The 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes compiled a perfect 14–0 record (8–0 in conference games), won the Big Ten and national championships, and outscored opponents by a total of 410 to 183. Against ranked opponents, the Buckeyes defeated No. 10 Washington State, No. 18 Penn State, No. 23 Minnesota, and No. 12 Michigan. They concluded the season with a 31–24 double-overtime victory over No. 1 Miami (FL) in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, which was also the BCS National Championship Game. It was Ohio State's first consensus national championship since 1968.
The Buckeyes gained an average of 191.3 rushing yards and 173.2 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 77.7 rushing yards and 243.1 passing yards per game. The team's statistical leaders included junior quarterback Craig Krenzel (2,110 passing yards, 59.4% completion percentage), freshman tailback Maurice Clarett (1,237 rushing yards, 5.6 yards per carry), wide receiver Michael Jenkins (61 receptions for 1,076 yards), and kicker Mike Nugent (120 points scored, 45 of 46 extra points, 25 of 28 field goals). Three Ohio State players were consensus first-team All-Americans: Nugent; linebacker Matt Wilhelm; and safety Mike Doss. Seven Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 2002 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Clarett; Wilhelm; Doss; Nugent; defensive end Darrion Scott; cornerback Chris Gamble; and punter Andy Groom.
The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Schedule
Rankings
Preseason Despite a 7–5 season the year before, the general feeling was one of optimism in Columbus, Ohio, provided that the defense could carry the team while the offense developed. First year coach Jim Tressel was able to deliver on his promise of an upset victory over the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Twice All-American safety Mike Doss, in an emotional announcement on January 9, 2002, advised that he would not declare himself for the NFL draft and would return to Ohio State for his senior season. (SI, p. 75) Maurice Clarett, a freshman prospect, graduated early from high school and enrolled at Ohio State for the 2002 Winter Quarter to make himself eligible to participate in spring football practice. (Lindy's, p. 15; SI p. 16)
Prior to the 2002 season, the Buckeyes were ranked thirteenth in the AP Poll after losing the Outback Bowl on a last second field goal to the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Big Ten Conference summer media day sessions predicted Ohio State to finish second in the conference behind Michigan and ahead of Michigan State. (Keels, p. 12)
Team captains selected were seniors Mike Doss and Donnie Nickey. Offensive captains for the season were named weekly, and were: Craig Krenzel (Texas Tech, Penn State, and Michigan), Mike Stafford (Kent State), Ben Hartsock (Washington State and Illinois), Ivan Douglas (Cincinnati), Chris Vance (Indiana), Alex Stepanovich (Northwestern and Purdue), Michael Jenkins (San Jose State), Shane Olivea (Wisconsin), and for the Minnesota game, Andy Groom and Bryce Bishop. (2002 archive October 12, 2002)
Game summaries Texas Tech
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The Buckeyes began the 2002 season in Ohio Stadium against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on August 24, 2002, in the final edition of the Pigskin Classic. Like Ohio State, Texas Tech had posted a 7–5 record in 2001, narrowly losing to Iowa in the Alamo Bowl. Tailback Maurice Clarett, the first true freshman to start at tailback in school history, (Athletic Department archive August 24, 2002) scored three touchdowns in his first game, sparking a convincing 45–21 win. Seven sacks of Heisman Trophy candidate Kliff Kingsbury and containment of the Tech offense until late in the game did much to establish the credibility of the Buckeye defense.
Kent State
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Ohio State, now ranked 8th in the AP Poll, built a 38–0 lead before halftime against the Kent State Golden Flashes, with quarterback Craig Krenzel completing his first 11 passes, safety Mike Doss and freshman linebacker A. J. Hawk returning interceptions for touchdowns, and Maurice Clarett scoring twice. Kent State scored twice in the last 4 minutes of the first half but never threatened an upset. With the game in hand, backup quarterback Scott McMullen directed the Buckeye offense for much of the second half, completing 7 of his 11 passes. The Buckeyes took only 47 snaps compared to 80 by the Golden Flashes and actually had a 2:1 deficit in time of possession, but outgained Kent State by 60 yards. Sophomore place kicker Mike Nugent, who had been uneven in his kicking as a freshman, gave an indication of his future value to the team by kicking field goals of 41, 33, and 45 yards.
Washington State
Now ranked sixth in the nation, the Buckeyes faced their first marquee opponent and second Heisman quarterback candidate in Jason Gesser on September 14 when they hosted the 10th-ranked Cougars of Washington State. The game was billed by many in the media as a possible Rose Bowl-preview and was televised nationally (Keels p. 28).
Washington State appeared to live up to its billing with an 11-play 80-yard drive midway through the 1st quarter that was capped by a short touchdown pass from Gesser. In addition the Cougar defense limited tailback Maurice Clarett to just 36 yards rushing and held the Buckeyes to only a pair of field goals in the half. However Ohio State's defense stymied Washington State throughout the game, intercepting Gesser twice and forcing the Cougars to surrender the ball on downs twice in Buckeye territory.
In the second half Clarett picked up 44 yards on his first rush and destroyed the Cougar defense with 194 second-half yards. His 230 yards rushing for the day was the 6th best in Buckeye history and just short of Archie Griffin's freshman record of 239. (Keels p. 28, Lindy's p. 26) He scored twice and Ohio State got a Nugent field goal and a safety to win convincingly. The following Tuesday, in his weekly luncheon with the media, Coach Jim Tressel revealed that Clarett had suffered a knee injury during the game, had already undergone arthroscopic surgery, and would miss the next game.
Cincinnati
Ohio State won a very close game 23 - 19 against the Cincinnati Bearcats on September 21. The Cincinnati Bearcats were unranked in Conference USA, had a current 1 - 1 record and had lost the previous week to West Virginia by a field goal. The victory was ultimately sealed by an interception in the end zone by safety Will Allen with 32 seconds remaining. Ohio State were behind much of the game with the Cincinnati Bearcats creating over 400 yards of offense, including 52 passes although conceding two 4th quarter interceptions and multiple dropped passes.
Sophomore running back Lydell Ross, starting in place of the injured Clarett, rushed for 130 yards. Wide receiver Chris Gamble had practiced all week as a defensive back and was used on a 3rd down for UC from the Ohio State 29 in the 4th quarter, making an interception in the end zone. Craig Krenzel, who had scrambled for 64 yards on 14 carries in the first three games, scored the winning touchdown with less than 4 minutes to play, twisting and spinning through the Bearcat defenders for 6 yards. (Keels p. 35)
Indiana
6th-ranked and undefeated Ohio State took care of business in opening the Big Ten schedule with a 45–17 win over the 2–2 Indiana Hoosiers. Maurice Clarett returned to play after 2 weeks recuperating from his knee surgery September 16 and scored three times in the first half while accruing 104 yards rushing. After leading only 21–10 at halftime, Ohio State blew open the game with three scores in the 3rd quarter to win decisively, totalling 244 yards of rushing and 461 overall.
Playing both defense and offense, Chris Gamble scored on a 43-yard reverse on the first drive of the 3rd quarter. Indiana had to punt on the ensuing possession and safety Dustin Fox blocked the kick. Ohio State took over at the Indiana 18 and scored on a short pass from Krenzel to Michael Jenkins to take a 35–10 lead.
Northwestern
The next week, on the road against the Northwestern Wildcats, which entered the game with a 2–3 record and 0–1 in conference play, Ohio State played a night game in Evanston, Illinois, in accordance with a scheduling agreement between the Big Ten and ESPN (Keels, p. 41). The game was again unusually close, with Clarett fumbling three times and caught by the TV cameras arguing with running backs coach Tim Spencer on the sidelines (Keels, p. 42), but he also carried the ball for 140 yards and two scores as Ohio State prevailed 27–16.
Northwestern had a 6–0 lead after the 1st quarter but had had two drives stopped inside the Ohio State ten-yard line. They later missed a pair of field goal attempts before scoring a touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter to narrow the Buckeye lead to 24–16. Ohio State replied with a long drive and a field goal by Mike Nugent, then used an interception by Cie Grant and a fumble recovery by Donnie Nickey to keep Northwestern at bay.
San Jose State
Ohio State for the second season in a row played a non-conference West Coast team at mid-season, hosting the San Jose State Spartans for Homecoming on October 12. San Jose State had attempted to cancel the game because its schedule featured seven road games in an 8-week span, but was unable to find a replacement team for the Buckeye home date. The Spartans, 4–2, had already defeated Illinois, had a three-game winning streak, and entered the game with a defense that led Division I-A in taking the ball away from its opponents. The game started slowly and was tied 7–7 early in the 2nd quarter.
The Buckeye defense, however, held SJS to 265 yards of offense, all of it passing yardage, despite the Spartans completing 81.8% of their 44 passes. (Lindy's, p. 42) The offense ran up 567 yards, a season-high, with Krenzel and backup Scott McMullen combining for 355 yards passing on only 19 completions. Krenzel threw for three touchdowns to break the game open in the 3rd quarter, Clarett rushed for 132 yards and scored three times, and Mike Nugent connected on three field goals, tying the school record for 15 straight without a miss.
Wisconsin
Ohio State faced its next big test on the road October 19, in Madison, Wisconsin, taking on the Wisconsin Badgers in one of the most hostile stadiums in the nation. Ranked fourth now, Ohio State faced a Badger team that had opened its season 5–0, but had lost its first two conference games, and 7 of its last 9 conference games at home, and was playing without its top wide receiver, Lee Evans. Animosity simmered in both teams as each had resented the other dancing on their logos after road wins in the immediately preceding years. (Keels p. 46)
Ohio State scored on its first possession with a long pass from Krenzel to Jenkins, but by halftime Wisconsin led, 14–13, on two long plays in each quarter. The 3rd quarter was scoreless, but midway through the 4th, on a 3rd and 6 from its own 16, Krenzel delivered a high pass 45 yards to Michael Jenkins, who out-jumped two defenders to give the Buckeyes a first down in Wisconsin territory. Krenzel completed the drive with a short touchdown pass to tight end Ben Hartsock, and although a try for a 2-point conversion failed, the Buckeyes led 19–14.