By ANDREW GROSS
The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Ohio State team bus caravan, complete with a 27-car police escort, departed Sun Devil Stadium to take the national championship victory celebration back to the hotel.

One problem. Quarterback Craig Krenzel had missed the bus, left to wander around seeking alternate transportation. Only after someone in his group asked a media shuttle bus driver for a ride and that driver called for assistance did Krenzel's plight become known.

It was not quite the fitting ending for the junior who had guided the Buckeyes to a 31-24 double overtime win over Miami in Friday night's Fiesta Bowl, a game quickly hailed as one of the greatest in college football history.

"We had to send back a police car," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Saturday. "One of the 27 escorts went back and he had his own ride back to the hotel. I hope it wasn't an (NCAA) violation."

The Buckeyes defense, led by All-American senior strong safety Michael Doss and a defensive line that limited the Hurricanes to 65 rushing yards, was a difference-maker in the game. That was the case all season as Ohio State finished 14-0.

But Krenzel, who completed 7 of 21 passes with two interceptions for 122 yards and rushed for a game-high 81 yards and two touchdowns, outplayed Miami senior Ken Dorsey, his more-touted counterpart and a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Krenzel has displayed a knack for throwing clutch passes all season and that was never more evident than in the first overtime. Krenzel completed a 17-yard pass to junior split end Michael Jenkins on a fourth-and-14.

"They had been playing us in a cover-two man, especially on Mike Jenkins' side because they knew about his ability to go up and catch the ball," Krenzel said. "Our offensive line did a great job of protecting me, giving me the time to step out and Mike time to run his route."

In the end, the thrilling conclusion drew instant comparisons to Miami's 31-30 win over Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl (which included Tom Osborne's failed but gutsy call for a game-ending two-point conversion), often called the best bowl game ever.

That game was played before colleges implemented an overtime system where each team gets a chance to score from the 25-yard line.

"I like this format," Tressel said. "We were talking coming over that this could be an impetus to have the NFL over-think what they do."

But that's not Tressel's worry. And with Krenzel having one season remaining, Tressel has few worries about offensive leadership.

"He's an extraordinary guy, competitive, team-oriented," Tressel said. "The video people make his videos to take home before they make the ones for the coaches to look at. He's a winner."

And he'll get a chance to win another title next season. Then maybe he won't get left behind.

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Willis McGahee can forget about entering the NFL draft. Right now, he needs to be concerned about whether he'll play college football next season. The Miami sports information department announced Saturday that McGahee tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the fourth quarter and will undergo surgery Sunday.

McGahee rushed for a school-record 1,686 yards and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting but had his joint bent back grotesquely after receiving a helmet-to-knee hit from Ohio State junior free safety Will Allen after catching a screen pass with 11:39 left in the fourth quarter.

"Our thoughts and reflections go out to Willis McGahee because I know he got banged up," Tressel said. "You hope that people aren't injured ..."

Field judge Terry Porter made the interference call on Miami freshman cornerback Glenn Sharpe on a fourth-and-3 pass to sophomore Chris Gamble in the first overtime that nullified a brief but delirious victory celebration by the Hurricanes. The official said he delayed his call momentarily to reassure himself he was making the right ruling.

"I saw the guy holding the guy prior to the ball being put in the air," Porter said. "He was still holding him, pulling him down while the ball was in the air. I gave the signal for holding. Then I realized it should be pass interference because the ball was in the air."

The call left the Hurricanes feeling robbed of their second straight national title.

"That was a huge, huge play in the game," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "You hate for an official to have to make that call. You would like for it to be a legitimate call."