Ohio State won the 2002 national crown at the 2003 Fiesta Bowl 31-24 in double overtime. Miami appeared to have won the game at the end of the first overtime when Craig Krenzel’s pass on fourth-and-1 fell incomplete.
Instantly, fireworks lit up the sky and joyous Hurricanes rushed the field. And then from the back of the end zone, referee Terry Porter threw the late pass-interference flag that gave OSU second life.
While the current ’Canes are trying to be more than that team of eight seasons past — in fact they are being urged by those players to right the wrong and win the game they did not — Brewster said his team wants to be a carbon copy of the triumphant Bucks.
“That game gives me the chills,” he said. “We definitely look up to those guys. They did what we want to. They went undefeated and won the national title.”
He thinks OSU must go unbeaten again to make the title game: “If we lose one game (BCS voters) are not gonna let us in. We need to be perfect.”
OSU had similar high-profile, nonconference showdowns the past two seasons with Southern California and lost each.
“Last year we thought we were ready and we weren’t,” Brewster said. “But we started showing our maturity at the Rose Bowl.”
If OSU is a different team, so is Miami.
“This is the game where they want to make the statement they’re back,” Brewster said. “From their talk, their swag is back.”
Asked about OSU swagger, he shrugged: “We just show it in different ways.”
Like how?
“The sweater is our swag,” he said in grinning reference to coach Jim Tressel’s old school prop.
Both Brewster (Orlando) and Chekwa (Clermont) are from Florida and are hearing from old friends.
“My high school defensive coordinator — he’s a big Miami fan — he texted me and warned a Category 5 Hurricane is coming through Columbus,” Chekwa laughed.
And then there’s James, who fled the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat this summer in a move that left raw feelings in his home state. Last week on a twitter post, he said he was interested in coming to Columbus and that “O-State will prevail for sure.”
“I have no idea about that,” Chekwa shrugged. “I don’t follow LeBron’s twitters.”
This team is interested in aligning itself with the Bucks of eight years ago — players who actually have won a title.
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