COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A year ago, Maurice Clarett was scrambling to finish up his high school classwork and lamenting another season that ended too soon.

Now the Ohio State freshman is at the center of the Buckeyes' hopes for a national championship.

"I don't know if I can put it in words,'' Clarett said Saturday after No. 2 Ohio State's tension-filled 14-9 win over rival Michigan. "I didn't get to win anything in high school. To get a chance to now -- this is the biggest thing next to the Super Bowl.''

The win clinched a spot in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3 and a shot at the school's first national title since the 1968 season.

Clarett, who rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries, scored on a 2-yard run and set up the other Ohio State touchdown with a 26-yard pass reception. Maurice Hall scored two plays later on an option pitch with 4:55 left to put the Buckeyes ahead to stay.

"He was big for them,'' Michigan cornerback Marlin Jackson said.

Clarett has had quite a year.

The 19-year-old player graduated from Warren G. Harding High School last December -- several months ahead of his class -- so he could start at Ohio State in January and play spring football.

He won the starting tailback job in August and ran for 175 yards and three touchdowns in his debut against Texas Tech. After gaining 230 yards and scoring twice in a victory over Washington State in his third game, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and missed the next game.

Clarett strung together four 100-yard rushing games in a row, then irked Ohio State's fans by saying in a magazine article that he was considering suing the NFL to overturn the rule that underclassmen are not eligible for the draft.

Hate mail ensued. Many questioned his loyalty to Ohio State, even after he said publicly that he had no intention of leaving school early.

Then he suffered a shoulder injury against Penn State that caused him to miss two games and see only spot duty in two others.

Even though he twice left the Michigan game because of pain in his shoulder, he still jump-started the Buckeyes' offense when he was on the field.

"Maurice really brings a lot of electricity to this team,'' Hall said. "If it weren't for him today, it would have been harder for us to win.''

So Ohio State's No. 13 had a big game in the Buckeyes' 13th straight win, putting a smile on the faces of the team's 13 seniors.

"I'm surrounded with a great team,'' Clarett said. "We might not go out and score 50 points and we might not hold teams to 10 yards. But we make plays when we have to.''