Finally the Ohio State football team can relax — even if only for a few weeks.
By holding on late to a 14-9 victory over arch-rival Michigan Saturday, the Buckeyes clinched a share of the Big Ten Conference championship.
But more importantly, OSU accepted an invitation to play in the Fiesta Bowl for a chance at the Bowl Championship Series national championship game that will be played in Tempe, Ariz. on Jan. 3.
“We accept and are honored with the chance to go to Tempe and play for the national championship,” said OSU football coach Jim Tressel as he accepted the invitation from Fiesta Bowl representatives after the game. “This is a great honor for us and I’m just proud of the way our guys played.”
Like so many times this season, the Buckeyes had to fend off a last- minute comeback attempt. With 58 seconds left in the game and OSU clinging to a five-point lead, Michigan had one final shot at ruining the Buckeyes’ undefeated season. Only 80 yards separated the Wolverines from the end zone.
After three straight incompletions, Wolverine quarterback John Navarre completed a fourth-down strike to wide receiver Braylon Edwards for an 11-yard gain and a first down.
Two more completed passes to receiver Ronald Bellamy brought Michigan down to the OSU 24-yard line with just under 10 seconds left.
“With about seven seconds left, I just took off my headphones,” Tressel said. “And then I just told myself ‘Well, c’mon defense.’ “
After spiking the ball to stop the clock on first down, Navarre overthrew Edwards in the back of the end zone, setting up a final attempt for Michigan.
With just one second remaining on the clock, Navarre again looked to Edwards, this time on a slant pattern. But just as Edwards had seemingly broken coverage, OSU defensive back Will Allen jumped in front of the Wolverine receiver and picked off the pass. Allen fell to the ground, and the fans began rushing the field.
“That last series on defense, everything was going so fast,” said safety and captain Mike Doss. “When Will made that catch, I just started crying and kneeled and said a little prayer.”
While the Buckeyes were able to come away with the win, it seemed as if the Wolverines were poised to end OSU’s dream season.
From the opening quarter, Michigan dominated almost every facet of the game. On their first drive, the Wolverines converted two third-and-11s to keep their drive alive.
However, the OSU defense held on another third-down situation and the Wolverines were forced to settle for an Adam Finley 36-yard field goal.
All game long, the Wolverines seemed to find most of their success on third downs. In the first half alone, Michigan was eight-of-11 on third downs. When Michigan did not convert on third down, Finley made field goals.
OSU scored its only points of the first half in the waning minutes of the opening quarter. After playing sparingly for the past four weeks, tailback Maurice Clarett seemed to be back to his old self against the Wolverines, running for 119 yards on 20 carries on the game.
Clarett came in during OSU’s second possession and quickly paid dividends. On his first play, Clarett caught a screen pass from quarterback Craig Krenzel and avoided one Michigan defender en route to a nine-yard gain.
On only his second carry of the game, Clarett broke two tackles on a 28-yard gain, bringing OSU to the Michigan 11-yard line. Clarett later found the end zone on a two-yard run.
Clarett broke former Buckeye Robert Smith’s freshman single-season rushing record in the second half, finishing the regular season with 1,190 yards.
While Clarett showed only minor effects from the shoulder injury, Tressel knows his talented freshman had to play through some pain.
“I’m sure he played through a lot of pain today,” Tressel said. “But with those stinger-type injuries, there’s nothing you can really do about it. He knew what the game meant to his teammates and he was going to play no matter how he felt.”
While the Wolverines had an easy time moving on the OSU defense in the first half, the second half proved to be a little more difficult for Michigan. The biggest change came on third down where the Wolverines converted only four of 11 in the second half.
“We just missed some tackles in the first half,” said OSU safety and captain Donnie Nickey. “We adjusted on a couple of coverages and played solid defense in the second half.”
Even with Michigan struggling on offense, OSU didn’t take advantage until late in the fourth quarter.
The biggest play of the drive again came from Clarett, but it wasn’t on the ground. On first down from the Michigan 32-yard line, Krenzel found Clarett on a wheel route out of the backfield for a 26-yard gain.
Two plays later, tailback Maurice Hall took an option pitch from Krenzel for the go-ahead touchdown.
Visit the message boardHow do you feel about the riots or the football game? Click here to sound off in our forum.
