By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - The Olentangy River flowed backward, hills were raised out of the flat plain known as Cow Town, and Woody Hayes came back from the dead to praise the maize and blue on High Street.

If any of those things had really happened when the clock at Ohio Stadium read 0:00 on Saturday afternoon, nobody would have noticed.

That's because everybody in Ohio Stadium was either looking at the heavens or rushing the field when Ohio State finally beat archrival Michigan when it really, truly mattered.

With everything on the line - a trip to the Fiesta Bowl national championship game Jan.3 in Tempe, Ariz., a record 13-0 season and a share of the Big Ten Conference championship - the Buckeyes turned history and the game statistics on their head and shocked the supremely confident Wolverines 14-9 before a stadium-record 105,539 fans.

"It felt great to hear the bell ring," said second-year Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, referring to the 150-foot high Victory Bell in the stadium's south tower that peels loud and long after OSU victories.

For most of the game, the Buckeyes were hearing bells, and had to be wondering if they tolled for thee.

Michigan (9-3, 6-2) owned the game until OSU running back Maurice Hall took an option pitch from quarterback Craig Krenzel with 4:47 on the clock and ran it 3 yards - it seemed like 300 to long-frustrated Buckeyes fans - into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.

The touchdown was set up by a 26-yard pass to freshman Maurice Clarett on a pattern just added this week to the playbook.

Any trepidation, Mr. 19-year-old freshman?

"I've been catching the football since I was 5 years old," Clarett said. "To me, it's like playing street football. Throw it, catch it, try to score."

Nobody in scarlet and gray felt safe about the lead. The Wolverines had swaggered their way up and down the field all day. They knew they could throw the ball when it counted (247 yards to OSU's 124 yards), control the clock to wear down a vaunted defense (35 minutes to OSU's 25 minutes) and win the third-down conversion battle by calling the right plays on offense and guessing right on defense (12-of-22 to OSU's ugly-as-it-sounds 1-for-7).

"I thought we were the most balanced team that (OSU) had faced all year," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. "When you look at the game from a statistical standpoint, we out-played them. But we knew we were going to need a touchdown to win the game."

UM burned up 4 ‡ minutes on its first scoring drive, weathered a 10-play, 76-yard TD drive by OSU to go down 7-3, then had seven- and eight-minute drives in the second quarter capped by field goals for a 9-7 halftime lead.

As usual, Ohio State got what it needed, when it needed it: Clarett, gritting his way past a terribly painful shoulder stinger, entered the game on OSU's second offensive possession, immediately caught a screen pass for nine yards and had four rushes for 38 yards, the last 2 for a TD to put the Buckeyes up 7-3.

"He was in a lot of pain," Tressel said. "People who've had stingers know there's nothing you can do about them. It takes weeks of rest to heal. Every time you get hit on it, your arm goes numb. But he knew what this game meant to his teammates and Ohio State. He was going to play no matter how he felt."

What the Wolverines didn't know - what nobody ever knows - is whether they would suffer a turnover at a critical time or be detoured into the magical world that has been OSU's trademark all season.

Starting from its 20 and trailing 14-9, Michigan went on another ball-control drive to OSU's 30 before big-game disaster struck: QB John Navarre was stripped of the ball by Darrion Scott and Will Smith recovered it at 2:49.

A relief to get them off the field at a key moment, Scott termed it.

OSU went three-and-out, the Wolverines got the ball on their 20 with 58 seconds left. Navarre coolly managed the clock with sideline throws, moving the ball to OSU's 41 with :19 left. A pass-interference call helped Michigan get to the 24.

"It was so loud, we couldn't hear a thing," said OSU safety Donnie Nickey. "We were all saying to ourselves: Make a play! Make a play!"

Two plays later, safety Will Allen did. He stepped in front of intended receiver Braylon Edwards and picked off a pass near the goal line as time expired.

The magic? OSU went 47 minutes between scores and still won, and nobody in the country has won as many games as OSU by less than seven points (six victories). The Buckeyes are like a three-pointer shooter whose antennae go up only when the game is on the line. Swish.

"I think we got the (TV) ratings up," QB Krenzel said.

If the Buckeyes can keep expected Fiesta Bowl foe Miami out of the end zone Jan. 3, there may be one miracle left.

"There are a lot of people who don't think we should be playing in the Fiesta Bowl," Krenzel said. "They don't think we're one of the top two teams in the country. It's up to us to try to prove them wrong."

Michigan	3	6	0	0-9
Ohio State	7	0	0	7-14

First Quarter

Mich-FG Finley 36, 8:35.

OSU-Clarett 2 run (Nugent kick), 2:56.

Second Quarter

Mich-FG Finley 35, 10:56.

Mich-FG Finley 22, :16.

Fourth Quarter

OSU-Hall 3 run (Nugent kick), 4:55

A-105,539.

	Mich	OSU
First downs	26	13
Rushes-yards	41-121	34-140
Passing	247	124
Comp-Att-Int	23-48-1	10-14-0
Return Yards	60	84
Punts-Avg.	4-43	6-41
Fumbles-Lost	2-1	1-0
Penalties-Yards	7-53	6-58
Time of Possession	34:53	25:07

RUSHING-Michigan Perry 28-76, Askew 10-45, Navarre 3-0. Ohio St., Clarett 20-119, Krenzel 9-20, Hall 4-3, team 1-(minus 2).

PASSING-Michigan, Navarre 23-46-1-247, team 0-2-0-0. Ohio St., Krenzel 10-14-0-124.

RECEIVING-Michigan, Edwards 10-107, Bellamy 8-101, Askew 3-10, Joppru 2-29. Ohio St., Jenkins 4-51, Clarett 2-35, Schnittker 1-15, Gamble 1-14, Vance 1-6, Ross 1-3.

BIG TEN

Team	Conf.	Overall
Ohio State	8-0	13-0
Iowa	8-0	12-0
Michigan	6-2	9-3
Penn State	5-3	9-3
Illinois	4-4	5-7
Purdue	4-4	6-6
Minnesota	3-5	7-5
Michigan St.	2-6	4-8
Wisconsin	2-6	7-6
Indiana	1-7	3-9
Northwestern	1-7	3-9

Saturday's Games

Ohio St. 14, Michigan 9

Wisconsin 49, Minnesota 31

Illinois 31, Northwestern 24

Purdue 34, Indiana 10

Penn St. 61, Michigan St. 7