Ohio State vs. Miami at the Cotton Bowl isn’t just a normal playoff game. It’s a nostalgic CFP showdown, as Miami fans are still obsessed with their loss to the Buckeyes that happened in the 2002 season. While the past game is still overshadowing the current clash, Ohio State’s safety sent a strong message to Mario Cristobal’s Miami.

Caleb Downs, while previewing the Cotton Bowl, addressed Miami fans’ obsession with what happened 22 years ago. However, at the same time, he warned Miami to focus on the present.

“Yeah, the intensity level has to be turned up just based on what you’re playing for at the end of the day,” said Caleb Downs on the December 24 episode of Downs 2 Business. “You play in big games, and to play in moments like this and to play in the playoffs. So, that’s what we’re excited for.

We have a couple of guys from South Florida, so it’s a big game for them, and they’re excited to go play. Kenyatta Jackson, BI [Brandon Inniss], and CJ Donaldson, everybody. They love talking about it, so it’ll be a lot of emotions going into the game. But at the end of the day, the ball got to get snapped, and football got to get played.”

If you take a close look, the previous game has nothing to do with the upcoming Cotton Bowl game. The Fiesta Bowl game, where Ohio State defeated Miami for the national title, happened on January 3, 2002. Carson Beck wasn’t even 2 months old during the previous postseason clash, and most of the players in the current locker room weren’t even born at that time.

Miami HC Mario Cristobal, knowing that the upcoming game is what matters, admitted, “We’re focused on the present.”

“I think games like this, with two storied programs, I think people are always going to want to pull out history and draw comparisons and all that other stuff,” Cristobal said. “And moments like that, they’re valid. They’re real. It’s what makes college football awesome, the pageantry. But this game is the 2025 Hurricanes and Buckeyes going after it, to be determined by the 22 guys on the field one snap at a time. That’s going to be the focus. That’s where all our attention will be.”

Though Cristobal claims that the focus is on the upcoming game, the talks regarding the previous matchup cannot be avoided, which is still a case to worry for Miami fans.

Jeremiah Smith aims for a showdown against Miami

While the people of Miami still worry about the past event, OSU’s WR Jeremiah Smith plans to post another defeat to his home side. The 20-year-old even warned Miami fans that he could do the same against his home team on New Year’s Eve.

“They’re still talking about it twenty years later,” said Jeremiah Smith at the December 21 press conference. “They’re still worried about it, but we’ve got something for them come New Year’s Eve. I’m not really worried about that because I’m probably the one who’s going to be doing it too. I’m going to be a little chippy out there. I’m bringing it all this week.”

Smith, being a Miami native, is familiar with most of the players and coaches and is excited to play against the home team for the first time.

“I’m very excited to play the guys from back home,” Smith said earlier in the week. “It’s like a second home for me. I’m from there. I had a good relationship with all the coaches (at Miami), a lot of the players on the team. A lot of people I played with in high school.”

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Though the game is played in Arlington, Texas, Smith going against the home team is still a big deal. Since Ryan Day is expected to call the plays, we could expect a lot of plays coming from Smith, who’s been dominating the season with 1,086 receiving yards for 11 touchdowns.