Jim Tressel and the 2002 national champions were celebrated…time, and change. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
One result can impact the future of a college football program. Where will this year’s Cotton Bowl rank in the futures of Ohio State and Miami?
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros
Arlington, TX — As we prepared for the final press conference to preview the Cotton Bowl, Jeff Gilbert wondered what else there was to write about.
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We’ve tried to cover every angle already, from the Ohio State defense to the offensive line to Julian Sayin to Ryan Day calling plays and much more as the only publication from Southwest Ohio covering the Buckeyes in person this season.
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While Day and Miami head coach Mario Cristobal made their final comments, I started thinking about what we’ll be writing about this game in the future — not just late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning but well beyond that.
“You’ve heard me say this before — the only way your story gets told is if you win,” Day said. “So all the work that goes in up to this point doesn’t matter if you don’t win the game. And these guys understand that’s the sobering truth of college football and where we’re at.”
Ohio State’s shocking 31-24 double overtime victory over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2003 is a great example.
After predictions of “a destruction in the desert,” that was an outcome that shook the sport.
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Although the Buckeyes had improved throughout the 1990s under John Cooper, they never won it all so it still seemed like it wasn’t really possible.
However much Ohio State fans believed the Buckeyes were as good as the Florida States and the Miamis and the Nebraskas in the 1990s, they hadn’t actually proved it.
OSU receiver Jeremiah Smith said he might have chosen the Canes if they were in a better place two years ago when he signed with Ohio State.
Then in year two under Jim Tressel, they did, and since then Ohio State has been one of the dominant forces in the sport.
Beginning in 2002, Ohio State won a national-best 270 games, three national championships and 12 Big Ten titles.
Miami, meanwhile, has never been the same.
After winning five national championships from 1983-2001, the Hurricanes have not even played for one since the 2003 loss.
The victory also put to rest the perception Ohio State didn’t have the talent to compete outside the Big Ten. Although that boogeyman returned for a few years following the debacle against Florida in the National Championship Game to conclude the 2006 season, it’s a thought that is, well, unthinkable now.
In fact, the general perception this week is Ohio State has the more talented roster, so it’s up to Miami to prove otherwise or at least figure out how to mitigate the difference well enough to have more points when the clock hits zero.
The bigger question about the Buckeyes is more like: Just how good are they?
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So maybe all that’s on the line is a chance to play in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, but it feels like more than that.
Momentum is huge for a program, especially one trying to reclaim past glory, so Miami probably has more to gain than Ohio State.
“There’s guys in the locker room who have a background down there. I think that’s important. Certainly, Coach (Cristobal) has done a great job in recruiting, and it gets competitive, and that’s what college football is all about.” – Ryan Day
Losing this game isn’t likely to stymie Miami’s development under Cristobal, but winning it sure could boost it and hurt Ohio State if it impacts recruiting in the Hurricanes’ backyard.
Case in point: Star OSU receiver Jeremiah Smith said he might have chosen the Canes if they were in a better place two years ago when he signed with Ohio State.
Even in South Florida, talents like Smith are rare, but the more talented Floridians the Buckeyes can keep getting, the better chance they can keep playing games on stages like this one every year.
“South Florida has great players, great talent, great high school programs, and so we always want to bring in the best talent we possibly can,” Day said. “And I think it’s pretty clear to see the blueprint of guys who have come in from that area. There’s guys in the locker room who have a background down there. I think that’s important. Certainly, Coach (Cristobal) has done a great job in recruiting, and it gets competitive, and that’s what college football is all about.”
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The loser of this game isn’t likely to go away, but staying power for the winner should get a big boost.
And what about the 2002 revenge factor? Cristobal downplayed it for the simple reason that fateful night in the Arizona desert occurred before most of the current players were born, but it’s still something to many of their friends and family members.
“When you have programs of this caliber that have played in those caliber of games, that’s the best part about college football, right?” said Cristobal, who played offensive line for the Hurricanes when they won the 1991 national championship. “The pageantry, the competitiveness, the fan bases, but as it relates to the current team, it’s the 2025 Miami Hurricanes and the 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes. That’s what they know. That’s what they’ve prepared for, and really outside of that, nothing else matters.”
Losing is not the end of the world. Superiority can be regained, as Ohio State proved just last year when it pasted Oregon in the Rose Bowl after losing consecutive games to the Ducks.
But it sure is more fun defending the mountain from the top.
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