Holy Buckeye! Only 12 days until kickoff

You can watch hours of highlights from Ohio State games of the past, and you will never find a moment better than the one pictured to the left.

November 9th, 2002 – Ohio State visits Purdue, and although the Boilermakers were not ranked, they were viewed as a formidable threat to the Buckeyes’ perfect season.

The Buckeyes were not going to be known this season as an offensive juggernaut, but they always seemed to score the points when necessary. On this day, that was in serious doubt.

Leading rusher Maurice Clarett left the game with a stinger in his shoulder and was unavailable for any late heroics. Trailing 6-3, Ohio State got the ball back on offense with just over 2 minutes to play. Facing third-and-13, QB Craig Krenzel found TE Ben Hartsock on the left sideline. Hartsock’s catch and run was valiant, but it left the Buckeyes with a 4th-and-1 at Purdue’s 37-yard-line.

What followed is what legends are made of;

Love him or hate him, Brent Musburger’s call will bring tears of happiness to any Buckeye fans on that day.

Purdue had a shot at winning the game following this play, but Chris Gamble made an outstanding interception on his own 10-yard-line to seal the deal (it was kind of like the USA Hockey Team in the 1980 Olympics. Everybody remembers beating the Russians…nobody recalls that we had to beat Finland to get the gold medal aferwards).

I had to work that gorgeous Saturday afternoon (but the work was being done in my home office). I had the TV on next to my computer, and grew increasingly frustrated as the game wore on, spending more and more time glued to ABC and less time concentrating on my job.

I grew up on Woody Hayes and Earle Bruce, so when Krenzel dropped back to pass on 4th down, my heart skipped several beats as I freaked out. When Jenkins cradled the ball, I leapt so high into the air that I actually slammed my skull into the ceiling. I didn’t feel any pain for hours, but the indentation in the ceiling remained.

So here’s to you, Michael Jenkins. Today’s your day. But tomorrow, you should help me fix that dent. I’ve been meaning to get to it.