The Associated Press

TEMPE, Ariz. - Ohio State sports information director Steve Snapp said some preliminary plans have been made for a reception for the team, most likely late next week.

Anyone who turns out to greet the team plane on its return to Columbus won't find much of the team to welcome.

Backup quarterback Scott McMullen is the only scholarship player scheduled to take the flight. NCAA rules permit Ohio State to give players the cash equivalent of a full-fare coach ticket. Then players can find their own way and pocket the difference.

HAPPY ALUMS: In the hallway outside the Ohio State locker room, Archie Griffin, the Buckeyes' two-time Heisman Trophy winner, grabbed coach Jim Tressel in a long hug.

Rex Kern, the quarterback for the Buckeyes the last time they won a national championship 34 years ago, quietly watched the celebration and compared it to that one so long ago.

"This was just as good," he said. "Our kids don't know when to quit. They never quit. They played with class."

In the long, storied history of Ohio State football, this was perhaps its finest moment, and two of its biggest names of the past were on hand to see it.

"Unbelievable, unforgettable" Griffin said, "This is something that we will long remember. You've got to give a lot of credit to coach Tressel, Craig Krenzel, all the guys that played today. They just did a terrific job. I'm very proud."

CANCEL THAT PARTY: Never announce a celebration until there is definitely something to celebrate. That should be the lesson learned by Miami after its 31-24 double-overtime loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Friday night.

The Buckeyes said they saw a flier about a party planned in Miami's South Beach to celebrate the Hurricanes' defense of their national championship.

"We took that to heart, man," Ohio State safety Will Allen said. "They counted us out before we were even there. We just took that as motivation and just took it to 'em."

The flier said the party would be hosted at a night club by former Miami running back Clinton Portis, now a rookie with the Denver Broncos.

"We seen the flier," Allen said. "They were taking us for granted, but you saw what happened. They didn't know what they were getting themselves into."

SEA OF RED: Ohio State fans vastly outnumbered their Miami counterparts all week.

Of course, the throng at Sun Devil Stadium on Friday night was mostly a sea of red, but all across the Phoenix area Ohio State fans were prominent, usually in red and white football jerseys.

At the Philadelphia-Phoenix NBA game Thursday night, the marching bands of both teams, as well as the cheerleaders and mascots were on hand. In a competition over which fans were the loudest at that game, Ohio State won by a landslide.

Thousands of red-clad Ohio State fans milled about outside the stadium because they didn't have tickets to the game.