THERE was Nicholas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley, Jennifer Lopez and Chris Judd, and now college football brings you Ohio State and Maurice Clarett.

At this time last year the Buckeyes and Clarett were the most talked-about marriage in the game. Ohio State was returning to national prominence, led by the star running back from Youngstown.

But by the time the Buckeyes had reached the national championship, there was trouble in paradise. Clarett was bashing the Ohio State administration for not allowing him to return home for the funeral of a close friend. Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said Clarett had failed to complete the necessary paper work.

Yesterday the two sides all but filed for divorce. Clarett was charged with misdemeanor falsification for lying about the value of items stolen from a car he had borrowed from a Columbus automobile dealership. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said he would recommend that Clarett be released from his scholarship if the running back so asked.

There are no innocent parties here. Ohio State knew exactly what it was getting in Clarett, a talented yet temperamental star who had grown accustomed to receiving special treatment. Ohio State turned a blind eye to Clarett’s selfishness and immaturity and trained its good eye on his football skills.

Clarett would go on to rush for a school-freshman-record 1,237 yards as the Buckeyes won their first title since 1968. Clarett was a pre-season favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and Ohio State was picked by many to repeat as national champ.

Forget that Clarett had argued with assistant coaches on the sidelines. Forget that he speculated on challenging the NFL’s rule on admitting underclassmen. Forget that he spent the summer working out in Youngstown instead of joining the Buckeyes in Columbus. Tressel sloughed off those signs of selfishness as Maurice just being Maurice.

Then it came to light that Clarett had received preferential treatment in academics. Next came the bogus police report. And while the Buckeyes won their first two games with an unimpressive offense, the focus on when or if Clarett returned began to alienate teammates.

When yesterday’s charges were announced, Ohio State decided it’s ready to cut its wins and losses. Both parties have already won and lost. We know Ohio State will sell out for the right player and we know Clarett, who said $10,000 was stolen from the car, is out for himself.

No wonder these two found each other in the first place.