2003 Fiesta Bowl
The 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that was the designated Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game for the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, taking place on January 3, 2003 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Ohio State Buckeyes, co-champions of the Big Ten Conference, defeated the heavily favored Miami Hurricanes, defending national champions and champions of the Big East Conference, in double overtime by a final score of 31 - 24. The game was only the second overtime result in either the BCS or its predecessors, the Bowl Alliance and Bowl Coalition, following the 2000 Orange Bowl between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan Wolverines. By virtue of their victory, Ohio State won its first consensus national title since 1968 and became the first team in college football history to finish a season with a 14-0 record.
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 and entered the Fiesta Bowl with a 34-game win streak. Ohio State, meanwhile, had narrowly missed national championship opportunities in the 90s, and their most recently claimed championship followed the 1970 season. The two teams represented a contrast of 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 11.5 point 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.
This was Miami’s last appearance in the national championship game until 2025.
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. Miami was anticipated as one of the best teams in the country heading into the 2001 season and retained their number two ranking. They went on to go undefeated for the year and won the program's fifth national championship in the Rose Bowl over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. With the program 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 and the favorite to repeat as national champions. The team returned several star players 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 1700 yards on the season. The Hurricanes mostly dominated their opponents, although there were a few close calls, including a missed field goal by Florida State that would have won the game for the Seminoles. Nonetheless, the Hurricanes were heavily favored to win the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl, where they would meet the Ohio State Buckeyes. Entering the game, they had won thirty-four straight 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. At the time, the program claimed six national championships in their history, but the latest had come thirty-two years earlier following the 1970 season. The rest of the 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.They had started the season ranked #13 after losing to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl the previous year. It was head coach Jim Tressel's second year with the team, and he had the experienced Buckeyes looking to win the Big Ten title. After gaining national respect by beating a top 10 Washington State team, Ohio State would go on to ride their strong defense and surprising offense to a 13-0 regular season. Freshman star Maurice Clarett highlighted their elite rushing attack, while quarterback Craig Krenzel managed the games well by throwing to talented wideouts Michael Jenkins and Chris Gamble. They had won 6 games by 7 points or fewer, and the last 3 games by a slim margin of 16 points. Many of the Buckeye's close wins were over mediocre competition. Two of the closest wins were a 23-19 win over 7-7 Conference USA team Cincinnati on a pair of dropped TD passes with under a minute left, and a 10-6 win over 7-6 Purdue on the Holy Buckeye play. The Buckeyes also needed overtime to defeat a 5-7 Illinois team.
The Buckeyes took advantage and finished their season with a close win against Michigan, who were ranked 9th nationally. They held on to a 14-9 lead with an interception in the endzone by safety Will Allen in the final seconds. Even though they were undefeated, the Buckeyes were heading into the Fiesta Bowl as an 11.5 point underdog, but they had strong motivation from teams leaders like 3x All-American safety Mike Doss.
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 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 carry the ball on an option, but the Buckeyes were stopped for no gain on the play and turned the ball over on downs.
Miami began their next possession with another penalty. The Hurricanes were called for an illegal formation penalty for 5 yards, but Dorsey quickly rebounded as he completed a 14-yard pass to Ethenic Sands for a Miami 1st down. Dorsey again completed a pass on the next play to Jason Geathers for a 4-yard gain. The Hurricanes tried to pass two more times, but the first pass was incomplete and the second was intercepted on a deflection by Buckeye safety Mike Doss, who returned the ball 35 yards to the Miami 17-yard line.
A few plays later Krenzel threw 8 yards for a first down to Chris Vance. Ohio State proceeded to move the ball to the 2-yard line, with the help of a Miami offsides penalty. Krenzel carried the ball into the endzone on 4th and 1 from the 2 for a touchdown. Mike Nugent kicked the PAT to tie the score at 7 - 7 with a little over 2 minutes to go in the first half.
Nugent's kickoff after the score went to the back of the endzone for a touchback. On the Hurricane's first play from scrimmage Ken Dorsey was sacked and fumbled the ball. The Buckeye's Darrion Scott recovered the fumble on the Miami 14-yard line. 2 plays later, and again with the help of a Miami offsides penalty, Maurice Clarett ran for a 7-yard touchdown. After another successful PAT by Nugent the Buckeyes were up 14-7.
Nugent kicked off for another touchback, and Miami chose to run out the clock. The Buckeyes led at half time, 14–7.