OSU in control of own destiny

Ohio State can win its first outright league title since 1984.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Having captured one special place on the wall in coach Jim Tressel's office, the Ohio State Buckeyes would like to grab another.
"We've got our picture up now for the national championship, but we still don't have our picture up for the last outright Big Ten title," tight end Ben Hartsock said. "We've had guys come and talk to us about that, how big that can be. That's a huge goal for us."
The next step comes Saturday when No. 4 Ohio State plays host to No. 11 Purdue. The loser likely drops out of the Big Ten and BCS picture.
Ohio State has not won an outright Big Ten title since 1984, when Tressel was the quarterbacks coach for Earle Bruce. Even though the Buckeyes won the national championship last season, they shared the conference title with Iowa, each team going 8-0 and not playing the other.
The Buckeyes (9-1, 5-1), who close the regular season at the third co-leader, Michigan, still harbor hopes of defending their league and national crowns. The Boilermakers (8-2, 5-1) are chasing their first outright league title since 1967 -- the last time they won a game in Columbus.
On the line
"It's huge," Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton said. "Whenever you're playing on national television with a chance to win a Big Ten championship, it's a huge game."
With a win, Purdue, which plays next week against Indiana, can win 10 games for the first season since 1979. The Boilermakers have never beaten four ranked teams in a season, something else riding on the outcome of the game at Ohio Stadium.
"Each week we've said this is the biggest game of the year," linebacker Niko Koutovides said. "Now it really is the biggest game of the year."
The game is the second in a grueling three-game finish for the Buckeyes, following a 33-23 win against then-No. 14 Michigan State a week ago.
"We all have an emotional fuel tank," Tressel said. "As I look at this football team, I don't sense at all that we're running low on emotional fuel. It's pretty obvious what's out there. Goals create energy -- and the goals are still out there."
To get their picture on Tressel's wall, all they have to do is win their final two games.
"We're in control of our own destiny," quarterback Craig Krenzel said. "The only problem is that the two teams we play are sitting in their locker rooms saying the same thing."
Similarities
In many ways the Boilermakers and Buckeyes have a lot in common.
They each have defenses among the 10 best in the country, talented players on offense -- particularly at wide receiver -- and aggressive and opportunistic special teams.
Over the last two years, however, Ohio State is 11-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less. In that same span, the Boilermakers are 3-7, including a one-point loss to Bowling Green to start this season.
"The bottom line is the win-loss column, and they've done a good job of adding one more point than the other team," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.
A year ago, Purdue led 6-3 with the clock ticking and less than two minutes remaining when Krenzel avoided a blitz and threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins.
The Buckeyes expect the Boilermakers to have vivid memories of that devastating home loss.
"They probably want to come out for a little revenge this weekend," said Ohio State tailback Lydell Ross, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the Buckeyes' last three games. "Maybe they're still feeling that loss."