BIG TEN OSU focused on Purdue

A victory would give the Buckeyes their fourth 11-0 start in school history.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Ohio State understands how close it is to playing for a national championship. The No. 3 Buckeyes just aren't discussing the possibility -- not with three games remaining.
For All-American safety Mike Doss, winning a Big Ten championship is the immediate goal. He won't even say where he thinks the Buckeyes (10-0, 5-0 Big Ten) rank among the nation's elite teams.
"I just feel that we're pretty good in the Big Ten right now," Doss said. "We're undefeated and we're working hard and we're just trying to get better. All that stuff doesn't matter until the final game."
The Buckeyes still aren't assured of winning the Big Ten. No. 6 Iowa (9-1, 6-0) leads the conference by one game, though Ohio State has an additional conference game remaining.
That's why coach Jim Tressel doesn't talk to his team about the Fiesta Bowl. He wants them focused on beating Purdue (4-5, 2-3).
"I would say the best thing we should do is elaborate on Purdue and not elaborate on the BCS rankings," he said. "The Purdue game will have more of an impact on that than anything we can talk about."
Purdue coach impressed
A victory would give Ohio State its fourth 11-0 start in team history, joining the 1975, 1979 and 1995 seasons. Immediate contributions from freshmen and sophomores have led the turnaround from a 7-5 finish a year ago.
"This is one of the better football teams we've seen in the Big Ten since we've been in the Big Ten, if not the best," said Joe Tiller, who's coached at Purdue since 1997.
Purdue, which in the past has earned the nickname "Spoilermakers" for upsets over top-25 teams, has a seven-game losing streak against ranked teams. Tiller said a win over any team -- not boasting about being the first team to beat the Buckeyes -- should be Purdue's only incentive.
"I've never put any stock in that," Tiller said. "We're only worried about our own team's performance. We always discount what may or may not happen on the other side of the field."
While the Boilermakers aren't in the national title picture, they are looking to salvage the remains of an underachieving season. They need wins in two of their final three games to become bowl eligible for a sixth straight season.
"I thought we'd be better than we are with our win-loss record," Tiller said. "The only thing I can say is, we've been in position to win a lot of those games."
Close games
All five losses have been decided by a combined 23 points and no loss has been decided by more than seven points. By comparison, the Buckeyes have won three games this season by a combined 15 points.
"It speaks for the maturity of our team and our ability to handle a pressure situation that we can step up when the heat's on," said Ohio State safety Donnie Nickey. "Or that we've been lucky and they've been unlucky. You can draw a lot of conclusions."
The last time the Boilermakers beat a ranked team was two years ago when a 31-27 victory launched them to their first Rose Bowl in 34 years and knocked the No. 12 Buckeyes out of the conference title picture.