The Sweet 16 of BCS Era Champions: 2002 Ohio State vs. 2004 USC
By Kyle Kensing
November 24, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes former coach Jim Tressel is held by players from his 2002 National Championship team in a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
The NCAA can tell us that USC’s 2004 BCS championship never happened, but a strike-through in the record books cannot erase the dominant run the Trojans went on that campaign. With Matt Leinart passing his way to the Heisman Trophy via a deep receiving corps, the tandem of LenDale White and Reggie Bush bringing thunder and lightning from the backfield, USC rolled to the crystal ball.
Pete Carroll’s 2004 team might have been his best, capping a perfect 13-0 run with a 55-19 throttling of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl. That BCS championship game was hardly in doubt, with USC holding a 38-10 halftime advantage. The title game was only remarkable, aside from USC’s total domination, for essentially ending Ashlee Simpson’s fledgling, wholly-MTV-created singing career.
USC shattered a lot of dreams in similar fashion. While the Trojan offense garnered much of the attention, the defense really set the tone. USC held 10 opponents below 20 points, including the prolific Aaron Rodgers-led Cal Golden Bears offense. Stopping the 2004 Trojans was a tall order, but their Sweet 16 match-up proved up to such challenges.
Jim Tressel’s championship-winning team at Ohio State was all about defying odds. The Buckeyes walked a razor’s edge to the crystal ball, winning seven games by single digits. Tressel’s tussles were typically low scoring affairs. Though running back Maurice Clarett rushed for 16 touchdowns, caught another two and picked up 1237 yards on the ground, the Buckeyes were only the 41st highest scoring offense in the nation.
Conversely, the Ohio State defense was among the best in recent college football history. It held Pac-10 champion Washington State to seven points, Larry Johnson and Penn State to the same, and Michigan to just nine. Chris Gamble, Mike Doss, Will Smith, A.J. Hawk — the talent in red-and-gray that season was off-the-charts.
The piece de resistance for that group was the Fiesta Bowl, when the Miami Hurricanes juggernaut was held to 24 points, nearly 17 below its season average. Ohio State was a double-digit underdog in its championship-clinching win. A similar effort is necessary in its Sweet 16 showdown with USC.
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