These two storied programs have only met five times — and not since 2011 — but there is a ton of history between Ohio State and Miami. The big one on everyone’s minds is the Buckeyes’ 31-24 victory in the Fiesta Bowl in 2003, securing Ohio State the national championship in a dramatic double-overtime game.
Ohio State leads the all-time series in this matchup 3-2, but it is officially a 2-2 mark in the record books as the 2010 game was vacated as part of the “Tattoo Gate” scandal.
The Cotton Bowl will
be the only other time since ‘03 that the Buckeyes and Hurricanes have met in the postseason.
9/10/77: Ohio State 10 – Miami 0
Nearly five decades ago, Ohio State opened its 1977 season by hosting Miami for the very first time at Ohio Stadium. The Woody Hayes-led Buckeyes put the clamps on the Hurricanes defensively, holding Lou Saban’s team to -13 yards and forcing three turnovers.
All-American linebacker Tom Cousineau was the leader of the Silver Bullets that day, finishing with a team-high nine tackles and an interception. Archie Griffin’s younger brother, Ray Griffin, also picked off a pass by Miami quarterback E.J. Baker.
Junior running back Ron Springs was the star of the show for Ohio State offensively, rushing for 114 yards on 27 carries, including the game’s only touchdown on a 21-yard run in the second quarter. Of the 80 offensive plays for the Buckeyes in the game, 71 of them were run plays. Quarterback Rod Gerald was 6-of-9 passing for 60 yards.
Ohio State went on to finish the year at 9-3, claiming a share of the Big Ten title but losing to Michigan and then to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
8/29/99: Miami 23 – Ohio State 10
In 1999, Ohio State and Miami met at Giants Stadium in New Jersey in the Kickoff Classic, an annual season-opening neutral site game held from 1983-2002.
The Buckeyes fell behind 7-0 early on a 44-yard touchdown run by James Jackson, but regained the lead on a 23-yard field goal by Dan Stultz and a 6-yard touchdown pass from Austin Moherman to tight end Steve Wisniewski. Miami quarterback Kenny Kelly scored a 7-yard rushing TD in the second quarter, and later found Santana Moss for a 67-yard TD, converting on a pair of 2-point conversions to take a commanding 23-9 lead.
Ohio State would muster only a field goal the rest of the way.
Moherman finished the game completing 10-of-22 pass attempts for 107 yards with a touchdown and two picks. Reggie Germany was Moherman’s favorite target, catching four passes for a team-high 56 yards. Running back Jonathans Wells — no relation to Beanie — led the way on the ground with 11 carries for 44 yards.
Despite Moherman playing the majority of snaps, it was backup QB Steve Bellisari who put Ohio State behind the eight ball, taking the Buckeyes out of field goal range with a bad lateral play and later fumbling a snap to set up a Miami touchdown.
Future NFL Pro Bowler Santana Moss caught three passes for 115 yards and a TD for the Hurricanes. Future Super Bowl Champion Reggie Wayne opposite of Moss caught five balls for 40 yards.
For Ohio State, it was their first loss in a season opener since the 1986 season, when they lost another Kickoff Classic matchup against Alabama. The Buckeyes went just 6-6 the rest of the way, including a loss to Michigan to end the year. A second-straight loss to the Wolverines the following season would be the final nail in the coffin for John Cooper.
1/3/03: Ohio State 31 – Miami 24 (Fiesta Bowl)
In one of the most memorable National Championship Game’s in college football history, Ohio State defeated Miami, 31-24, in double-overtime at the Fiesta Bowl.
As the defending champs, the Hurricanes entered the game as massive favorites, having also won 34-straight contests leading in. The Buckeyes, however, were on a bit of a tear of their own, holding a perfect 13-0 record with impressive wins over Washington State, Penn State, Minnesota and a top-10 Michigan to secure a Big Ten title.
Ohio State held a 17-14 lead late in the fourth quarter, and would have been able to run out the clock had replay existed and Chris Gamble’s catch on third-and-6 — a play he was also held on — correctly been ruled a catch. Instead, it was called incomplete on the field, Miami managed to kick a game-tying 40-yard field goal as time expired in regular to send it to overtime.
The Canes got the ball first in OT, with Kellen Winslow scoring a touchdown to put the Buckeyes on the ropes. After converting a 4th-and-14 play earlier in the possession, Ohio State was then faced with a fourth-and-3 from the Miami 5-yard line.
Craig Krenzel’s fourth down throw fell incomplete off the hands of Gamble, which would have ended the game, but a late pass interference flag on Miami gave the Buckeyes new life. Two plays later, Krenzel punched it into the end zone to tie the game and send it to a second overtime.
Maurice Clarett’s 5-yard touchdown run gave Ohio State a 31-24 lead, with Miami needing a touchdown to match and stay alive. On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Ken Dorsey was hit by Cie Grant as he threw and the pass fell incomplete, as the Buckeyes emerged victorious to claim the national title.
The matchup was filled to the brim with NFL talent, as 37 of the 43 players who started on either side were eventually NFL Draft picks, with 18 of those guys being selected in the first round. Of the 100 players who played in the game, 52 went on to be drafted and 58 went on to play in the NFL.
Nobody knew it at the time, but it would also mark the changing of the guard for these two programs.
Miami, which had won five National Championships from 1983-2001 and was a college football powerhouse, has not been back to the National Championship Game since. Ohio State, meanwhile, has won two more championships since, and has become one of the sport’s most prestigious and nationally relevant brands.
9/11/10: Ohio State 36 – Miami 24
It would be nearly a decade before these two would meet again, this time in Columbus in the second game of the regular season.
The Buckeyes fell behind early after Lamar Miller returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, but Ohio State rattled off 17 unanswered points as part of a 23-point second quarter to take a 26-17 lead into the half. Terrelle Pryor’s 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put Jim Tressel’s team up 33-17, and that would be too much to overcome for the Hurricanes who would score only once more in the game.
Pryor completed only 12 of his 27 pass attempts, but threw for 233 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 113 yards and a score. Running back Dan Herron tallied 66 yards on 14 carries with a TD, and Devier Posey led the way through the air with four catches for 105 yards. Brandon Saine caught Pryor’s lone touchdown pass.
Defensively, the Buckeyes picked off Miami quarterback Jacory Harris four times, including a pair by defensive back Chimdi Chekwa, who also brought up four passes. Defensive lineman Cameron Heyward also came away with an interception, as did fellow lineman Nathan Williams.
Ohio State would go on to finish the season at 12-1, with its lone blemish a 31-18 loss to Wisconsin at Camp Randall. The Buckeyes defeated Michigan 37-7 in the regular season finale, and knocked off Arkansas 31-26 in the Sugar Bowl for the program’s first ever bowl win over an SEC team.
All wins from the 2010 season were later vacated for Tattoo Gate.
9/17/11: Miami 24 – Ohio State 6
Despite Ohio State holding the ultimate trump card in this matchup with that 2003 Fiesta Bowl victory, Miami does lay claim to the most recent victory in the all-time series having beaten the Buckeyes.
The Hurricanes jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter on the strength of two touchdown passes from Jacory Harris to Allen Hurns. Ohio State answered with two Drew Basil field goals in the second quarter, but could never find the end zone as Miami ran away with a 24-6 win at Hard Rock Stadium.
Ohio State quarterback Joe Bauserman did not exactly light it up, completing only 2 of his 14 pass attempts for 13 yards. Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde did their best to keep the Buckeyes in the game, combining for 141 yards on 26 carries. The Silver Bullets also picked Harris off twice, one each by Bradley Roby and C.J. Barnett.
Harris finished 16-of-23 for 123 yards with two touchdowns and the two picks, but Lamar Miller dominated on the ground with 184 yards on 26 carries. Hurns led the way through the air with six catches for 54 yards and two scores. Defensively, Miami held Ohio State to just 209 total yards.
The 2011 season was obviously a disaster for Ohio State in the wake of Jim Tressel’s resignation. Interim head coach Luke Fickell led the Buckeyes to a 6-7 record, finishing with a loss to Michigan and a loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl.
Ohio State responded by hiring Urban Meyer, and hasn’t won fewer than 11 games in a single season in the 14 years since (outside the shortened 2020 COVID year, where they finished 7-1).
