The 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game designated as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game for the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. It took place on January 3, 2003 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, pitting the Ohio State Buckeyes, co-champions of the Big Ten Conference, against the heavily favored Miami Hurricanes, defending national champions and champions of the Big East Conference. Led by head coach Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes defeated the Hurricanes in double overtime by a final score of 31 - 24, winning the program its first consensus national championship since the 1968 season.
In the midst of a resurgence after a period of turmoil in the 1990s, Miami had won the previous season's national championship in dominant fashion under new head coach Larry Coker and entered the Fiesta Bowl with a 34-game win streak. Ohio State, meanwhile, had narrowly missed national championship opportunities over the past decade, and their most recently claimed championship had come over thirty years prior. The two teams represented a contrast of playing styles: Ohio State played an older variation of power football that emphasized running and dominant defense, while Miami used the speed of their skill position players to overwhelm opponents. Leading up to the game, there was speculation as to whether the Buckeyes would be able to contend with the speed advantage of the Hurricanes, who were installed as double digit favorites.
Following the game, controversy arose surrounding the validity of a crucial pass interference penalty during the first overtime period, without which a Hurricanes victory would have resulted. The trajectories of the two programs subsequently diverged after the season: Ohio State maintained national competitiveness, while Miami fell from their elite status, eventually becoming mired in a scandal. Considering the differing courses of the two programs, the game and its controversial ending have become known as pivotal moments in the greater history of American college football. As such, it is often referred to as one of the greatest college football games ever played.
Background Miami Hurricanes Prior to the 1980s, the Miami Hurricanes were mostly irrelevant on the national stage of college football. The program broke through during the 1983 season, when they won their first national championship under head coach Howard Schnellenberger. Adopting a brash, confident, and confrontational identity, the Hurricanes program went on to win three more national championships through the 1991 season with head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. In less than a decade, the program had become a college football powerhouse.
Toward the end of Erickson's tenure, Miami's dominance over the sport began to wane. After a national championship loss to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, Miami ended the following season with three losses for the first time since 1984, including the worst bowl game defeat in program history to the Arizona Wildcats in the Fiesta Bowl. Another bowl loss followed the 1994 season, after which Erickson left in the face of a scandal that resulted in a guilty plea in federal court from an academic advisor for falsifying Pell Grant applications on behalf football players. His successor, Butch Davis, inherited the penalties of the ensuing NCAA investigation, which determined that the university had provided improper benefits to players and failed to properly institute drug-testing procedures.
In 1997, the Hurricanes posted their first losing season since 1979, but the program began to rebound in the following years. After the 2000 season, the Hurricanes were controversially left out of the national championship game in favor of the Florida State Seminoles and finished the year as the number two team. Davis left after the season to take the head coaching job for the Cleveland Browns, and Miami promoted offensive coordinator Larry Coker. The Hurricanes were anticipated as one of the best teams in the country heading into 2001 and retained their number two ranking. They did not lose a game that year, winning the program's fifth national championship in the Rose Bowl over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Back on top of college football, some sportswriters predicted that another era of Hurricanes dominance over the sport was looming.
The Hurricanes entered the 2002 season as the number one team in the country. Several star players returned from the previous season, including quarterback Ken Dorsey, wide receiver Andre Johnson, and linebackers Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams. Breakout star Willis McGahee led the rushing attack and amassed over two thousand yards from scrimmage. The Hurricanes won all their regular season games in mostly dominant fashion, although they struggled in a few games against overmatched opponents. Due to their membership in the less competitive Big East conference, some observers questioned the strength of their schedule, including Ohio State safety Will Allen. The Hurricanes were nonetheless favored by eleven and a half points entering the Fiesta Bowl, and they had won thirty-four straight games dating back to the second game of the 2000 season.
Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State, by contrast, were a historical blue blood trying to return to national prominence. The program claimed six national championships at the time, but the latest had come thirty-two years prior following the 1970 season. The rest of that decade was marked by upset losses that prevented the Buckeyes from winning a championship, and longtime head coach Woody Hayes was fired after the 1978 season after he punched an opposing player in a loss to the Clemson Tigers in the Gator Bowl. Although new coach Earle Bruce nearly led the Buckeyes to a national championship the following year, a string of three-loss seasons ensued until Bruce was fired during the underwhelming 1987 season. Ohio State then hired Arizona State head coach John Cooper before the next year.
The Buckeyes returned to title contention under Cooper, but another championship remained elusive. In a tenure defined by losses to the archrival Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State narrowly missed out on qualifying for numerous national championship games following close defeats near the end of seasons. In 1998, Ohio State lost in a major upset to the Michigan State Spartans, a devastating defeat that prevented a birth in the inaugural BCS title game. After finishing unranked the next two years, Ohio State fired Cooper following the 2000 season and hired Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressel. In his first season, Tressel led the Buckeyes to a 7-5 record and a birth in the Outback Bowl, where they lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks 28 – 31.
Nonetheless, the Buckeyes had high expectations for the 2002 season. Freshman standout Maurice Clarett highlighted their rushing attack, while quarterback Craig Krenzel and wideout Michael Jenkins led the passing game. Combined with a dominant defense, the Buckeyes did not lose a game during the regular season, although the offense at times proved anemic. They won six games that year by fewer than seven points, including a famous 10 – 6 win over unranked Purdue that has come to be known as the Holy Buckeye game. The Buckeyes needed overtime to beat an Illinois team that won fewer than half their games, and they only sealed a win against the Cincinnati Bearcats, a Group of Five school, with a last minute interception.
Compared to Miami's dominance, Ohio State looked like the inferior opponent. In the hours before the game, Jackie MacMullan declared that "Miami's going to win this game, and they're probably going to win by around two touchdowns" during a segment on the ESPN television show Pardon the Interruption. Co-host Tony Kornheiser questioned the Buckeyes' ability to keep up with the Hurricanes: "[Miami has] got all the speed, I believe, on their side of the ball... What happens when Ohio State sees speed like they've never seen?" Fellow ESPN analyst Trev Alberts stated, "[Ohio State is] not going to beat Miami. If Miami loses, it will be because Miami beat itself. I don't see that happening." Sportscaster Tim Brando predicted that Miami would win by a score of 48 – 10.
Game summary First quarter The Miami Hurricanes won the coin toss for first possession options and elected to defer their choice until the 2nd half kickoff. The Buckeyes chose to receive the kickoff and Miami decided to defend the north goal. The kickoff resulted in a touchback but the Buckeyes were flagged for having 12 men on the field, moving the spot of the ball back to the Buckeye 15-yard line. The Buckeyes' first series resulted in a three-and-out, and Buckeye punter Andy Groom's 56-yard punt resulted in Miami beginning their first possession on their own 20.
During the first down, the Hurricanes' quarterback Ken Dorsey was sacked for a loss of 3 yards. Running back Willis McGahee was tackled on the second down in the backfield for a loss of 2 yards. On third and 15, Dorsey completed a 20-yard pass to Andre Johnson for a 1st down. A couple of plays later, Dorsey again completed a pass to Andre Johnson for 11 yards. The next play saw Dorsey sacked again, this time for a 5-yard loss. The Miami offense failed to gain a first down and punter Freddie Capshaw punted the ball 43 yards. Ohio State received the ball on its one-yard line.
After three downs, the Buckeyes punted. Groom kicked the ball 44 yards where Roscoe Parrish made a fair catch at the Miami 48-yard line. Miami's drive started out slowly with a 1-yard loss on a run by McGahee, but the next play saw Dorsey throw a 28-yard first down pass to Kellen Winslow, Jr. Three plays later, Dorsey sidestepped blitzing safety Donnie Nickey and threw to Parrish for a 25-yard touchdown to put Miami up 7-0 (after Todd Sievers's extra point) with 4:09 left in the first quarter.
Ohio State's Maurice Hall returned the ensuing kickoff for 15 yards. On the first play from scrimmage, Buckeye quarterback Craig Krenzel threw an interception to Miami safety Sean Taylor. On its first play after this, the Miami quarterback completed a 14-yard pass to Andre Johnson for another first down. McGahee was tackled twice for a net loss of 4 yards, and Dorsey's pass on third-and-15 was 2 yards short of a first down. On fourth down Miami's Capshaw punted 44 yards for a touchback. The Buckeyes took over at their 20-yard line, but got a false start penalty, moving them to their 15-yard line. The Buckeyes did not get a touchdown before the quarter ended.
Second quarter After a quick first down at the end of the 1st quarter the Ohio State drive stalled as Maurice Clarett was tackled for no gain, and then a 7-yard loss, on the next two plays. Groom punted for 63 yards to the Miami 7-yard line where Parrish returned it 6 yards.
The Hurricanes moved the ball after a 10-yard holding penalty for another first down. Ohio State responded after the mental error when cornerback Dustin Fox intercepted Ken Dorsey's pass, which was intended for Parrish, at the Miami 49 and returned it 12 yards.
Ohio State picked up a first down in 2 plays but come up short on a long 3rd and 12 to make it 4th and 1. The Buckeyes uncharacteristically decided to fake the field goal attempt and have kick holder Andy Groom (otherwise a punter) carry the ball on an option, but the Buckeyes were stopped for no gain on the play and turned the ball over on downs.