2003 Ohio State Buckeyes football team The 2003 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 2003 – 2004 . The team ' s head coach was Jim Tressel . The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium . Ohio State finished the season with a record of 11 – 2 and placed second in the Big Ten with conference record of 6 – 2 . The Buckeyes concluded their season with a victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl . Game summaries . Washington Huskies . The 2003 season opened to excitement and to disappointment . Reports surfaced during the preseason that led to star RB Maurice Clarett being suspended indefinitely , and he was the center of attention as ESPN ’ s College Gameday came to Columbus . A top 20 battle was set to be waged between the # 17 / 19 Washington Huskies and the # 2 ranked defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes . Ohio State came in 5 – 0 in night games in Ohio Stadium ; meanwhile Washington was welcoming a new head coach , Keith Gilberston , who was replacing the fired Rick Neuheisel . The Huskies featured such stars as QB " Cowboy " Cody Pickett , 1st round draft pick Reggie Williams , offensive tackle Khaliff Barnes , and TE Joe Toledo ( who would go on to the NFL as an OT ) . On the defensive side Greg Carothers and Roc Alexander were the big names , but they would be no match for the powerful Ohio State offense . Maurice Hall scored at the 8 : 31 mark in the first Quarter to take a 7 – 0 lead . They built on that lead with a magnificent 28 - yard scramble by Craig Krenzel with 2 : 51 left in the 1st . Ohio state would take a 21 – 0 lead into halftime , when Craig Krenzel again scrambled 11 yards for a score with 22 seconds left remaining . Washington came out with some renewed vigor to start the 3rd , but only came away with a field goal by Evan Knudson , making it 21 – 3 , with 13 : 22 left to go in the 3rd . Ohio State wouldn ’ t slow down however , and junior tailback Lydell Ross scored off a bruising 12 - yard run to make it 28 – 3 . Cody Pickett closed out the scoring by rolling out for a 2 - yard run , but failing on the 2 point try . The final score was 28 – 9 , and Ohio State was 1 – 0 , and on a fifteen game winning streak . San Diego State Aztecs . Week 2 brought the Aztecs to Columbus . The two had met in Head Coach Jim Tressel ' s first season at Ohio State in 2001 , a 27 – 12 victory . This time however , San Diego State ' s QB Matt Dlugolecki was determined to change this , and got the Aztecs rolling with an 11 yard TD pass to start the attack . The # 2 ranked Buckeyes managed to add a field goal to make it 7 – 3 at the 9 : 54 mark . The Aztecs were marching until OSU cornerback Chris Gamble tipped a pass to Safety Will Allen , who went 100 yards coast - to - coast in setting the Ohio Stadium record for an interception return , and gave OSU a 10 – 7 lead . Another Mike Nugent field goal made it 13 – 7 , it would stay that way on to half time . Once again , Ohio State ' s opponent came out with new life after half time , and the Aztecs added a field goal early in the 3rd to make it 13 – 10 Buckeyes . But on a day when the OSU offense couldn ' t do much of anything , not even registering an offensive touchdown , they were able to tack on another Mike Nugent field goal in the 4th , to take a 16 – 10 advantage . San Diego State kept up the good fight , making it 16 – 13 , but on the wheels of junior RB Maurice Hall ( 19 carries - 91 yards ) , OSU chewed up the clock , and held on for an ugly , 16th straight win . NC State Wolfpack . For the second time in 2003 , the 2nd ranked Buckeyes welcomed in a top 25 team , and this time it was the high powered offense of # 22 / 24 ranked NC State . Questions floating around Columbus during the week had presided over the ineptitude of the Ohio State Offense . Senior QB Craig Krenzel had only completed 5 of 20 passes the previous week , and OSU had only managed 196 yards . NC State had a loaded team featuring QB Phillip Rivers ( 1st Round NFL Draft Pick ) , RB T . A . McLendon , WR Jericho Cotchery ( draft pick of the New York Jets ) , and offensive lineman Sean Locklear ( selected by the Seattle Seahawks ) . On defense , though young , DE Mario Williams and DT John McCargo would both go on to be 1st round draft picks , with Williams going # 1 overall . This Ohio State squad was loaded with future NFL stars however , and they were ready to prove they were up to task . NC State started off struggling for every yard , and Ohio State drew first blood . Michael Jenkins got off to a great start , with a 44 - yard touchdown off of a shallow drag ( he ended up with 7 catches for 124 yards and 2 TDs ) at the 4 : 13 mark of the first quarter . On the ensuing kickoff , the NC State returners collided with each other , and the ball bounced off a helmet of the returner . All American Will Allen recovered the ball on the 4 - yard line , and Lydell Ross punched it in 3 plays later from 2 yards out , making it 14 – 0 with 2 : 47 left in the first quarter . Though the first quarter , NC State had managed just 5 yards off 15 plays . N . C . State finally got their offense untracked thanks to some tough running from the injured McLendon , who was questionable at the start of the game . Jericho Cotchery was wide open on an 11 - yard scoring strike from Rivers just before halftime . OSU ’ s lead shrunk to 14 – 7 . NC State just couldn ’ t quite get untracked ; thanks to Will Smith and the Buckeye ’ s defense constantly harassing Rivers . A Wolfpack turnover led to a 22 yard field goal for OSU in the third quarter . Ohio State appeared to be in complete control after Craig Krenzel scrambled 6 yards for Ohio State ’ s third touchdown of the day . With 11 : 26 left , the Wolfpack ' s time seemed to be running out . “ The Chest ” Chuck Amato had other ideas however , and two minutes later Ohio State turned the ball over . NC State would rip off 17 straight points , to tie it with 21 seconds remaining ! It was the first overtime game in Ohio Stadium , and would set the bar impossibly high for any future overtime contests . Ohio State had first possession , and Krenzel hit Sr . tight - end Ben Hartsock for a 10 - yard score . Rivers would match the Buckeyes though , with his own 17 - yard touchdown pass . The Wolfpack would start off on offense for the next series , and T . A . McLendon took a toss 2 yards to the end - zone to take a 38 – 31 lead . Freshman tight end Ryan Hamby first receiving touchdown as a Buckeye would bring the Buckeyes even at 38 - all . “ Mr . Clutch ” Michael Jenkins caught a 7 yard bullet Krenzel squeezed between 2 N . C . State defenders to give OSU a 44 – 38 lead , after OSU ’ s two - point conversion was swatted down . N . C . State would march up to the 4 yard line , where some curious play calling began . On first down from the 4 , Rivers took it up the middle on a QB sneak , and was stuffed for no gain . A second down pass was broken up by Jr . cornerback Chris Gamble , who just barely missed a game clinching pick . In a peculiar move , Rivers again went for a QB sneak from the same formation as their first down play , only to be stuffed again . It was 4th and game from the 4 yard line . NC State ran the same toss McLendon scored on the previous possession , but a bruising shoulder to the spinning running back placed the tailback firmly on his butt , inches from the goal line . It was as close as you could get , but once again , Will Allen , as he would do so many times during his Buckeye career , preserved Ohio Stat ’ s 17th victory , in what is the longest game in Ohio State history . It took 4 hours and 17 minutes , but after 3 overtime periods , Ohio State 44 , North Carolina State 38 . Bowling Green State Falcons . A week 4 showdown was set between the # 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the Bowling Green State University Falcons . Bowling Green had been built up quite a bit by former Head Coach Urban Meyer , and new Head Coach Gregg Brandon was looking to keep the team on track . With stars such as QB Josh Harris and center Scott Mruczkowski ( both of whom would spend time in the NFL ) ; the Falcons were primed to pick apart the Buckeyes . The game also featured two of the Nation ’ s best kickers in Shaun Suisham ( BGSU ) and Jr . Mike Nugent ( OSU ) . Starting QB Craig Krenzel would miss the contest from an elbow injury he suffered against N . C . State , and Sr . Quarterback Scott McMullen of Granvile , OH would lead the team for the first time since 2001 ( he played mop up duty for the Bucks in 2002 ) . It would be the Buckeyes striking first as Scott McMullen sent a 7 - yard strike to Sr . Drew Carter , and the Buckeyes had a 7 – 0 lead . Josh Harris matched McMullen ’ s TD with a 7 yard toss as well . Unfortunately for the Falcons , that would be their only score of the first half . OSU built up a 17 – 7 halftime advantage with a 47 - yard field goal by Mike Nugent , and added a touchdown after a crushing 33 - yard run by Lydell Ross on 4th and 1 . Ross and fellow running back Maurice Hall would combine for 201 - yards on the day ( Hall - 107 yards on 19 carries ; Ross - 94 on 22 ) . Ross scored on a 3 - yard run in the 4th , to give the Buckeyes a 24 – 7 lead , just as they had possessed the week before . And just as the week before , Bowling Green mounted a furious 4th quarter comeback , scoring a TD with 3 : 25 left to go , and a recovering the onside kick . A field goal at the end of that drive had OSU fans on the edge of their seats . OSU recovered but failed to run out the clock . It wouldn ’ t be until who - else - but Will Allen intercepted Harris final pass that the fans could relax . Ohio State had scored their 4th win of the season , and 18th straight . Purdue . Michigan . Fiesta Bowl .