TEMPE, Ariz., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Miami's Larry Coker has not lost in 24 games as a head coach, a streak that will be tested when the top-ranked Hurricanes meet No. 2 Ohio State in Friday's Fiesta Bowl.
The Hurricanes have won 34 straight games, the longest in college football since Toledo won 35 in a row from 1969 to 1971. A win at Sun Devil Stadium inevitably will bring up talk of whether Miami can make a run at one of the great streaks in sports history - Oklahoma's record 47-game winning streak from 1953 to 1957.
Coker grew up in the Sooner State at the time Bud Wilkinson was putting together a string of success often compared to Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak.
"Bud Wilkinson was one of my idols growing up," Coker said. "But playing one more game for the national championship is more important right now."
Miami still has a long way to go to catch the Sooners, but Coker knows that his team is starting to feel the pressure that a long streak brings. Miami (12-0) plays every game with a bulls' eye on its back, and it is difficult to always maintain a level of high intensity and focus.
"We get a little frustrated when things don't work out the way we want them to work out and we go into a shell a little bit," Coker admits.
Coker will have his team focused for the Fiesta Bowl, which brings its own share of historic hurdles that need to be cleared.
The Hurricanes can become the first team to win back-to-back national championships since Nebraska in 1994 and 1995. Miami has been the best program in college football over the last two decades, winning five national titles, but this can be the first Hurricane team to win two in a row.
Standing in the way is Ohio State (13-0), a school looking to make its own claim to history. The storied program known for Woody Hayes and Archie Griffin has not won a national championship since 1968.
Jim Tressel, like Coker in his second year at his current job, will assure himself of a prized place in Buckeye lore with a win in Tempe. Ohio State also won national championships in 1942, 1954 and 1957.
The Bowl Championship Series did its job this season, pairing the only two undefeated teams in Division I-A. But the Hurricanes have been installed as a double-digit favorite.
Miami has rolled up 105 points and 1,121 yards in its last two games, including a 56-45 triumph over Virginia Tech that put the Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State, has scored less than 20 points in four of its last six games.
The Hurricanes have yet to score less than 26 points in a game and feature the duo of Heisman Trophy finalists Willis McGahee and Ken Dorsey. McGahee, a sophomore, ran for 1,686 yards and 27 touchdowns. Dorsey threw for 3,073 yards and 26 TDs and improved to 38-1 as a starter.
The key to the Fiesta Bowl could come down to Ohio State's ability to not necessarily stop, but at least slow down, the Hurricanes. Ohio State has allowed just 12.2 points per game and close November wins over Purdue, Illinois and Michigan all came down to big plays on defense.
The heart of the defense is linebacker Matt Wilhelm, who had 111 tackles and 16 1/2 for losses, and defensive backs Chris Gamble and Michael Doss. Gamble has started the last five games at flanker and cornerback.
Ohio State knows it must move the ball to win. The Buckeyes had trouble doing that late in the year, but they often were without Maurice Clarett, who set a Buckeye record for rushing yards by a freshman with 1,190. Ohio State is a vastly better team with the oft-injured Clarett in the lineup, and it showed in the 14-9 win over Michigan in which he ran for 119 yards.
A healthy Clarett takes some of the pressure off underrated quarterback Craig Krenzel, who threw for 1,988 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Split end Michael Jenkins is a big-play receiver who caught 57 passes for 1,031 yards and six scores.
"We respect Miami and we know they're a great team, but there's not a guy on this team who doesn't think we can't compete, who doesn't think we can't go out and win," Krenzel said.
Miami has allowed 18 points per game this season and the unit has sometimes been soft against the run. West Virginia rushed for 363 yards, including 175 by Avon Cobourne, and Greg Jones ran wild for 189 of Florida State's 296 in the Seminoles' one-point loss.
Both coaches have connections to their opponent. Coker was an assistant at Ohio State under John Cooper in 1993 and 1994. Tressel, then at Youngstown State, interviewed for the Miami job when Butch Davis left in 1995, a job that ultimately went to Coker.
Ohio State and Miami have met just twice previously. Ohio State won a 10-0 contest in 1977 and Miami was a 23-12 winner in the 1999 Kickoff Classic.
Ohio State last played in the Fiesta Bowl following the 1983 season when it lost to Pittsburgh, 28-23.
Miami has lost all three of its trips to the Fiesta Bowl, most recently a 29-0 setback to Arizona following the 1993 campaign. The most notable of the visits was a 14-10 loss to Penn State on Jan. 2, 1987 with the national title at stake.
