Hi all, I initially screwed up and confused 2003 (Seattle) with 2004 (Orlando). I have since made appropriate changes to the text. Thanks to elithesportsdude2006 for catching my mistake.
The Ohio Glory have made USFL history for a second year in a row, becoming the first club in league history to repeat as champions and cementing themselves as one of the elite teams in league history in the process. It was not easy as New Orleans put up a strong fight throughout the game, scoring the final ten points of the game to pull within a score of the defending champions, but Ohio held firm and finished the evening in Seattle holding the John Bassett Trophy aloft once again.
The title game demonstrated the depth and quality of the entire Glory roster as big plays were made both by the team’s big name players and by lesser-known reserves and complementary players. In a game where three-time MVP Kerry Collins was limited to only 12 of 21 passing for an uncharacteristically low 197 yards, and extroverted wideout Chad Ochocinco was held to only 1 reception all game long, the Glory leaned heavily on halfback Eddie George, the game’s MVP, and their defense to secure the victory.
On a day when the decision to hold the game with an untraditionally late start of 8:00pm, the league came out looking smart as a late afternoon thunderstorm brought lightning and monsoon rain to the stadium 2 hours before game time, but the storm travelled on well before the kickoff at 8:15 and while there was some moisture on the Seattle Stadium field, it did not impact the game or the exuberance of the 65,400 fans in attendance. The events began on time with a national anthem sung by performing artist Brandy, a flyover from nearby McChord Field Airforce Base, and the traditional coin flip, won by the Glory, who deferred until the second half, meaning New Orleans would get the ball first.
Both teams began somewhat tentatively, two opponents who had not played each other during the year and were sizing each other up. New Orleans got a first down in their first drive before punting the ball to Ohio, who missed on a 3rd and 9 throw to Ochocinco and went 3-and-out. New Orleans managed a second first down on their next drive, getting help from a defensive holding call against Ohio, but again would have to punt. Ohio would begin their second drive at their own 17 after a fair catch, and they would find that their best option was to be patient, take what New Orleans would give them and work their way down the field. In a game that saw New Orleans earn twice as many first downs as Orlando, it would be the patience of Ohio and the ability to hit the occasional big play that made the difference.
Ohio hit their first big play on this second drive, as a 3rd and 5 draw play turned into a 21 yard run. It would be Eddie George’s longest run of the first half. It got Ohio into Breaker territory, and 3 plays later Collins would throw the first of two scoring tosses on the day, both to his favorite deep threat, Joey Galloway. A 17-yard out & up route by Galloway gave Ohio the lead with just under 3 minutes left in the opening period.
New Orleans would get good field position on the next drive when an over-enthusiastic John Carney sent the kickoff out of bounds, giving the Breakers the ball at the 40. The Breakers, led by Trent Dilfer’s 393 yards on the day, found good success in the short and mid-range passing game (Dilfer threw the ball 46 times, completing 34 but averaging less than 9 yards per reception). The Breaker drive took 6 plays, one of the shorter scoring drives for a club that combined 25 carries for Ricky Williams with a lot of short passes to outpace Ohio in offensive plays 78-41, fitting into the standard strategy against the Glory of minimizing their offensive touches. When the drive bogged down in Glory territory, kicker David Green connected on a 42-yard kick to put New Orleans on the board.
That drive was followed by a quick 3-and-out as Ohio again failed on 3rd down thanks to a Clyde Simmons sack of Collins on 3rd and 4. New Orleans responded with a short drive before they too had to give the ball up. On their second drive of the 2nd quarter, Ohio again found the formula to get 7 on the scoreboard. Again it was a big play by Eddie George, this time a 57-yard catch and run on a perfectly executed screen pass. That play set Ohio up on the 17 yard line of the Breakers, and after a short Musa Smith run the Glory gave the ball back to the Offensive POTY and Eddie George made New Orleans pay with a tackle-busting 17-yard run to pay dirt. New Orleans was now down 11 and there was a sense that the Glory might just run away with the game if the Breakers could not respond.
New Orleans did respond, mounting a short drive that led to a second Green field goal, but more importantly, they followed that drive with yet another 3rd down stop, getting the ball back after Ohio used only 43 seconds of clock. The Breakers made their first foray into Ohio’s red zone on this drive, combining solid runs from Ricky Williams with short passes to TE Bubba Franks and wideouts Kevin Dyson and Josh Reed to get deep into Ohio territory. Reed would finish the game as the leading receiver with 8 catches for 153 yards on the day, but Dilfer would mix up his receivers, throwing to 8 different targets over the course of the game. One of the unexpected targets was backup TE Austin Wheatley, who would catch 4 balls on the day, including the Breakers’ first touchdown, a goal line play action pass that left him wide open to pull New Orleans to within 1 at 14-13 right at the 2-minute warning.
With a serious challenge on their hands from New Orleans, Ohio did what they so often do, they used the final 2 minutes of the half and the first drive of the 3rd quarter to get two scores on the board in quick time and shock their opponent with a sudden burst. Their two-minute drill had been effective all year, and they had the same success using a no-huddle high-energy attack in the final two minutes of the Summer Bowl as well. Linking up with Chad Ochocinco for his only catch of the game, a 19-yarder, and then Galloway for 21, and Stephen Alexander for 7, the Glory had New Orleans reeling. At the 19-yard line they surprised the Breakers’ D with a draw play, and once again Eddie George proved why he was one of the most dangerous players on the field, racing to the end zone, giving the safety a shoulder fake that allowed him to glance off the tackle attempt, and over the plane for the score.
At the half, Ohio led 21-13, a closer game than many expected, but they would follow the halftime festivities (a rowdy performance by the Foo Fighters) with a second scoring drive, this one a much slower affair, taking over 5 minutes despite having not a single 3rd down on the entire drive before Joey Galloway caught a fade route from Collins to put Ohio up 15 at 28-13.
Again there was a sense that this could be the end for the Breakers, and, in a sense it would be as they would be unable to catch the 28 points of the Glory, but the Glory would also not score again in the game as time and again New Orleans did just enough to get them off the field outside of even field goal range. The Breakers stuck to their possession game, taking nearly 7 minutes to get on the board on the next drive, a drive that saw Ricky Williams carry the ball 4 times, Trent Dilfer connect with Josh Reed and Sanjay Beach, and then New Orleans got their own screen game working, with Troy Davis weaving his way through initial traffic before breaking out on a 22-yard scoring run to pull the Breakers within 1 score at 28-20 as the 3rd quarter wound down.
It was in the 4th quarter that Ohio did what they so rarely do, turn to their defense to win them a game. With the offense stymied by a lack of 3rd down success, the somewhat predictable early down runs from Eddie George could not sustain Ohio’s offense, so they asked their defense to salt away the win. After New Orleans’s first drive of the quarter led to a third David Green field goal, a kick necessitated by a Marcus Stroud sack of Trent Dilfer on 3rd and 3 on the Glory 6 yard line, the differential was down to only 5 points, but New Orleans would not get a legitimate shot to score a late game winner.
The Breakers would get two more chances to score, and on both they would be stymied, missing a 51-yard field goal attempt on their next drive, and then getting forced into a 4th and 4 on their final possession, only to see CB Jason Webster strip the ball away from Kevin Dyson to end the drive with a fourth down fumble (initially called an incomplete pass but switched to a fumble upon official review). Ohio would drain the clock and as Kerry Collins took a knee on the game’s final play, the confetti cannons streamed the field with the familiar red, white, and blue of the Glory (Which happen to be the league’s colors as well, so we are not sure if a Breaker win would also have had the same confetti.)
Eddie George’s 130 yards on the ground and 93 in the air had set a Summer Bowl record for total yards from scrimmage. Kerry Collins had been limited to only 12 completions, but had 2 touchdowns, and the often overlooked Ohio defense had held the lead when the offense was unable to build on it. Altogether the efforts of all 53 players for Ohio had brought them the much sought after repeat title.
For New Orleans, the Breakers had availed themselves well against the Ohio offense, had fought their way into range to potentially win, but had eventually fallen just short. The 5-point loss certainly frustrated a lot of folks who had taken the Las Vegas bet that Ohio would win walking away, and it was certainly a testament to the quality of the Breakers squad, but the night belonged to the Glory, who stayed on the field to celebrate with fans and their families. The Glory had won their second consecutive title going 26-2 over two seasons and would now lock up their status as one of the better teams ever to play in the USFL. A Gatorade-soaked Al Luginbill took the league trophy from the commissioner and thanked the ownership in Ohio, the fans, and all his players before handing the trophy off to Kerry Collins and the team.
Another USFL season in the books, and while the next day would bring the harsh reality that several members of the repeat league champions, including wideout Chad Ochocinco, were now free agents, this night belonged to Ohio and their Glory.