Ohio State stuns Miami 31-24 in 2OT

Buckeyes end Miami's 34-game winning streak to claim national title.

By Richard Rosenblatt ~ The Associated Press

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Perfectly shocking! Perfectly thrilling!

Ohio State worked two overtimes to rip the national championship from the confident 'Canes.

Now the Buckeyes are the best.

Maurice Clarett ran 6 yards for the winning touchdown, and Ohio State's defense turned back one final Miami bid to tie the game. With that, the Buckeyes completed an unlikely, unbeaten run to their first national title in 34 years with a 31-24 win Friday night at the Fiesta Bowl.

The Buckeyes' upset ended the Hurricanes' bid for a second straight title and their winning streak at 34 in one of college football's greatest games ever.

But it would have never happened if not for a late pass interference call at the end of the first overtime -- which came with Miami players already celebrating an apparent championship.

Instead, the fourth-down call gave Ohio State the chance it needed to tie the game and send it into the second overtime.

By then, it already was a classic -- the first national championship game to go into overtime, in a matchup of the nation's last two undefeated teams.

Miami's Todd Sievers sent the game into overtime with his 40-yard field goal on the final play of the fourth quarter.

The Buckeyes' punishing defense had rattled and pounded Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey all night.

And on the last play of the game, on fourth-and-goal at the 1, Cie Grant blitzed and forced Dorsey to heave a desperation pass that linebacker Matt Wilhelm batted to the ground.

A few plays earlier, Wilhelm hit Dorsey with such force it sent the quarterback to the sideline for one play. He came back in, but the Buckeyes would not be denied against a team trying to secure its place in history as one of college football's great dynasties.

Miami (12-1) nearly had its 35th straight victory in the first overtime after scoring a touchdown on its first possession.

Trailing 24-17, Ohio State (14-0) converted a fourth-and-14 on a pass by Craig Krenzel. But the Buckeyes then faced a fourth-and-3 at the 5 when Krenzel threw to the right corner of the end zone for Chris Gamble, who was being covered Glenn Sharpe.

As Gamble reached back for the ball, he got his hands on it but couldn't hold on. Seconds later, field judge Terry Porter threw a flag from the back of the end zone indicating pass interference even as Miami players and fans spilled onto the field.

Order was restored quickly, and three plays later Krenzel scored from the 1 to send the game to a second OT.