquote orange juice for 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:23.800 the morning showing. Was it just orange juice? Okay? Very good, 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:28.120 that's good. The Angels won the World series. How long 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:31.080 ago was that? People forget that? Oh? Yeah, that's right. 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.520 There's you know, and the thing is had the Angels 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:36.520 not one, Barry Bonds would have been the m v 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:38.760 P of the World Series. He was having a great 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.880 World Series, but that relentless lineup of the Angels just 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.720 too much about that the outlier of the Bonds career. 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.360 He was having a great World Series. And also the 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:51.640 Euro became the unit of currency. I like that in Europe, 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:53.400 the euro when you figure euro for Europe I had. 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.040 It's not like the Euro was in the United States. 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:57.760 The Euro and Europe. You want another good sports one, 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.560 give me another good one. The w w UF had 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:05.360 to become the w w E after the World One Wildlife. 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:08.120 You know what I really can't fail to understand, and 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.080 that whole thing is this is that the w w F, 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:16.040 the World Wrestling Federation, was monstrous. W w F wildlife. 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:19.000 How did they not have the best lawyers to win 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:21.840 in court? How do that? Then? How do you claim 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.560 that anybody's confusing the two? Until the bumper stickers of 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:29.560 the band bears chairs came out, it's really no confusing 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:33.360 the two. So this is what the world was talking about. 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.560 As we head into two thousand and two, into the 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.400 Fall War, Ohio State makes a run to a national 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.880 championship thanks to their defense thanks to a controversial call 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:45.360 in the bowl game that is still controversial. We get 0:08:45.360 --> 0:09:04.760 into the season as special teams continues. Next, the Ohio 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.200 State buck Eyes came into two thousand and two ranked 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:12.400 thirteenth in the country. They had some potential national championship dreams, 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:14.600 but in the beginning they just had to win some games, 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:18.680 and Ohio State had two tough ones coming out of 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:21.720 the gate in their first three where they faced Heisman 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:28.040 Trophy candidates Cliff Kingsbury Guess Jason Guesser. When Cliff Kingsbury 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:31.040 first was was a Heisman Trophy candidate with Texas Tech 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.440 while winging the ball all over the place. Problem was, 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:36.760 they had a bad offensive line and nobody they didn't 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:40.120 play a lick of defense. As for guess Or uh yeah, 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:44.920 he in Washington State, another team expecting the explosive offense, 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:50.480 but certainly this Buckeye defense was a formidable opponent. Texas 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:52.240 Tech was able to put the most points on the 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.440 board that Ohio State gave up during the regular season 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:59.040 with twenty one. However, Ohio State's offense rolled to a 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:02.600 forty five when he won victory. Meanwhile, in Game three, 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:05.400 against Washington State, who was ranked tenth in the country 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.120 at the time. Their defense shut them down at home, 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:12.080 winning twenty five to seven. In his first two games 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:15.920 in college football, Maurice Clarette scored five touchdowns and in 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:19.080 the game against Washington State he ran for two hundred 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:22.760 and thirty yards. And I remember then the question was 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.600 can a freshman win the Heisman Trophy? Ken Maurice Clarette 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:29.320 this kind of story. He was the breakout star in 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:32.360 two thousand and two. Can he win the Heisman Trophy? 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.920 To thirty five touchdowns? But he suffered a knee injury 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:38.600 and he missed the next game. If he had been 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:41.160 able to stay healthy all year long, because Maurice Clarette 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:42.600 was in and out of the lineup, and this was 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:46.560 the Maurice Clarette freshman sensation. Maurice Clarette, if he was 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:48.560 able to stay in the lineup, he would have won 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:51.720 the Heisman. But he kept getting dinged up. He'd missed 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:54.240 a game, come back in play a game, missed two 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.719 games that really hurt him. But man, if he was 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.680 able to play top to bottom with the story, Ohio 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:01.800 State was moving all the way up to the top 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:03.839 of the rankings. He wouldn't won the Heisman. Now, that 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.679 would have been a fun decision to have, to see, right, 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:10.880 because as we know, the Heisman voters certainly don't want 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:13.760 to go back to the well a second time. Sometimes 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.679 you get the career Award, and generally if you're a 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:20.079 youngster breaking onto the scene, they don't want any part 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:22.560 of it. Right, you have to have transferred, sat out, 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:26.640 been injured, gotten some kind of formal release, gone into 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.760 transfer portals or whatever we're gonna call it in a 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:32.720 given day, and have some long road. Not hey, I 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:36.400 graduated early and I'm on campus. Ohio State gets the 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.080 midway point of the season ranked number five in the country. 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:41.880 They had blown out San Jose State fifty to seven, 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:45.400 and then a string of close games, and this is 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:49.040 where Ohio States defense stepped to the forefront. They beat 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:53.000 Wisconsin by five, They beat Penn State thirteen to seven. 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.840 They beat Minnesota, who was ranked in the top twenty five. 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.920 They beat per Due ten to six. They won at 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:03.400 Illinois and over Time twenty three to sixteen. All of 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:07.120 these games were close, and there were many nonbelievers. I 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:10.360 remember this year's boy, how good is Ohio State? How 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.559 good is the Big ten. We don't know. They just 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:15.280 keep eking out these victories over these teams that are 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:19.800 not very good. Yeah, I mean there's a passetter fearence call, 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:23.200 and and other things that that seemed to go their way. Right. 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.600 It was one of those where bounces happen. You talk 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:30.480 abouten Chicago Bears season with all the turnovers and everything. 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:32.720 Go back to the Super Bowl appearance they made with 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:36.800 Rex Grosser. Have to bring up Bears, your Bears have 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:41.760 to wor sometimes you gotta be I don't unders played 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:43.679 for the Bears, so I'm gonna make that he barely 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:48.840 played for the ship. The idea just being sometimes all 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.600 the calls seem to go your way, all the bouncers 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:53.920 go yourway. This is a season where they lived dangerously 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:56.720 on a week to week basis. So even even a 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:00.439 couple of the mid season games, they had early early 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.640 struggles to break out of the gate and then needed 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.720 late comebacks. Here the same thing as we got deeper 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.840 into the schedule and we we get to this produe 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:13.400 game where it's just a grind, a grind into the 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.440 fourth quarter before you finally have that breakthrough touchdown. Pass. 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:20.320 One thing that's forgotten a lot in this because we 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.360 had seen Charles Woodson do it five years previously, become 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:25.960 the first primary defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.120 But did he win because he played defense? No, he 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:32.119 won because he played a phenomenal defensive back. He also returned. 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.360 He was on the return game, and he played offense, 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:38.280 and he made big plays for his team down the stretch, 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:41.960 big plays on offense. Chris Gamble was that guy for 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:45.800 Ohio State, a wide receiver who turned and started playing 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:49.440 defensive back during the season, and he had numerous interceptions 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:52.120 in big games. Every game they played, I felt like 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.800 Chris Gamble comes down with this big interception. And you know, 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.680 obviously didn't have the star power of Woodson in Michigan, 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.800 but he was every bit that player for Ohio State. 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.600 Well somewhere he was gonna find the ball like just 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.679 a ball hawk, which is what made him eventually a 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:11.280 number first round pick as a defense and back once 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:17.560 he converted full time. But here facing Kyle Orton, cell bears. 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:19.440 Are you only gonna bring up bears? How about the 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:21.560 neck beard? He was the guy that threw the pick. 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:24.560 He did have a great neck beer, but he threw 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:29.400 the pick that gambled, caught want me. I'm just that 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.560 you know that way that that's allowed. Okay, that's allowed. 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:34.880 You had to go to the replay book. The river 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:38.360 N's not overturning that. He's just gonna laugh. And I 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:41.240 don't care when you called Mike Pereira. Mike Pereira said, hey, 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:42.920 I just put down my wine so I can give 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:45.840 you an update. That's what happened. Harmon can say whatever 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:50.160 he wants. So by this point, for Ohio State, look, 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:52.080 their defense has been rolling. You know, we talked about 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:54.240 some of the big players on defense. They go into 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:58.480 their showdown against number twelve Michigan ranked number two in 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.760 the country, undefeated the point and there have been many 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:05.160 classic Ohio State Michigan games where there are so many 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.640 twists and turns. This was not one of them. This 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:12.360 was a defensive struggle. Craig Krenzel was able to run 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:15.160 for a key fourth and one first down. And really, 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.840 Krenzel was a player who just made enough plays all 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.960 season long. Right, was he the most talented of quarterbacks. No, 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.800 but he made just enough place. He threw a touchdown 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:29.480 pass just clutch enough in the fourth quarter. He drove 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.080 the team down to a game winning drive or a 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.600 game clinching drive, just enough to keep the job, and 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:37.320 he did it. Against Michigan. The defense shuts down the 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:41.000 Wolverines like they have all season long. They win fourteen 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:43.960 to nine, and they head in to the National Championship 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.440 game in Tempi in the Fiesta Bowl up against Miami. 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.640 And still nobody was giving Ohio State do because the 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:54.440 the overarching story we we got into it, nobody really 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.000 believed how good they were, even when they beat Michigan. 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:59.640 Here it was well Michigan, but they were right twelve 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:01.560 and it's a fourteen nine. Give a look. And I've 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.400 seen every Ohio State Michigan game for the past thirty years, 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:06.160 so I'll tell you which ones are great, which ones worring. 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:08.440 This is one of those it's tough to watch games, 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.240 you know, it's it was. It was really difficult, and 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.560 it was Ohio State just made enough plays. It was 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.080 a grind. And there is something to be said for 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:19.440 style points, especially when you have to worry about impressing voters. 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.800 Defense is sexy, but it's got to be over the 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.360 top good. It's got to be numerous picks and returns 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:28.040 for touchdowns and sacks. Sometimes when you're keeping teams off 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.600 the board and you're beating bad teams barely because you 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:35.000 have great defense, it's not sexy enough. So Ohio State 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:38.560 goes into this national championship game very very unsexy. Well, 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.080 and that's it, is you you mentioned just from the 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.160 sex appeal of appealing to the posters, and that's why 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:46.040 you have the running up to score helly, No matter 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.520 how many algorithms you add to the equation. Now from 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:52.120 playoffs selection, you're still looking going, all right, how much 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:54.600 does it help if we score another touchdown here? How 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:56.760 much does it help if we keep rolling it up? 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:59.800 Just like you were Steve Spurrier thirty years ago. But 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.840 you look at their scoring game to game, they only 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:07.240 scored more than thirty points three times. One of those 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:13.080 was a fifty burger on San Jose State, alright, hamburgers 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:16.359 later on everybody, you know, forty five points against Indiana, 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:20.680 and then there's another thirty four point output. But overall 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:25.240 it's grinding out games, defense coming up with big plays. 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:27.879 So you're rolling through, going all right against a big time, 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:31.560 high powered opponent. One can they shut them down in 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:33.520 the same way? Right? Is this just a function of 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.560 a couple of bad Big ten teams. Uh San Jose 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:40.680 stayed on the schedule and so on, versus can your 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:43.480 offense score against the team of this caliber? And it's 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.520 you know the classic bowl matchups as you get into them, 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.080 where now it's all right, you're facing a different caliber 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:52.720 of talent, right, because this wasn't the running guns shoot 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:56.199 him up Big ten that it's become right. This was 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.399 still coming out of the three yards at a cloud 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.640 of dust and we'll grind you out. Yeah. Look, perfect example, 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:05.040 the game winning drive against Michigan. They're down nine seven 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:07.960 midway through the fourth quarter. Their defense has held Michigan 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:12.159 to nine points. Ohio State couldn't do anything. Craig Krenzel 0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:15.119 then leads a drive, I said, the big first first 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:18.040 down on a On a fourth down, quarterback Sneak completes 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:21.000 a big wheel route past to Maurice Clarette, which lives 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.200 in Ohio State. Lore a the wheel play that goes 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:26.920 in for the go ahead touchdown. John Navar, who was 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.240 playing quarterbacks for Michigan there. Yeah, I think he beat Michigan. 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:32.439 I think he beat Ohiose State once Navarre did. But 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:34.800 I think that's what every Michigan quarterback. They beat him 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:36.119 once and they lose the next three. Yeah, but if 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:37.800 you got one, you can at least say we're part 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:39.920 of the one time club. You know. They get down 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.159 the field and score a touchdown Navars picked off on 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:44.240 the final play of the game by Will Allen, and 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:47.280 and here goes Ohio State, everybody doubting them all the 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:49.679 way to the National Championship Game, where they were a 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:55.040 twelve point underdog to the University of Miami twelve points 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:59.000 twelve with all of the defensive efforts that they'd put 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:01.920 up over the course of a year, not just hey, 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:06.040 you you canna score lowly here you're gonna give up. 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:09.320 And suddenly this defense that had been so great all 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:12.200 season long, this team is gonna be able to exploit 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:16.040 the holes behind Ken Dorsey. So one of the great 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:19.640 National Championship games of all time awaited US and one 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.520 of the biggest controversy still to this day. As Special 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:42.920 Teams with Jason Smith and Mike Harmon continues, Special Teams 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:45.359 with Jason Smith and Mike Harmon continues now as we 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:47.920 take a look back at the two thousand and two 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:52.159 Ohio State Buckeyes who win an absolute thriller in a 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:56.760 controversy filled National Championship game over the Miami Hurricanes to 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:01.119 win the National Championship. There are so many twists and 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:04.200 turns in this game, which eventually has won by Ohio State. 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:09.440 One of the big plays early on in this in 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:12.080 in in which look we watched Ohio States defense get 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:14.640 a couple of turnovers. Early, they forced a fumble by 0:20:14.720 --> 0:20:17.639 Ken Dorsey. They turn a seven nothing deficit into a 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.760 four teen seven lead. But one of the biggest plays 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:24.439 comes to us courtesy of Maurice Clarette, who is obviously 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:26.960 at the end of his run as an Ohio State 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:29.440 running back. Nobody knows it at this point, but he 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:33.000 makes one of the biggest plays in the National Championship game. 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:36.040 In the Fiesta Bowl, Sean Taylor, the late Sean Taylor, 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.640 picks off Craig Krenzel deep in Miami territory. Ohio State 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:42.439 is going in for a score and Taylor's returning it 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:46.240 and Clarette comes from behind, strips Sean Taylor of the 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:49.720 ball and Ohio State recovers. They get a field goal. 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:53.200 But this was a play that was, oh my goodness, 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:55.720 what in a momentum swing and Taylor can't hold onto 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:58.760 the football, and Maurice Clarette the biggest play he makes 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:01.480 in the National Championship because he didn't have a great 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:04.479 game running the football. The biggest play was that stripped 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:07.800 from behind that gives Ohio State another drive, a chance 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:09.760 to put points on the board and takes a momentum 0:21:09.800 --> 0:21:12.480 away from Miami extend to attend point lead instead of 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:17.120 having it be potentially a tie ball game. Momentum, the crowd, 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:20.560 all of those things suddenly swinging back. And it's just 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:23.199 funny when you get into games of this magnitude and 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:26.520 you think about the star power on these fields, Right 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:30.800 Sean Taylor, who was one of the most dominant players 0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:35.120 in the secondary that we'd seen uh and Willis mcgahey 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:37.600 who goes onto a fabulous career on the other side, 0:21:37.600 --> 0:21:41.600 and Clarette the career that might have been um but 0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:44.840 for you know, some issues that befall him. But in 0:21:44.840 --> 0:21:47.720 this case, you've just got that big swing right there 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:51.359 for Maurice Clarette not giving up on a play. How 0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:53.399 many times you watch college and pro as soon as 0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:56.520 the balls turned over, guys start looking at the sideline, 0:21:57.040 --> 0:22:01.119 Guys kind of half run back in into a play. 0:22:01.280 --> 0:22:04.440 I see more kickers get involved in play sometimes than 0:22:04.960 --> 0:22:07.879