Jenkins: OSU will need to be perfect
By JON SPENCER ? For The Advocate ? August 18, 2008
COLUMBUS ? Malcolm Jenkins can only hope his next trip to Los Angeles goes better than his last one.
Ohio State?s senior cornerback was on the West Coast earlier this summer to take part in a photo shoot as a member of the Playboy All-America Team. The backdrop was Hugh Hefner?s famous (or infamous) Playboy Mansion.
Every college guy?s dream, right? Uh, not exactly.
Jenkins got ill and the cameras just happened to catch him tossing his lunch. At least there were no Playmates around to see him at his worst.
?Everybody thinks there?s bunnies out there,? Jenkins said. ?There were no girls; just guys.?
It will be even more of a business trip when Jenkins returns with the Buckeyes to L.A. for a Sept. 13 showdown with Southern Cal. The two teams were ranked second and third, respectively, in the first Associated Press poll released Sunday. Their order is flip-flopped in the USA TODAY Coaches poll, which helps determine the combatants in the Bowl Championship Series title game.
As lopsided losers in the last two BCS championships, the Buckeyes know they have to put on a good show against the Trojans. Jenkins thinks it?s boom or bust ? no pun intended, Hef.
?If I was a fan, unless Ohio State goes undefeated, who wants to see Ohio State go (to the title game) again?? Jenkins said. ?We have to win every game. Nobody wants to see us ? no one wants to see us get embarrassed again.?
Running the table and getting to Miami for a third straight shot at glory won?t be enough either.
?We had two good seasons ? not great seasons, good seasons,? Jenkins said. ?If I get old and fat and tell my grandkids about it, I?ll say we had two good seasons and lost the national championship.
?Nobody ever remembers the losers. Other than the last two games, I couldn?t name the loser in the (previous) four national championships. There really isn?t any credit in getting there. At the end of the day, getting there doesn?t matter.?
