http://nfl-news-update.com/ohio-state-miami-rematch-cant-escape-significance-of-03-classic/Ohio State-Miami rematch can’t escape significance of ’03 classic
Posted on September 11, 2010 by admin
Terry Porter wanted to make sure. The 50-something food broker from Stillwater, Okla., stood at the back of the Sun Devil Stadium end zone weighing one of the biggest decisions of his officiating career.
So while the fireworks went off and Miami celebrated, Porter, a Big 12 field judge, decided the fate of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Or at least that’s what a lot of Miami fans will tell you.
The Hurricanes were halfway out on the field celebrating back-to-back national championships. Sure, the Buckeyes were tougher that night than everyone thought but this was justice, finality. This was a forever team for Miami. A 35th consecutive victory. Twenty-six future NFL Draft choices were on the field that night for Miami, 12 of them first-rounders.
It was all about the U. The night had proved that Miami was back in dynasty mode. Sure, there was a downturn in the late 1990s after some NCAA penalties, but the program had proved resilient. It lost Butch Davis and replaced him with the grandfatherly Larry Coker. More proof that Miami football sustained itself — it didn’t really matter who coached. Howard, Jimmy, Dennis …
But Porter wanted to make sure what he had seen on Ohio State’s fourth-and-3 play at the Miami 5 in the first overtime of the BCS title game.
Five seconds, maybe a few more, elapsed between the time Miami’s Glenn Sharpe broke up Craig Krenzel’s pass to Chris Gamble and Porter’s flag fluttering to the ground.
“The official wanted to rethink it, make sure,” said witness Dave Parry, the Big Ten supervisor of officials at the time, “Then, he threw the flag somewhat late.”
Somewhat late? That’s where the tangle of emotions and accusations starts for Saturday’s Ohio State-Miami rematch. Porter’s pass interference call on Sharpe was somewhat late the way Justin Bieber is somewhat overexposed.
It was the most controversial championship ending of the BCS era. That’s what has prolonged the agony and ecstasy to this day. ‘Canes fans don’t want to hear again that Porter got the call right. (He did.) They don’t want to hear, as Parry explained, that the only sin was Porter’s “mechanics” in taking so much time.
Porter is their Don Denkinger, a human excuse for a team’s failings. They don’t want to recall the four turnovers and five sacks Miami gave up that night. They don’t care that five years later, Referee magazine named Porter’s call one of the 18 best of all time. They don’t want to know there were two possible infractions on the play, maybe three. They were all judgment calls and Porter used his judgment.
“You hate to have a national championship decided on that,” Coker said.
The truth is Porter’s call didn’t decide the game, won by Ohio State in double overtime 31-24. Miami still had a chance to win. Fourteen total plays were run after the flag. The call altered the game, but it didn’t doom Miami to a loss. It has lived on because that game turned out to be the jumping-off point for divergent paths taken by the two powerhouses.
That night was basically the kickoff for one of the best runs in Ohio State history. It has played in two BCS title games since then and is currently trying to tie a Big Ten record by winning a sixth consecutive conference title. Miami has never sniffed a championship since that night. In fact, Coker was gone after the 2006 season.
Did Porter’s call have that much impact?
“Winning a second national championship would have made a difference,” said Coker, now the coach at startup Texas-San Antonio. “We had such a strong base to recruit to. … That was really my goal [to win another title]. Very few have done it. Honestly, we weren’t going to win a national championship every year, but if you win 10-plus game a year you have a chance to win championships. …”
