Quickly now: what was the greatest upset of all time? Ali-Liston I? The Amazin' Mets? The USA Hockey Miracle on Ice? Nahhh...all you football people know what it was.

It was Super Bowl III, Jets vs. Colts, AFL vs. NFL, the Joe Willie guarantee game. It was the event that changed the world, shattered the illusion of an indomitable NFL and established a brand new landscape for professional football.

Lives were changed, most notably that of Joe Namath, the gifted Jets quarterback. Joe has been a good friend since we were teammates in the Senior Bowl in 1965 and he loves to tell the story.

"I got mad. The point spread was eighteen points; nobody was giving us a chance, and some guy started yelling at me that we were going to be slaughtered," he says. "I said, 'Wait a minute. Let me tell you something. We'll beat the Colts. I guarantee it!' When I got back to the hotel, my teammates wanted to kill me."

Game Plan: No. 1 Miami

Offense: Ball security is more important than in any other game. Red zone offense, maintain that 88.9% scoring percentage. Touchdowns! Big plays from your speedsters Johnson and McGahee. Hit them early. Defense: Front seven, get off blocks! You cannot win if you give up 250 yards rushing. Red zone defense must be stout, better than any point all year. Vilma and Williams, force turnovers. Clarett will put it on the ground. Special Teams: Todd Sievers, it is time to revert to last year's form. Freddie Capshaw, put the blocks out of your mind and get rid of the ball. Punt protection will be severely tested! Players: 85 penalty yards per game is stupid. Remind each other all day. Underscore the importance of the kicking game in all preparation and during the game. Conditioning is your responsibility. You must not lose it while home! Coaches: Work on the penalties in a calculated way. Play fast early. Get the jump like you did on Nebraska. Stun them with speed. You must -- MUST -- play well on run defense!

I had been on the Green Bay Packers for Super Bowl I when Kansas City Chiefs player Fred Williamson made similar promises, along with a couple of physical threats. He finished the day unconscious on the sideline. As I recall, we Colts players didn't pay much attention to what Joe said.

Namath and his buddies delivered on his imprudent pledge. The score was 16-7, a number that is riveted into sports consciousness by its incessant re-airing. Its mythological quality sustains it, keeps it alive and changes other lives, like that of yours truly. I was the center for the Baltimore Colts, and played every offensive snap that day.

I am convinced that every television I pass each January automatically switches to that game when I come near. If I change the channel it appears again...and again. For a driven competitor it is the ultimate recurring nightmare. Counseling seems to do no good.

Therefore, I consider myself an authority on this year's BCS national title game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. There is a huge point spread in this classic matchup, the Buckeyes are given very little chance of winning, and while Craig Krenzel will not be uttering any Namath-like predictions, the stage is set for another earth-shaking event.

Miami's 34-game winning streak is at risk. Head coach Larry Coker's personal 24-game winning streak is at risk. The odds makers' reputations are at risk.

The similarities in the situations are remarkable. While the AFL was considered an upstart and the Buckeyes a traditional power, Ohio State has been off of the national title board for 34 years. 1968 was a long time ago, and the swagger usually associated with title contenders drifted away with Rex Kern and his band of sophomores.

It seems a Twilight Zone irony that the last Buckeye championship was the very season we qualified for Super Bowl III. What might a soothsayer divine from this alignment of the planets, this strange accident of sport? Could it happen again?

Our Colt team was 15-1, having lost to Cleveland early in the season. We entered the Super Bowl off a 34-0 whipping of those same Browns in Cleveland. We had lost just one game the year before, in 1967. We were tough, and we were together.

We were not overconfident, but we certainly did not think anyone could beat us. There is a difference in confidence and arrogance. Confidence is crucial, while arrogance is certain death in the white-hot crucible that is the football field.

This Miami team has been completely transformed in terms of its value system. Thirteen current players have already graduated and the Hurricanes are recognized every year as one of the programs that graduates over 70 percent of its players within the NCAA-prescribed time span.

Generally, the men have good manners off the field. They do not resemble Hurricane teams of years past except when they compete. They are tough, they are together and I do not think they are arrogant.

The reasons we got beat by the Jets had nothing to do with attitude. We lost because we made mistakes on offense, were vulnerable to the run on defense and missed field goals. The Jets made very few mistakes, ran the ball well, forced turnovers and made their field goals.

Game Plan: No. 2 Ohio State

Offense: Craig Krenzel, you have had a hand in every big win. Your timing must be impeccable. Clarett, squeeze the ball. Perfect ball security! Michael Jenkins, you match size and speed with the opponent. Big plays! Defense: This must be your best effort yet. Prepare for balance. Your Big Ten-leading pass efficiency defense will be sorely tested. Pressure from front four. McGahee must be kept in contain. He is too fast on the corner. Special Teams: Maurice Hall, great field position! Andy Groom, great field position! Mike Nugent, make them all! Players: Chris Gamble, make big plays at key times in all three areas. You must adjust to the speed of the game quickly. Conditioning is your responsibility. Miami will be in shape. Coaches: Conditioning will be key. Know your personnel. Jim Tressel, your championship game techniques are tested. They work at all levels. Think through your visit to Miami's spring practice. It is an advantage.

The reason the Hurricanes are vulnerable is not because of attitude. It is because of a very real weakness in run defense and the fact that Ohio State has a much better kicking game. If Miami turns the ball over a few times and does not improve its special teams, the Buckeyes will spring an epic upset.

The staggering offensive numbers put up by Miami are well-documented, and have been accentuated the last two games with 1,121 total yards and 105 points against Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Quarterback Ken Dorsey holds most of the significant records for his position at the storied quarterback school, probably should have won the Heisman, and doesn't care a whit about any of it.

He wants to win, which his 38-1 record would seem to indicate.

Tailback Willis McGahee, who also should have won the Heisman and who also doesn't give a rip about it, ran for 1,686 yards, 27 touchdowns and had 10 games over 100 yards rushing. Those are also Miami records.

However, the 'Canes have not seen a defense like the Buckeye bunch. Ohio State allowed only 12.2 points a game, 2.7 yards per carry on running plays, and a grand total of four rushing touchdowns for the season. Opponents averaged 79 yards rushing per game.

The pass defense is slightly more vulnerable. Illinois was able to take the Buckeyes into overtime by exploiting corner Dustin Fox, but no one else seemed to be able to consistently isolate him on a taller receiver.

The opposition passing average was 239 yards a game, but the inability to run the ball in the red zone killed many drives. This factor was the key to Ohio State winning the pivotal Michigan game.

On the flip side, Miami relinquishes 3.9 yards per rush. More disturbing, West Virginia ran for 363 yards, Florida State 296, and several other opponents pounded the vaunted front seven of the Hurricanes for long stretches.

Ohio State will prepare even more vigorously than usual in this crucial area, since it is the Buckeyes' strength and the key to keeping Miami's offense off the field.

Further encouragement for Ohio State is the Hurricanes' red zone performance. The defense allowed 27 scores in 35 trips, and 21 were touchdowns. That is not championship red-zone defense.

The game within the game is complex. It involves Tressel's propensity to go against his apparent conservative personality at precisely the right time. Intelligent gambles are part of his thinking, and games like OSU's wins over Purdue and Wisconsin were won because of his intuition.

Great coaches sense when a risk is called for, and they take that risk at the time the opposition least expects it. Tressel's capacity to preserve this uncanny knack will loom large in the outcome of the game.

Coker's game within the game will be isolating his great speed, McGahee and wide receiver Andre Johnson, in mismatch opportunities to score big early. Ohio State will not have seen this kind of speed, but will adjust as the game wears on.

Hidden yardage favors the Buckeyes. Punter Andy Groom and Kicker Mike Nugent assume the roles enjoyed by their Miami counterparts Freddie Capshaw and Todd Sievers a year ago. Both Hurricane specialists had off years, while Groom and Nugent earned All American honors.

ESPN college football analyst Bill Curry coached for 17 years in the college ranks. His Game Plans for marquee matchups appear each week during the college football season.