NOW THAT'S A TITLE GAME.

Byline: PAUL OBERJUERGE

TEMPE, Ariz. - By golly, this is what No. 1 vs. No. 2 is supposed to look like.

Down to the wire. Down to the last gasp. And beyond.

Great defense. Clutch offense. Three lead changes. Big plays by the truckload. Grit off the charts.

The nation's two best college football teams clawing at each other's throats until the final play of a riveting, draining, memorable, double-overtime game.

At 10:16 p.m. MST, with Miami facing fourth down at the 1-yard line, 36 inches from extending the national-championship game another pair of exquisite, excruciating possessions, Ohio State linebacker Cie Grant came unblocked off the left edge and got a piece of Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey as he dropped back to pass.

Dorsey fought desperately to save his balance and his team's 34-game winning streak, but all he could do was fling the ball goalward as Grant spun him, and the ball fluttered into the cool Arizona night before it landed harmlessly at the goal line, right at the feet of Buckeyes safety Donnie Nickey.

It seemed as though 77,502 witnesses went silent for a moment, unsure this marathon was finally, really over.

And it was. Ohio State 31, Miami 24, in double overtime, in a major upset, in by far the most memorable Bowl Championship Series title game yet staged. One of the great 1 vs. 2 battles in college bowl history any time, any place.

Then the celebration began, here in Tempe, Ohio, in a stadium and a city packed with scarlet-and-silver-clad Buckeyes fans ready to party like it was 1969.

Moments later, second-year Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was on a platform at midfield, addressing the delirious Ohio-dominated crowd.

``We've always had the best damn band in the land,'' Tressel shouted into the microphone. ``Now we've got the best damn team in the land!''

Indeed, the Buckeyes can lay claim to that title, and cannot be gainsaid, now that they have a perfect (14-0) record - a claim no other NCAA Division I team in the nation can make.

By hook or crook, by stingy defense or resourceful offense, the Buckeyes have their first national championship in 34 years, going back to when irascible genius Woody Hayes was running the dominating, 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Ohio State football program.

Ohio State's effort here Friday night was one Woody would have loved.

The Buckeyes arrived at the Fiesta Bowl with a fraction of Miami's talent and its accolades. Miami was the defending national champion, unbeaten since September 2000, favored by 11-points plus and so chock-full of talent NFL scouts got dizzy counting the pro prospects suiting up in Hurricanes green.

Ohio State was the accidental title-game team, the guys who barely escaped Cincinnati and Wisconsin and Purdue. Flukes, some said. Lucky, as much as anything. Unbeaten, untied, unimpressive.

But Ohio State showed that fat margins of victory and flashy offenses aren't the sum total of great football teams.

The Buckeyes demonstrated that relentless defense can blunt, then neutralize a great offense. That strong special teams can keep a team in a game. That a modestly talented quarterback with limited weapons can make plays if he has the guts and the wit to imagine them.

Ohio State's recipe for victory was a particular one. The Buckeyes could not get into a shootout. They could not give up cheap points.

They couldn't plan on more than a long march or two. They could not make ball-control errors. They couldn't take too many chances, and if their quarterback, Craig Krenzel, ended up with nearly as many rushing yards as passing yards, well, fine.

Meanwhile, they needed a takeaway. Or five.

They came through on every front.

Ohio State recovered three fumbles and intercepted Dorsey twice. Krenzel ran for 76 yards and passed for only 116. He completed exactly one pass in each of the first three quarters.

The Buckeyes loaded up against star Miami tailback Willis McGahee and stuffed him to the tune of 67 yards on 20 carries - until he left the game with a knee injury.

The Buckeyes kept Miami's receivers in front of them; only two Hurricanes passes went for more than 20 yards. They wrapped up Miami ballcarriers as though they were phi beta kappas in the school of form tackling.

On offense, the Buckeyes took advantage of the opportunities their defense gave them, converting short fields into touchdowns.

And the Buckeyes were clutch. Their first touchdown came on fourth-and-1. In the first overtime, they converted fourth-and-14 and fourth-and-3 en route to the tying touchdown.

But all that wasn't enough to make a great game. That required Miami to fight back with the hearts of champions.

Trailing 17-7, the Hurricanes got to 17-14 with 2:54 to play. Then Miami got even on the final play of regulation when Todd Sievers banged a cold-blooded 40-yard field goal.

The double-overtime was another event in itself, one that will be endlessly debated from South Florida to Columbus, Ohio, to Tempe. This call. That run. That pass. The questionable pass-interference call that changed a Miami victory into a Ohio State first down.

It's in the books now, and it will be one everyone who saw it likely will remember. Even the guys on the losing team. ``That's probably the best game I've ever been part of,'' Miami defender Matt Walters said.

That goes double for the Buckeyes, No. 2 on Friday, No. 1 today.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Ohio State QB Craig Krenzel (16) celebrates after scoring aginst Miami to send the Fiesta Bowl into a second overtime.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

(2) When it was over Friday, coach Jim Tressel and Ohio State had pulled off one of the biggest upsets in one of the best games in national-title history.

Paul Sakuma/Associated Press