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No off week, but maybe a few breathers
Buckeyes' next 3 foes 1-11 in Big Ten
BY RUSTY MILLER | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS - Top-ranked Ohio State's long season all comes down to four more Saturdays.
The Buckeyes (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) are two-thirds of the way through a 12-week string of games with no break, no chance for a breather, no week to get healthy.
"We learned early that every team will give you it's best," quarterback Troy Smith said Saturday after the Buckeyes beat Indiana 44-3. "You can never take a game or a week off en route to get to the national championship game."
Four matchups remain for Ohio State, which has been No. 1 since the preseason and has so far lived up to that ranking. The Buckeyes play Minnesota (3-5, 0-4) on Saturday at home, then hit the road for games at Illinois (2-6, 1-3) and Northwestern (2-6, 0-4).
The prize at the end is a date with No. 2-ranked Michigan (8-0, 5-0) for supremacy in the Big Ten, the polls and the Bowl Championship Series rankings.
As dominant as they have been, the Buckeyes know that one slip would take all of it off the table.
"As great as it feels now, it would feel twice as bad if we lost, you know?" wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez said after the Indiana victory. "Yeah, it feels great right now, but in all honesty, we haven't done anything yet. Nobody's getting a ring for what we've done thus far, and that's a fact."
The Buckeyes have played well all season, with few extreme highs or lows. In September, they took on and methodically dispatched three ranked teams (No. 2 Texas, No. 24 Penn State and No. 13 Iowa). After that they began a stretch of six games, each opponent having lost at least four times - none currently with a winning record. They are now halfway through that second phase of their season.
Smith threw four first-half touchdown passes and Ted Ginn Jr. threw one TD pass and caught another against Indiana as the Buckeyes stretched their winning streak to 15, longest in the nation.
Despite incompletions on his first four attempts, Smith finished 15-of-23 passing for 230 yards without an interception. His scoring strikes covered 23 yards to Rory Nicol, 31 yards to Ginn, 5 yards to Gonzalez and 1 yard to Jake Ballard - giving Smith 21 TD passes this season with just two interceptions.
Ginn had five catches for 72 yards and also completed a 38-yard toss-back pass to Nicol for a score.
Ohio State scored on its final four possessions of the half for a 28-3 lead, all on Smith touchdown passes - and on three of the four the receiver was almost alone.
"I've voted them No. 1 and nothing today changed my opinion," Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner said after the Buckeyes outgained his Hoosiers 540-165.
Throughout the season, the Buckeyes have been driven by not just beating teams but by a higher standard. They've attained perfection with their record, but not in any other area.
"We need to continue to get better," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "We have a good running team coming in in Minnesota, so we all need to keep improving."
Golden Gophers coach Glen Mason was one of the two finalists for the Ohio State job when Jim Tressel was hired in 2001. Mason, a former player for the Buckeyes, always takes special notice of his alma mater on the schedule.
"The Minnesota coach would love to beat Ohio State," offensive tackle Kirk Barton said. "They run the ball well and they have a good (offensive) scheme."
