Memories rekindled

PHOENIX – Ohio State’s football entourage arrived in balmy Arizona on Monday to the Fiesta Bowl’s traditional mariachi serenade and red carpet greeting.

Most of the players arrived separately and will begin practice today at a north Phoenix high school. Both schools in the Jan. 2 game – No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame – have football traditions as storied as any in the game but will meet for only the fifth time.

“We played twice in the ‘30s and twice in the ‘90s and that’s the end of it,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “We’re not that far apart and with the great tradition of both football programs and both schools, what more could we ask for?”

Notre Dame will get the same type of welcome at Sky Harbor International Airport today.

Ohio State (9-2) is making its fifth Fiesta Bowl appearance and third since 2002.

The Buckeyes are 3-1 in the Fiesta Bowl. They lost to Penn State 31-19 in 1980 and rallied to beat Pittsburgh 28-23 in 1983. Nearly two decades passed before Ohio State returned for its grandest appearance of all.

In January 2003, the Buckeyes won the national championship, capping a 14-0 season with a 31-24 victory over Miami in what is considered one of the greatest college football games ever played.

Tressel called it “a day we’ll remember in Ohio State history forever.”

The Buckeyes were back in Tempe the following year, beating Kansas State 35-28.

“In our final regular season game we still had a chance to play for the national championship,” Tressel recalled. “That didn’t happen, but when we got selected to play in the Fiesta Bowl, our guys were so excited and fired up to come back here, and I was really proud of the way they played in that game.”

Among those on the chartered aircraft Monday was Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, the athletic director at Arizona State until leaving for Columbus in March.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Smith said. “We flew in over our old home in Scottsdale. My wife and I kind of reminisced. It’s great to be back.”

Smith played for and graduated from Notre Dame. He also was an assistant coach there.

He said he has spoken to Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White, his predecessor as A.D. at Arizona State coincidentally, about scheduling the Irish.

“We agreed to keep talking to have a matchup happen in the future,” he said. Smith believes it will happen eventually, but “way down the road.”

He will be watching the final Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium. The game will shift to the new Cardinals’ stadium in a west Phoenix suburb next season.

“I’m obviously not happy that it’s going to leave Sun Devil Stadium,” Smith said. “Sun Devil Stadium is the place for the Fiesta Bowl, but I understand why that decision was made. So it’s going to be nice to be a part of this.

“Hopefully we can make it a memorable one.”