ESPN will be airing the 2003 BCS title tonight at 7PM Eastern. Of course the first thing that comes to most people's minds is the pass interference call. I pretty much agree with everything written here. As a note, they don't mention the non-calls on Miami leading up to overtime.
Yeah, I mentioned last week I was OK with the call -- it was within the range of both "it was fair to call" and "you didn't have to call it." But the pause made all the difference. You wait a beat, don't see a flag and start to celebrate. It was one of the most spectacular teases the sport has seen, even if there was technically contact and technically could have been called - Bill Connelly
This is spot on in my opinion. The call could have easily went either direction, but the PAUSE is why it is still talked about so much to this day.
When asked what he remembers most about this game:
Connelly: Luckily, I've completely blocked out all memory of that injury. It was so bad that I locked it away, never to envision it again. Thanks to that, my lasting memory is just constantly thinking, "How is Ohio State still in this game?"
And I'm assuming Miami coaches and players were thinking the same thing. The Buckeyes averaged 3.7 yards per play, blew multiple scoring chances and threw two picks. Krenzel was their leading rusher. Clarett -- a running back -- forced and recovered a fumble. Nothing about this game made sense. It was a masterful smoke-and-mirrors show, even by Jim Tressel's standards. And that made it intensely memorable, even before the controversy.
Yes, Clarett was stuffed the entire night. However, the aspect most people overlooked heading into that game, was the advantage OSU had on the defensive line. No question, Miami's biggest advantage was their WR's + Wislow vs. OSU's DB's, but OSU never allowed Dorsey the time to find them. As crazy as it sounds, OSU probably could have won that game by 2-3 touchdowns. As I have rewatched the game multiple times, I don't as myself "How is OSU still in this game?". I ask myself "Could we have actually won this game by 17?".
