BUCKEYE NOTEBOOK From Ohio Stadium

Quite a kicker: Ohio State's MVP on Saturday may have been senior punter B.J. Sander, who hit seven punts inside the 20-yard line. "We always talk about how the most important play in football is the punt and obviously it showed up today," Ohio State senior defensive lineman Will Smith said. "B.J. had an outstanding day, he punted the ball and gave us good field position, so they didn't have a short way to go down the field. I think it helped tremendously." Sander averaged 41.3 yards on his 10 punts and has now downed the ball inside the opponent's 20-yard line 32 times this season.
Quite a kicker II: Buckeye senior kicker Mike Nugent's three field goals -- including a 52-yarder in the first half -- boosted his career total to 48. He also has 102 extra points, which moved him into ninth place on the team's all-time scoring list with 245 points. Even though his 36-yard field goal in overtime won the game, Nugent said he's still looking for his first game-winning kick. "Can't count because I didn't get it," he said. "Hopefully I'll never have to attempt any -- we'll be up by enough."
Quite the opposite: Purdue sophomore Ben Jones missed two key field goals that cost his team the game. The first, a 28-yarder, was wide left with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter. The second, a 37-yarder, was wide left on the final play in overtime. "It's always disappointing not to be able to come through for the team," Jones said. "Both misses are on me. The [final] kick will not stick with me because it is just another game that I [will] have played and learned from." Nugent said he felt bad for Jones. "Really, I think that's just unbelievably tough," Nugent said. "If I could ever talk to him, I'd just tell him don't even worry about it. He's having a great year."
Standout receiver: Senior wideout Michael Jenkins led the Buckeyes with 123 yards receiving on six receptions. It was the second time this season he went over 100 yards -- he had 124 yards against North Carolina State -- and the ninth time in his career. His 60-yard reception in the first quarter was the longest of his career. His previous long was a 57-yard catch in the Fiesta Bowl last season.
Up next: Ohio State will travel to Ann Arbor to play Michigan at noon on Saturday. The Buckeyes are 2-0 against Michigan under coach Jim Tressel, including a 14-9 win over the Wolverines last season in Columbus. The Buckeyes had a stadium record-105,539 people at last year's Michigan game. Saturday's crowd of 105,286 was the second-largest.