OSU comfortable as underdog; Kansas St. downplays rankings

Players said they don't pay attention to polls and point spreads.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Ohio State's players say they don't feel disrespected, even though the Buckeyes (10-2), ranked one spot higher than No. 8 Kansas State (11-3) going into Friday's game, are seven-point underdogs.
"They're a great team," Ohio State defensive tackle Tim Anderson said. "They've got a great offense, probably one of the best in the country. They've got a great defense. They're just a great team."
The Wildcats, meanwhile, already know too well the dangers of taking others' high expectations to heart.
They were ranked as high as No. 6 before a three-game losing streak -- which started with an upset loss at home to Marshall -- took them out of national title contention.
But over the course of the seven-game winning streak that followed and gave Kansas State its first Bowl Championship Series bid, the Wildcats knocked off two higher-ranked teams and capped the run by routing No. 1 Oklahoma 35-7 in the Big 12 title game.
Pay no attention
But talk of past games, point spreads and polls is best avoided entirely, Kansas State center Nick Leckey said.
"You've got to be aloof, really, from all that stuff," Leckey said. "You can't read the papers. You can't read any articles about Kansas State. You can't watch TV. All you can do is watch film on Ohio State.
"All that stuff about being seven-point favorites, about being the hottest team in the country -- all that goes by the wayside."
Ohio State is comfortable being the underdog and likely won't use the point spread for extra motivation, tight end Ben Hartsock said.
"It's something we've kind of grown accustomed to, really," he said, "and I can kind of understand why it's happened. We haven't won games in a convincing fashion, and the BCS and the polls are kind of a finicky thing."
Many factors
Besides, quarterback Craig Krenzel said, it's not as though oddsmaking is an exact science.
"When somebody establishes a line, that's just a number," said Krenzel. "They do take into consideration personnel and all that kind of thing, and who's been playing better lately.
"But the one thing they can't take into consideration -- because it's impossible -- is who's going to be the better team on the field that night."
Kansas State defensive end Andrew Shull agreed.
"Rankings don't matter," Shull said. "You've seen that all year in college football. It's the team that shows up on Saturday -- or Friday, in this case -- that's going to win the game."