COLUMBUS, OHIO ? Almost every time Michael Jenkins goes out in public — to a mall, a pizza joint or even class — someone stops him.

“They say, ‘Great catch!'” the Ohio State wide receiver said. “And you probably know the one they’re talking about.”

They, of course, are referring to the last time Ohio State faced Purdue.

Trailing 6-3 and faced with fourth-and-one at the Boilermakers’ 37 with 97 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes salvaged their unbeaten season with one flick of the wrist and one over-the-shoulder grab by Jenkins.

“I really don’t think much of it,” Jenkins said. “It was just a normal play for me. But it was a big play, of course, for our team — fourth down with a championship on the line.”

Ohio State’s 10-6 victory still is talked about and debated, especially now as the No. 4 Buckeyes get ready for a reunion Saturday with No. 10 Purdue.

“They always find a way to win, and the coaches do a great job of teaching that,” Purdue linebacker Niko Koutouvides said. “Whenever it looks like they’re going to lose a football game, someone steps up and makes a play.”

In other action this weekend among top 25 teams: No. 1 Oklahoma plays host to Baylor, No. 2 Southern California travels to Arizona, No. 3 LSU visits Alabama, No. 5 Michigan is at Northwestern, No. 6 Texas entertains Texas Tech, No. 7 Georgia welcomes Auburn, No. 8 Washington State plays host to Arizona State, No. 9 Tennessee takes on Mississippi State, and No. 10 TCU faces Cincinnati.

Also Saturday: No. 12 Virginia Tech travels to Temple, No. 13 Florida State plays host to N.C. State, No. 14 Miami plays host to Syracuse, No. 15 Florida plays at South Carolina, No. 16 Pittsburgh travels to West Virginia, No. 18 Nebraska entertains Kansas State, No. 19 Minnesota plays at No. 20 Iowa, No. 21 Michigan State travels to Wisconsin, No. 21 Northern Illinois plays at Toledo, No. 24 Boise State plays host to UTEP, and No. 25 Bowling Green welcomes Kent State.

Ohio State wide receiver Michael Jenkins, right, makes the go-ahead touchdown reception over Purdue's Antwaun Rogers in the fourth quarter of last year's game. The touchdown catch gave then-No. 3 Ohio State a 10-6 victory Nov. 9, 2002 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind., preserving an 11-0 record and moving the Buckeyes to No. 1 in the BCS rankings.

Two months after Ohio State’s close call with Purdue last year, the Buckeyes beat Miami in the Fiesta Bowl to capture their first national championship in 34 seasons.

Fans and players alike looked back at what was otherwise a wounded-duck of a pass.

“We needed a first down,” quarterback Craig Krenzel recalled. “The play came in, our guys executed and protected well, they picked up the blitz and Mike ran a good route. Nothing special.”

In was special, but not because it was executed perfectly.

The blocking wasn’t very good. The primary receiver was covered and the two wide-outs didn’t run the patterns they were supposed to. Krenzel was being crushed by a collapsing pocket and had to sidestep several massive linemen just to get rid of the ball.

Maybe the biggest stunner is that when the play came in from the sidelines, no one was surprised the Buckeyes would throw the ball instead of trying to advance it three feet on a running play. Caught up in the moment, almost none of the players questioned the call.

“It wasn’t as big, I guess, as it should have been,” said tight end Ben Hartsock, who was the primary receiver of the play.

With a capacity crowd at Ross-Ade Stadium cheering and a national television audience tuned in to watch the nation’s No. 3 team in peril, Krenzel took the snap from center and dropped back. Purdue was blitzing. Sensing the pocket caving in, he stepped forward to avoid the blitzers zeroing in on him from the periphery.

Jenkins, at the left sideline, was supposed to run a post and instead feinted and took off, beating Antwaun Rogers to the end zone.

“He was in a press and I just kind of got off the line and got by him. I don’t really think he was expecting the ball,” Jenkins said. “It was in the air — too late.”