North Carolina State Wolfpack	Ohio State Buckeyes ©
Played September 13, 2003 at Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio

  

 

Teams' Belt Records

 

Team	Belt Reigns	Overall Record				Home Record				Away Record				Neutral Record
		W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT
North Carolina State	2	4	2	0	.667	2	1	0	.667	2	1	0	.667
Ohio State ©	4	16	6	1	.717	8	1	1	.850	6	0	0	1.000	2	5	0	.286

 

                         Previous Belt Meetings:       None

 

The 24^th ranked, 1-1 North Carolina State Wolfpack of coach Chuck Amato met the 3^rd ranked, 2-0 Ohio State Buckeyes of coach Jim Tressel.  These two teams battled for three overtimes before Ohio State retained The Belt with a 44-38 victory in the longest game in Belt history.  The Buckeyes second possession of the game saw them drive 70 yards in 7 plays with QB Craig Krenzel hitting WR Michael Jenkins on a 44-yard touchdown pass.  North Carolina State fumbled the ensuing kickoff & Ohio State's All-American S Will Allen recovered it giving the Buckeyes the ball at the Wolfpack 3-yard line.  Ohio State's RB Lydell Ross scored from 2 yards giving the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead.  Both defenses took over the 2^nd quarter before North Carolina State started a drive at their own 26-yard line with 1:33 to play in the half.  The Wolfpack's All-ACC QB Philip Rivers drove the offense 74 yards in 8 plays hitting All-ACC WR Jerricho Cotchery on an 11-yard touchdown pass before the intermission.  Late in the 3^rd quarter, All-Big Ten LB A.J. Hawk intercepted a Rivers pass & returned it 55 yards giving the Buckeyes the ball at the Wolfpack 7-yard line.  North Carolina State’s defense held the Buckeyes to a 22-yard field goal from PK Mike Nugent & Ohio State led 17-7 as the 3^rd quarter ended.  Another Rivers interception, this one by Ohio State's S Brandon Mitchell, gave the Buckeyes the ball at the Wolfpack 42-yard line & Krenzel scored on a 6-yard run as they pushed the lead to 24-7 but North Carolina State was ready to rally.  Ohio State's WR Santonio Holmes fumbled a punt giving the Wolfpack the ball on Ohio State’s 17-yard line &, four plays later, Rivers hit Cotchery with a 9-yard touchdown pass.  On the next Buckeyes' possession, Wolfpack's CB A.J. Davis intercepted a  Krenzel pass giving North Carolina State the ball back at the Ohio State 12-yard line.  The defense stopped the Wolfpack as they settled for a 24-yard field goal by PK Adam Kiker.  North Carolina State’s defense forced a punt & Rivers had a chance from his own 14-yard line with just 3:18 to play.  He used short passes that RB T.A. McLendon turned into gains of 18 & 21 yards to get the Wolfpack into position for the tying score.  North Carolina State's TE T.J. Williams caught the 5-yard scoring pass with just 0:21 to play tying the game at 24-24.  Rivers completed all six of his passes on the 86-yard, 8-play drive.  In the first overtime, Krenzel completed 3 of 4 passes the last being a 10-yard touchdown to All-Big Ten TE Ben Hartsock for a 31-24 lead.  North Carolina State’s response saw Rivers hit McLendon for a 17-yard gain &, after a sack, Rivers connected with WR Tramain Hall on a 17-yard pass for the tying score.  As the teams switched ends of the field, the Wolfpack had the first chance in the second overtime.  The Buckeyes defense seemed to be tightening but a pass interference call got the Wolfpack to the 2-yard line & McLendon took a handoff around the right side for the go-ahead score.  Krenzel again responded with 2 short completions & a 5-yard run before connecting with TE Ryan Hamby on a 2-yard touchdown that tied the score at 38-38.  In the third overtime, the teams were required to go for a 2-point conversion if they scored a touchdown.  Krenzel completed 4 of 5 passes with the touchdown coming on a 7-yard slant to Jenkins but the conversion was stopped when the Wolfpack's LB Pat Thomas tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage & the pass fell incomplete.  Ohio State led 44-38 as the Wolfpack tried for their winning score.  Two completions & three Ohio State penalties gave North Carolina State a first & goal at the 4-yard line.  Rivers ran for 2 yards on first down & his pass to Hall was incomplete on second down.  On third down, Ohio State's All-American DE Will Smith & DT Tim Anderson stopped Rivers at the 1-yard line.  Fourth down saw McLendon take a pitch & try to make the last yard over left tackle but he was hit by Hawk & Allen keeping him inches out of the end zone giving the Buckeyes a thrilling 44-38 triple overtime win.  Krenzel finished with 273 yards passing with 4 touchdowns but 3 interceptions & Jenkins had 7 catches for 124 yards with his 2 scores.  Rivers finished with 315 yards passing with 4 touchdowns but 2 interceptions.  Ohio State finished the season 11-2; ranked 4^th nationally while the Wolfpack finished 8-5.  North Carolina State has not played for The Belt again.