Ohio State Buckeyes bury Miami Hurricanes and some doubts with convincing win

UPDATED: A fired-up Buckeyes team overcomes some early mistakes and uses dominating defense to beat the Hurricanes at Columbus, 36-24.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maybe the victory started Saturday at the pregame meal with the last Buckeye who made the last play the last time Ohio State met Miami.

Cie Grant was the OSU linebacker who put pressure on Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl to finish the Buckeyes' national championship victory over the Hurricanes, and now, in the hours before kickoff eight seasons later, he was putting the pressure on a new generation of Buckeyes.

"I'll tell you what," OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor said. "We need to have that guy here every week. He had us fired up."

Older Buckeyes said it was one of the longest and best pregame speeches they'd ever heard, Grant talking of love for your teammates and accountability and putting the past away and winning for this team.

"Cie Grant got the game ball, and we never give out game balls," OSU center Mike Brewster said. "He was just speaking from his heart and telling us how much this means."

And then Pryor came out and looked overhyped and missed some early targets, the Ohio State special teams disintegrated, and the Buckeyes fell behind early in the second quarter.

But a week of history and hype didn't win or lose Saturday's matchup between the No. 2 Buckeyes and No. 12 Hurricanes. Just getting out of your own way mattered a lot more. Ohio State intercepted Miami four times while not turning the ball over at all, and that made all the difference in the Buckeyes' 36-24 win.

"It was a statement for us that we need to get a lot better," Brewster said. "But I think we definitely have a lot of respect, and there's not going to be anymore talk that we're not fast enough.

"It's a huge program win, just to show how far we've come since last year. But I think we're kind of relieved. There was so much talk from '02, but Cie Grant said this wasn't about '02. This was about the 2010 Buckeyes, and we wanted to show the world who we are."

So what are they?

They're a team that has earned its spot near the top of the rankings early in the season.

"I think they're a top-10 team," OSU coach Jim Tressel said of Miami. "In my mind going into the game, I was interested to see if we were a top-10 team. ... I think we are if we keep getting better. I think we proved it this week we're a top-10 team, and now we've got to prove it next week and the next week."

They're a team that, as usual, can rely on its defense, with 14 of the Miami points coming on a kick return and punt return for touchdowns, the first time that has ever happened against Ohio State, according to OSU statistical records that go back to 1936.

"I'll put that in my memoirs," Tressel said. "I'm really glad you brought that up."

But the defense itself allowed only 10 points.

"We flew around," Tressel said. "They've got some good guys, but our defense was smacking them."

The defense gave up 352 total yards while Ohio State gained 414, but cornerback Chimdi Chekwa had two interceptions, defensive end Nathan Williams caught one off a deflection caused by good coverage from safety C.J. Barnett, and defensive lineman Cameron Heyward grabbed one by surprising Harris when he dropped into coverage, then returned it 80 yards.

"I'm still tired," Heyward said after the game of his rumble.

They're a team that, with a quarterback known for his athleticism, managed the game. Pryor threw two or three passes that could have been picked off, and he admitted he made some bad decisions, but none of them cost him. He completed 12 of 27 passes for 233 yards, not a great completion percentage, but he threw for a touchdown and also ran 20 times for 113 yards, often making Miami pay for playing man-to-man defense the entire game by finding running lanes.

"He didn't have any interceptions, so that's huge," Tressel said. "When you can create four takeaways, you're going to have a chance, and when you have zero giveaways you're going to have a real good chance."

After losing early in the season to USC the previous two seasons and ruining their national title hopes, two games into the season the Buckeyes have a chance. The game was odd, no doubt, the special teams coverage units a major issue to be addressed this week. And if anyone was looking for Pryor to storm to the front of the Heisman race with a magical performance, it didn't happen. But he threw for 200 yards, ran for 100 and didn't commit a turnover, which in Tressel's mind is ideal. And his team won.

"I feel like we can play with anybody," Pryor said, "especially with the defense we have. If we play like that the offense motivates the defense, and the defense motivates us, we can be great."

And, finally, after eight years of waiting for the rematch, the Ohio State-Miami national title game is really over. The Buckeyes won that one and this one. The next time Cie Grant speaks to the Buckeyes, they'll have something else to talk about.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dlesmerises@plaind.com, 216-999-4479