NOTEBOOK From Ohio Stadium

Area ties: Michigan State has three area players on its roster, although only two dressed for Saturday's game. Former Poland quarterback Sean Clayton, a true freshman who was moved to tight end this season, made the travel squad along with redshirt freshman linebacker David Herron, a Warren Harding graduate. Herron was the blocking back for Maurice Clarett in high school. True freshman linebacker Maurice Smith-Davis, a Howland High graduate, did not make the travel squad.
Familiar face: Michigan State coach John L. Smith is 0-2 lifetime against Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Smith's 1993 Idaho team lost at Youngstown State, 35-16, in the Division I-AA semifinals. The Penguins went on to win their second national title under Tressel that season, defeating Marshall 17-5 in the title game.
Bad memory: Michigan State had won two of its last three games in Columbus, including a stunning 28-24 upset over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Ohio State on Nov. 7, 1998. Former Spartans quarterback Bill Burke, a Howland High graduate, led Michigan State to 19 unanswered points in the second half of that game, which likely cost the Buckeyes the national championship.
Rare return: DeAndra Cobb's 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the first given up by the Buckeyes since 1984, when Michigan State's Larry Jackson returned one the same distance.
Nice crowd: Saturday's attendance was 105,194 -- the second-largest crowd ever to attend a game at Ohio Stadium. The record is 105,539, set last season against Michigan.
What game? Tressel was asked what he thought about No. 6 Miami losing on Saturday. "Miami, Florida?" he asked, drawing laughs. "I didn't notice. I was busy this afternoon."
Up next: Ohio State will play host to Purdue Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Buckeyes' last home game of the season. OSU will finish the regular season at Michigan on Nov. 22 at 12:10 p.m.
-- Joe Scalzo