The 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes: 14 Wins And One Pass Interference Penalty

can't wait. The history of high lot. Maybe in a little AUSI rules football, Oh AFL, Collingwood Magpies, Yeah, okay, uh goat roping? Is there really great moments and great single seasons and goat roping history? I don't know. Calf roping, Oh, calf roping, go roping? No, but I'll go to kaf rope. I don't know there's any kind of roping. I don't know. Maybe they're state fair than we can find some great stats,

are great performances, I don't know. I watched the King of the Hill episode where Bobby became a Rodeo clown, so suddenly that was in my head night game and though it was rob ro ro ro rope Roro. Uh So today on the podcast again, your host Jason Smith, Mike Carmen. Our show is heard on Fox Sports Radio Monday through Friday, ten pm to two am, East Coast time, seven pm to eleven pm on the West Coast. We're

on over four d affiliates coast to coast. You got our special brand of entertainment, humor, and whatever Harmon decides he wants to say on a daily basis, Hey, sometimes you gotta take it left turn and take people down the road they don't know they want to go on.

And that's what we do each and every night. Tonight is a tough road because my wife, being a Michigan fan going to Michigan, She's had to sit around all week while I have had notes on the two thousand two Ohio State buck eyes all around the house, pictures of Maarice Clarette and all those guys, Craig Krenzel, I got big fat heads on the wall. Why do you have this Ohio States because we're gonna do Ohio State this week. But I can't just put it somewhere I

don't see it. I said, look, we did Michigan. She was, yeah, just put this someplace else. So I had to put it someplace. That's kind of anger. The two thousand two Ohio State Buckeyes, who played one of the most memorable national championship games ever, became legendary over the course of

this college football season and in January. One of the great college football years of all time in Ohio States started two thousand and two, the second year under Jim Trestle, who you could tell there was something special going on because it was the year before when he got hired from Youngstown State and he got up at the basketball game and said, you'll be proud of this team. In three and twelve days, and we played the Michigan Wolverines.

They played them, they beat them, and you realize, wait a minute, this guy maybe ushering in the non John Cooper era of Ohio State football, where Ohio State had plenty of chances in the nineties to compete for a national championship. They lost to Michigan all these times, and it was boy, no matter who Ohio State beats, they can't beat Michigan. Jim Trestle ushered in that era, which they've enjoyed for the better part of twenty years. No matter what you did the rest of the year, it

didn't matter. I mean it's one of those rivalries. Many go to the wayside based on scheduling, based on how you go through the process, and certainly with the big tenant and its evolution and growth, you've you've seen some of that fractured, right because of the schedule imbalanced. But Ohio State Michigan, you want to get people riled up.

I mean, you have the microcosm of your wife, but it's certainly you going you go into any sports bar when that game's on, and it's really an interesting sociological experiment because there's a lot of anger being tossed back and forth, even where we are in southern California. Heading into the year, there were two big announcements that Ohio

State dealt with. Number one was Mike DAWs, two time All American, decided to stay in an emotional announcement, and Maurice Clarette enrolled early so he could play four Ohio State in the fall. Laurice Clarette, who had one year of college football and there are a few people had a more memorable year than Maurice Clarette. No, obviously he's run into trouble throughout the rest of his career, but

this one year Ohio State I mean he's gonna live forever. Yeah, great comeback story in terms of life and post football and some of those transgressions in some ways, well, you know, look at the irony of a guy who graduates early and then really didn't take a class while he was at Ohive State. But that's a whole other thing. As from Mike Dawson went on to a nice NFL career when he was done. Perhaps we'll talk about him a

little bit. Uh in our where are They Now? Portion of the podcast, Shodow Mike Dawson became a second round pick, but that was gonna be the heartbeat of this team. Whatever was gonna happen offensively, you knew you were bringing back a stalwart defense. Here's some of the star power on this Ohio State two thousand two team. Chris Gamble, who were going to talk a lot about here on podcast, played both offense and defense. Ben Hart soccer went on to a long career in the NFL. Will Allen as well.

Bobby Carpenter linebacker, Dustin Fox who actually follows me on Twitter. Uh now a media man, Yeah, a j Hawk. He was a freshman on this team. Mike Nugent went on to kick in the NFL for a really long time. A lot of Jet ties to this team. Actually, no, there's not. Santonio Holmes was on this team as a fresh it's not and they were winners and then they came to you. It's not about the Jets. Dick Mangold

was the center on this team. Troy Smith went on to win the Heisman Trophy years later, was the backup quarterback on this team as a freshman. Michael Jenkins was

the star receiver. Craig Krenzel was the quarterback, and on Jim Trustle's staff a young man named Mark D'Antonio, who then went on to a great career head coach at Michigan State, the great Luke Fickle Mel Tucker distinguished careers for all and and certainly D'Antoni has had some big years for Michigan State, hanging around in the Big ten and and vexing um well these Buckeys at time, so Ohio State did have a great defense going into this year.

What else were people talking about as we get ready for the two thousand two fall campaign? Here is two thousand two pop culture in review. The big movies in two thousand and two included Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers, the middle one okay, alright, the really long one in the middle that was, Oh my god, I just ket Bridge from the first one of the last one. They were long books. Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets. There you go, Spider Man. But I mean like, this

is like four Spider Man. Yes, this is Are you gonna get into an Elizabeth Banks thing about which Spider Man iteration was listen, spider Man. Tom Holland was the best. Everything else was gaha. William Dafoe was pretty cool. He was good. William Dafoe was a good villain. I I oh, sorry, spoiler if you haven't seen that Spider right Men in Black two Star Wars episode, Yeah, I know ago. I remember going with a group from work to a very early showing of both Phantom Menace and then later on

Attack of the Clones. I was the guy armed with two very large jugs of quote unquote orange juice for the morning showing. Was it just orange juice? Okay? Very good, that's good. The Angels won the World series. How long ago was that? People forget that? Oh? Yeah, that's right. There's you know, and the thing is had the Angels not one, Barry Bonds would have been the m v

P of the World Series. He was having a great World Series, but that relentless lineup of the Angels just too much about that the outlier of the Bonds career. He was having a great World Series. And also the Euro became the unit of currency. I like that in Europe, the euro when you figure euro for Europe I had. It's not like the Euro was in the United States. The Euro and Europe. You want another good sports one,

give me another good one. The w w UF had to become the w w E after the World One Wildlife. You know what I really can't fail to understand, and that whole thing is this is that the w w F, the World Wrestling Federation, was monstrous. W w F wildlife. How did they not have the best lawyers to win in court? How do that? Then? How do you claim that anybody's confusing the two? Until the bumper stickers of the band bears chairs came out, it's really no confusing

the two. So this is what the world was talking about. As we head into two thousand and two, into the Fall War, Ohio State makes a run to a national championship thanks to their defense thanks to a controversial call in the bowl game that is still controversial. We get into the season as special teams continues. Next, the Ohio State buck Eyes came into two thousand and two ranked

thirteenth in the country. They had some potential national championship dreams, but in the beginning they just had to win some games, and Ohio State had two tough ones coming out of the gate in their first three where they faced Heisman Trophy candidates Cliff Kingsbury Guess Jason Guesser. When Cliff Kingsbury first was was a Heisman Trophy candidate with Texas Tech while winging the ball all over the place. Problem was, they had a bad offensive line and nobody they didn't

play a lick of defense. As for guess Or uh yeah, he in Washington State, another team expecting the explosive offense, but certainly this Buckeye defense was a formidable opponent. Texas Tech was able to put the most points on the board that Ohio State gave up during the regular season with twenty one. However, Ohio State's offense rolled to a forty five when he won victory. Meanwhile, in Game three, against Washington State, who was ranked tenth in the country

at the time. Their defense shut them down at home, winning twenty five to seven. In his first two games in college football, Maurice Clarette scored five touchdowns and in the game against Washington State he ran for two hundred and thirty yards. And I remember then the question was can a freshman win the Heisman Trophy? Ken Maurice Clarette this kind of story. He was the breakout star in two thousand and two. Can he win the Heisman Trophy?

To thirty five touchdowns? But he suffered a knee injury and he missed the next game. If he had been able to stay healthy all year long, because Maurice Clarette was in and out of the lineup, and this was the Maurice Clarette freshman sensation. Maurice Clarette, if he was able to stay in the lineup, he would have won the Heisman. But he kept getting dinged up. He'd missed a game, come back in play a game, missed two

games that really hurt him. But man, if he was able to play top to bottom with the story, Ohio State was moving all the way up to the top of the rankings. He wouldn't won the Heisman. Now, that would have been a fun decision to have, to see, right, because as we know, the Heisman voters certainly don't want to go back to the well a second time. Sometimes you get the career Award, and generally if you're a youngster breaking onto the scene, they don't want any part

of it. Right, you have to have transferred, sat out, been injured, gotten some kind of formal release, gone into transfer portals or whatever we're gonna call it in a given day, and have some long road. Not hey, I graduated early and I'm on campus. Ohio State gets the midway point of the season ranked number five in the country. They had blown out San Jose State fifty to seven, and then a string of close games, and this is

where Ohio States defense stepped to the forefront. They beat Wisconsin by five, They beat Penn State thirteen to seven. They beat Minnesota, who was ranked in the top twenty five. They beat per Due ten to six. They won at Illinois and over Time twenty three to sixteen. All of these games were close, and there were many nonbelievers. I remember this year's boy, how good is Ohio State? How good is the Big ten. We don't know. They just keep eking out these victories over these teams that are

not very good. Yeah, I mean there's a passetter fearence call, and and other things that that seemed to go their way. Right. It was one of those where bounces happen. You talk abouten Chicago Bears season with all the turnovers and everything. Go back to the Super Bowl appearance they made with Rex Grosser. Have to bring up Bears, your Bears have to wor sometimes you gotta be I don't unders played for the Bears, so I'm gonna make that he barely

played for the ship. The idea just being sometimes all the calls seem to go your way, all the bouncers go yourway. This is a season where they lived dangerously on a week to week basis. So even even a couple of the mid season games, they had early early struggles to break out of the gate and then needed late comebacks. Here the same thing as we got deeper into the schedule and we we get to this produe game where it's just a grind, a grind into the

fourth quarter before you finally have that breakthrough touchdown. Pass. One thing that's forgotten a lot in this because we had seen Charles Woodson do it five years previously, become the first primary defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. But did he win because he played defense? No, he won because he played a phenomenal defensive back. He also returned. He was on the return game, and he played offense, and he made big plays for his team down the stretch,

big plays on offense. Chris Gamble was that guy for Ohio State, a wide receiver who turned and started playing defensive back during the season, and he had numerous interceptions in big games. Every game they played, I felt like Chris Gamble comes down with this big interception. And you know, obviously didn't have the star power of Woodson in Michigan, but he was every bit that player for Ohio State.

Well somewhere he was gonna find the ball like just a ball hawk, which is what made him eventually a number first round pick as a defense and back once he converted full time. But here facing Kyle Orton, cell bears. Are you only gonna bring up bears? How about the neck beard? He was the guy that threw the pick. He did have a great neck beer, but he threw the pick that gambled, caught want me. I'm just that you know that way that that's allowed. Okay, that's allowed.

You had to go to the replay book. The river N's not overturning that. He's just gonna laugh. And I don't care when you called Mike Pereira. Mike Pereira said, hey, I just put down my wine so I can give you an update. That's what happened. Harmon can say whatever he wants. So by this point, for Ohio State, look, their defense has been rolling. You know, we talked about

some of the big players on defense. They go into their showdown against number twelve Michigan ranked number two in the country, undefeated the point and there have been many classic Ohio State Michigan games where there are so many twists and turns. This was not one of them. This was a defensive struggle. Craig Krenzel was able to run for a key fourth and one first down. And really, Krenzel was a player who just made enough plays all

season long. Right, was he the most talented of quarterbacks. No, but he made just enough place. He threw a touchdown pass just clutch enough in the fourth quarter. He drove the team down to a game winning drive or a game clinching drive, just enough to keep the job, and he did it. Against Michigan. The defense shuts down the Wolverines like they have all season long. They win fourteen to nine, and they head in to the National Championship game in Tempi in the Fiesta Bowl up against Miami.

And still nobody was giving Ohio State do because the the overarching story we we got into it, nobody really believed how good they were, even when they beat Michigan. Here it was well Michigan, but they were right twelve and it's a fourteen nine. Give a look. And I've seen every Ohio State Michigan game for the past thirty years, so I'll tell you which ones are great, which ones worring. This is one of those it's tough to watch games, you know, it's it was. It was really difficult, and

it was Ohio State just made enough plays. It was a grind. And there is something to be said for style points, especially when you have to worry about impressing voters. Defense is sexy, but it's got to be over the top good. It's got to be numerous picks and returns for touchdowns and sacks. Sometimes when you're keeping teams off the board and you're beating bad teams barely because you have great defense, it's not sexy enough. So Ohio State

goes into this national championship game very very unsexy. Well, and that's it, is you you mentioned just from the sex appeal of appealing to the posters, and that's why you have the running up to score helly, No matter how many algorithms you add to the equation. Now from playoffs selection, you're still looking going, all right, how much does it help if we score another touchdown here? How much does it help if we keep rolling it up?

Just like you were Steve Spurrier thirty years ago. But you look at their scoring game to game, they only scored more than thirty points three times. One of those was a fifty burger on San Jose State, alright, hamburgers later on everybody, you know, forty five points against Indiana, and then there's another thirty four point output. But overall it's grinding out games, defense coming up with big plays. So you're rolling through, going all right against a big time,

high powered opponent. One can they shut them down in the same way? Right? Is this just a function of a couple of bad Big ten teams. Uh San Jose stayed on the schedule and so on, versus can your offense score against the team of this caliber? And it's you know the classic bowl matchups as you get into them, where now it's all right, you're facing a different caliber of talent, right, because this wasn't the running guns shoot

him up Big ten that it's become right. This was still coming out of the three yards at a cloud of dust and we'll grind you out. Yeah. Look, perfect example, the game winning drive against Michigan. They're down nine seven midway through the fourth quarter. Their defense has held Michigan

to nine points. Ohio State couldn't do anything. Craig Krenzel then leads a drive, I said, the big first first down on a On a fourth down, quarterback Sneak completes a big wheel route past to Maurice Clarette, which lives in Ohio State. Lore a the wheel play that goes in for the go ahead touchdown. John Navar, who was playing quarterbacks for Michigan there. Yeah, I think he beat Michigan. I think he beat Ohiose State once Navarre did. But

I think that's what every Michigan quarterback. They beat him once and they lose the next three. Yeah, but if you got one, you can at least say we're part

of the one time club. You know. They get down the field and score a touchdown Navars picked off on the final play of the game by Will Allen, and and here goes Ohio State, everybody doubting them all the way to the National Championship Game, where they were a twelve point underdog to the University of Miami twelve points twelve with all of the defensive efforts that they'd put up over the course of a year, not just hey, you you canna score lowly here you're gonna give up.

And suddenly this defense that had been so great all season long, this team is gonna be able to exploit the holes behind Ken Dorsey. So one of the great National Championship games of all time awaited US and one

of the biggest controversy still to this day. As Special Teams with Jason Smith and Mike Harmon continues, Special Teams with Jason Smith and Mike Harmon continues now as we take a look back at the two thousand and two Ohio State Buckeyes who win an absolute thriller in a controversy filled National Championship game over the Miami Hurricanes to win the National Championship. There are so many twists and turns in this game, which eventually has won by Ohio State.

One of the big plays early on in this in in in which look we watched Ohio States defense get a couple of turnovers. Early, they forced a fumble by Ken Dorsey. They turn a seven nothing deficit into a four teen seven lead. But one of the biggest plays comes to us courtesy of Maurice Clarette, who is obviously at the end of his run as an Ohio State running back. Nobody knows it at this point, but he makes one of the biggest plays in the National Championship game.

In the Fiesta Bowl, Sean Taylor, the late Sean Taylor, picks off Craig Krenzel deep in Miami territory. Ohio State is going in for a score and Taylor's returning it and Clarette comes from behind, strips Sean Taylor of the ball and Ohio State recovers. They get a field goal. But this was a play that was, oh my goodness, what in a momentum swing and Taylor can't hold onto the football, and Maurice Clarette the biggest play he makes in the National Championship because he didn't have a great

game running the football. The biggest play was that stripped from behind that gives Ohio State another drive, a chance to put points on the board and takes a momentum away from Miami extend to attend point lead instead of having it be potentially a tie ball game. Momentum, the crowd,

all of those things suddenly swinging back. And it's just funny when you get into games of this magnitude and you think about the star power on these fields, Right Sean Taylor, who was one of the most dominant players in the secondary that we'd seen uh and Willis mcgahey who goes onto a fabulous career on the other side, and Clarette the career that might have been um but for you know, some issues that befall him. But in this case, you've just got that big swing right there

for Maurice Clarette not giving up on a play. How many times you watch college and pro as soon as the balls turned over, guys start looking at the sideline, Guys kind of half run back in into a play. I see more kickers get involved in play sometimes than skill position guys. You know, you usually have the the hogs from the offensive line doing their best to track down someone on a return. But here it's Clarette making the big play. That is the first drive of the

second half. So instead of Miami having the football down a touchdown, Ohio gets a field goal and they go up by ten. So now would say seventeen seven lead. And this is where Miami. At some point I'm saying to myself, Miami's got the horses. All right. This is Larry Coker in his second year at Miami. You know, Rob Schatzinski is the offensive coordinator. Ken Dorsey had a huge year. They have Willis Mcgahey, there is star power all over this team all I mean, I look, yeah,

we're top five Heisman finalists. I mean, Andre Johnson was on this team. You know, Frank Gore was on this team. Peyton, I mean this. Kellen Winslow when he was a good tight end was on this team. They had star power everywhere the tight end before he switched to being a full time offensive lineman. And it really shocked me that they couldn't get out offensively on Ohio State more than they did, and that I thought, Okay, here's how the

game's gonna go. Miami's gonna struggle early and then they're gonna impose their will on the game and they're gonna go up and down the field on Ohio State. And that just didn't have to start getting that lean as as you would with your offensive line and especially behind the running of mcgahey. But certainly that's one of those moments that just lives on in national title lore while

we go through that. But you know, the defensive side of the ball, they had my guy, Vince Wilfork, who's you know, the captain of my wall of mean, especially once he was wearing the overalls. That became a big deal later on. But for the purposes of of the offense of this game, just kept waiting for it to click right, I mean, it was a twelve point spread. Eventually the damn had to break. Did Willis mcgahey breaks through touchdown run that cuts the lead to three and

suddenly Miami's got momentum. But Willis mcgae he is one of the poster boys of this game. If you remember, this is the game in which mcgahey suffered a really horrible knee injury later on in the second half, in which he missed the vast majority of the next year, and that really started the discussion of, oh, my goodness, willis mcgahe he looked at him, did he have insurance? Was he able to make sure that's his last college game?

Because he was one of these stars in all of college football, would have been a top three or top four pick, but he injured his knees so badly that he falls in the draft because he's gonna miss almost all of the next year of play. The Buffalo Bills take him, and it takes him a little while to

get into that run. And this was really the first injury where college football players parents everybody says, hey, you know what, maybe playing in a bowl game might not be what you should do if you're gonna wind up being a high first round pick. And now we see it all the time where players miss bowl games because they're worried about an injury. It doesn't matter what my team is playing for. I gotta sit out because I

gotta preserve my career at the next level. It's not gonna help me if somebody takes a cheap shot at me in a game and I get hurt. It helped it stakes, but hey, I got you here, so I'm gonna sit this game out and then go to the NFL. No, and that that's the difficult part of this process was for mcgahey. I mean, that was just gruesome, right, So that wasn't just an injury. It was awful. That was one that you don't watch a second time. It's a screen pass in which he gets hit by Will Allen.

His left knee gets bent backwards and it was tough to see tears of the a c L, PCL, m c L. It was really difficult. And like I said, he was going to be a top three, top five pick. Instead it was well, now he's gonna go in the third or fourth round. He eventually does get taken by the Bills and sits out all of two thousand and three before going onto thousand yards seasons. So it did turn out okay for mcgahey, But he was the real

first guy that was playing the bull game. Really we should be doing okay, And now you just say no. Of course, you and I form SYR in Houston Northwestern going to a bowl every year would just be nice enough. Miami kicks a field goal to send the game to overtime, and in overtime, Miami scores first seven yard touchdown pass from Ken Dorrisey to Kellen Winslow. Ohio State. Now in overtime has to go for the touchdown otherwise they lose

the game. Craig Krenzel completes a fourth and fourteen pass to Michael Jenkins that keeps the drive alive, and then it comes down to the fourth and three play, which is now known as the call. What looks to be an incomplete pass thrown by Craig Krenzel. You watch Miami celebrate. Larry Coker runs on the field. Miami's your national champions because a fourth and three pass from inside the five

yard line goes incomplete in the end zone. However, official Terry Porter calls pass interference on Miami defensive at Glenn Sharp. They get a new set of downs, they go in for the game tying touchdown. Now, this is a play that many of us have seen many times. Was this a past interference play or not? It has been broken down as well by the letter of the law. It's past interference. This game was being referee pretty rough. You know, there's a lot of physical play that both sides had

gotten away with it. But even earlier in that possession, right, the Jenkins pass was potentially offensive past interference, Yes, but back then you didn't call offensive passing clubbed you guy know, I mean he pushed off on Sharp. You know who then got called for Who's got to be piste off going Jenkins doesn't get called, but I get called for this. I've seen the play and you know what it is.

It's a no call. It's a no call. It's really hard to say there's an ocal because we saw it in the Super Bowl a few years ago, right, the big no call on fourth down with Colin Kaepernick and the when the Niners played the Baltimore Ravens and it was past no It was a good no call and

that helped clinch the game for the Ravens. But the fact that Porter took a while to throw his flag, and that's what I have a problem with, because he said after the game, I wanted to replay it in my mind to make sure it was past interference, and then I threw the flag. You know what, That's a case where if you didn't see it, it's not a flag. If you got to think about it, like going to the Hall of Fame. You gotta think about it. Yeah, no, you're not a Hall of Famer. It's I gotta think

about it. I'm throwing the flag. That's why that was a bad call, because it's either you gotta see it right away pass interference I'm throwing not I gotta think about it, because boy, oh, I don't want to leave this game being the guy who didn't throw the flag. You know what, let me throw the flag and we'll let the players on the field decide it. No, if it's a penally, it's a penal. If it's not. If it's good defense, it's good defense, and they throw the flag.

And that's really hard for Miami going from we've just won the National championship too. Oh hey, no, yeah, no you haven't. I mean that that was really that was the worst part of that, to say, you want to talk about a deflation. But what's funny is in the back end of it is that referee Magazine called it one of the best eighteen calls. Look at and say, but you wanna you want to back up by a referee magazine is not going to call something bad. Here's

the worst referees and Referee magazine. Now it's referee Magazine's gonna spotlight the good referee. It would be the eighteen times you could have done better section. You know that that was it was a no call for me. But now Miami's gotta go back and play. Next overtime, Ohio State gets the ball. They go in for a touchdown, five yard touchdown run by Martice Clarette. Miami gets a

second possession. They have to get in the end zone right now, Derrick Crudip comes in the backup quarterback because Ken Dorsey gets knocked silly on a play, so now he has to come out of the game. He's still woozy. The backup comes in completes a fourth down pass to Kellen Winslow. At that point, I go, this game is over, Derrek. He's he's in the huddle, go and sid har and he completes a fourth down pass to keep the drive going. And then he goes right back out of the game.

Right because now Ken Dorsey comes back in on the side of hey, hey, get back again and get back in again. Nowadays, how did he get cleared? Did he go through the proper concussion protocol to get back in the game or was it dude, are you okay? Come on, man, this is the next Joe Montana? Great? What are you doing? He's it's Ken Dorsey. The guy thinks he's Joe Montana. He said Candy and ran back on the field. Don't go out three things. He's Montana. But you watch Dorsey play,

you can tell he is still not himself. Hurricanes get stopped on their first three plays after that, including Dorsey missing a wide open player for what could have been a touchdown, and on fourth and goal he's pressured, he chucks it up desperation pass incomplete. No flags on that play at Ohio State? Are your two thousand and two national champions? After the game was over, I still couldn't

believe they were the national champions. No, it was one that again because of the officiating and the twists and turns and big injury and and everything that. It just left you exhausted. For one. But you you look at games like this compared to how they're officiated today, when you talk about instant replay and challenges, I mean, you're not gonna overturn any of these, just like they don't do.

From New York in the National Football League, you know, as you and I speak, But it's just a different era, right, a lot more physical and and for this one, it was it was a slug fest. It really was that. It was a battle and a war of attrition. It was shocking, it was exciting, it was everything you'd want a National Championship game. And with the big controversial call that lives forever. I mean, you can't, you can't dial it up any better than that. Did the right team win? Well?

The call was made and Miami did have a chance at Ohio State made all the plays. Jim Trestle does not get enough credit for the coach he was, obviously because the way things ended amid scandal, he has to resign. Players are getting free tattoos. Terrell Prior is at the crux of this, and we forget just what a great head coach he was. Three tattoos. That's here. You gave me a jackie, you gave me merch had traded in

for tattoos. There's the problem. You yeah, shouldn't have done it, But I mean that the fact that that's a rule. And we can do a podcast on in an n C double A rules another time. But the fact that that's the scandal that hits him with all the other stuff that's gone on in the Big Ten and in football in general, that that's it. That guy got a tattoo for free, and you know what, he had to give up that letterman's jacket. He didn't want this thing that they gave me for free. Yeah here, just putting

like four more tats on me. Man, he just wants the swag bag from the bull game. He got an MP three player and a set of headphones at a sweatshirt. Al right here, Well, yeah, don't worry about it. We're fine, We're absolutely fine. He doesn't get that credit because he what he came in and turned a program that was always talented, but when it came to putting your feet

to the fire, they faltered. Instead, they had the belief, and he instilled that belief that this is a program that's going to continue and I'm gonna be at the head of this and I'm going to continue on with it as long as I want to go. It's a shame that's how it ended for him because of what happened. Obviously, they had their problems and he had to go. But just the image of him the sweater vest, everything is buttoned up, and all kinds of crazy stuff is going

on beyond. Hey, when you can do that, when you can at least give the image that I'm in charge of things, it doesn't matter what happens behind closed door, six and four in Bowl games, sixties, six and fourteen in the Big Ten, and one oh six and twenty two overall as the head coach of the State buck Eyes during his I mean, that's just absolutely absurd. For his career, a seventy winning percentage, So talking about domination throughout. But for Jim Trestle, you know, history not as kind

perhaps as it should be. This team as a whole not regarded typically very well. I mean, there was an ESPN poll that ranked him the worst champion of a twenty year period. I said, I don't know that you can say that they beat the best team. They beat him, and and it was a dominant game defensively. You could say that, hey, did Miami have a bad game yet, but they had a bad game because Ohio State was that good, you know, and then the Ohio State made

all the place. Was Craig Krenzel great, No, but they look at all the NFL talent that we didn't talk. Will Smith was on this team starting defensive end. They put I think seven of their uh starting defenders went on to long careers in the NFL. This was that good a defensive team. But defensive teams, unless you're the eight five Bears or legendary teams like that, you just

don't get to do that. Other teams do that. Led up to scoreboard, I mean, you want the sexiness of points, as we said that was that wasn't the hallmark for this team. They had a couple of explosions against the inferior opponents or where the defense just put it late at the table for them to just finish the job.

But when you play that kind of defense, again, Joe Tiller only been doing his thing and produce for a couple of years at this point, so the Big ten hadn't changed, so naturally you hadn't changed the style of game you were playing either, which is why when you played the SEC or the Pac ten and whatever else, and all of a sudden you're facing all these big, fast wideouts and the offenses are that much more prolific, or going to the SEC more three yards in a

cloud of dust, but still you know, just a different in terms of the athletes or the Florida schools that it was always seen as a mismatch in bowl games and sometimes they get run out of the gym and they would diminish the fact that you had the cannibalization and just a different style of play across the big ten in before we get to the where are they now? Maurice Clarette has become the most visible personality associated with this two thousand and two teams. Everything was at his feet.

He was the first freshman to be the leading rusher on a national championship game. Since I'm on green of Nebraska and Ohio State is thinking we're gonna win it all next year. The year after, there's Heisman trophies. There's the NFL in his future. But that was it for Ohio State all right. In December, he had gotten upset with the team because they wouldn't let him fly back for a friend's funeral. That was the first part of the divorce proceedings that started between Clarette and Ohio State.

He gotten a very highly publicized shouting match with his position coach during the Northwestern game earlier in the year. Later on, after the National Championship. It was revealed he didn't go to any classes during his only year at Ohio State. This story gets out, it's an academic scandal, and Ohio State has no choice but to dismiss him from the team. So now he is no longer an Ohio State Buckeye. He suites to get into the NFL Draft. He wins his case, but there's some shenanigans legally that

prevent him from getting into the NFL. So now he's a man without a team. Well in that city, becomes a guy with a couple of injuries coming out of that freshman year, but signs an agent because he's told, hey, you're clear, you're gonna be good. So he and Mike Williams of USC go and they sign agents. And then once they're told no, you can't and c double A won't let them back. So now they're in no man's land right And at the time, I mean, I guess

they could have gone and played in Canada. Probably could have gone and and done that, but otherwise you're without a home. And from Maurice Claret, it became just the beginning of a downward spiral. Waiting on that opportunity to try to get into the NFL and a ruling, and we've had this conversation I once wrote, I think it was about a five thousand word diet tribe about their or legal situation. How screwed they got in the process

because of bad advice and just a bad rule. Right, if a team wants to take a shot on you after a year or just like in in basketball at times and time again that you know, coming out of high school, and they want to put you into a developmental program, why not, right, Maurice Clarette coming off an injury, could have got bulked up, could have got rehab on the leg and everything else and gone on and maybe a straight path into a viable NFL career. But instead

he's a man without a home. He challenges the NFL's rule that a player have to wait three years until after graduating from high school. He loses in two thousand four, but he gets in the two thousand five draft. He trains he does not have a great combine. I remember

mel kiper I did shows with mel Kipert ESPN. At that point he was saying he's gonna be a six or seventh round pick, but the Broncos draft him at the end of the first day in the third round, and Clarette actually gets into the Nash in the Football League. His career never gets off the ground. It's revealed his battled depression alcoholism since his earliest two thousand and two.

And then he has two really disastrous legal moments. One is a robbery conviction in which he attempted to rob a couple of people with a gun outside a bar in early two thousand and six. And then he had the instance in August of two thousand and six in which he was arrested after he made an a legal you turn driving in his car, led police on a chase uh in an SUV that reportedly belonged to his uncle.

When they finally stopped Clarette, they look in the car and he's got all kinds of weapons in there, loaded a K forty seven katana blade, loaded handguns, everything, and an open bottle of Great Goose vodka. And this was really the end of the Maurice Clarette story where I thought, Oh my god, this guy, he needs so much help. He has gotten it. He turned his life around after that. He started to to counsel players so they wouldn't fall into the same traps as him, but you know, his

career was something that really it was. It was the shiny example of all right, here's how to achieve and then here's what not to do. So there's Maurice Threat who was able to turn his life around later on, but the twist and turns to get there were really crazy. What about some others in where are they now? All right, we got ben Hart Suck. We mentioned him a little bit earlier, played in the league for Jets Hawaiian awhile, yep,

he's now an agent. About that? Went on the other side saying, wait, I can get a couple of percent by just hyping guys. Yeah, I'm in on that. Uh. Tim Anderson defensive line played in the league for a little bit. He's a history teacher and he also does he's a wrestling coach. Adrian Clark became a trainer and works with offensive lineman working on their technique. So if you want to be a dancing bear in the NFL, you go find him to be a bear. Why it's

not all about the Bears. Have you never heard that bears? Yes? I know, but you brought it up just because you're a Bears. You're right, Santonio Holmes Staler all of that. Uh does a lot of work for the Sickle Cell Research and Foundation that he is started. You've got Donnie Nikki uh financial industry from MetLife about that new a gan Niki. Guess you can say he save me some money. Nicely done, just Befriendzi does some insurance work in Columbus,

a little bit of media work. Doesn't everybody buy their Craig Crass I can talk to him about two thousand too, how many insurance calls? I think he goes on where guys go. Hey, tell me about the national championship. Alright, five? So fourth quarter comes and here's what happens. Great. I bet she's got a nice life and a nice house and everything else. So he tells that every day, just keeps telling stories and gets more clients ten times a day. I bet she's got a lot of Augusto Mike Doss.

We talked about him before zimmer Biomet medical sales rep. And then I got one more for you because I know you're gonna like this. He got Rob Sims alright, played the league a little bit, played in Detroit with Calvin Johnson. Two of them have started their own little cannabis run there in Michigan, and they've also got a giant research thing going on with Harvard. Wow, everything and

everything related to cannabis and it's use. So there is our look back at the two thousand and two Ohha State buck Eyes National champions, pulling one of the big upsets in college football history in an incredibly memorable game against the Miami Hurricanes. I'm Jason Smith, He's Mike Harmon. You can hit us up on Twitter at how about a Fresca or Mike is at Swollen Dumb. Let us know what you think, let us know what teams you would like to see spotlighted on Special Teams with Jason

Smith and Mike Carmen. We'll talk to you next time before you go, rate and review the show. Whether you're listening on I heart Radio, I Heart Radio apps, Apple, whatever it is, give us a rate, tell us you like it. We will love you forever and ever and ever. Special Teams is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.