NOTEBOOK OSU vs. Indiana

Coming up: The Buckeyes will be home against Minnesota next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ABC will televise the game. Ohio State's first two games in November are on the road -- at Illinois Nov. 4 and at Northwestern Nov. 11. Game times and television coverage have not been announced. This year's Michigan game Nov. 18 will kick off at 3:30 p.m. in Ohio Stadium. ABC will televise.Streaks: Ohio State's 15-game winning streak is the longest in the nation. The Buckeyes haven't lost since a 17-7 defeat at Penn State last October. This is the Buckeyes' third-longest winning streak. The record is 22 games, set from 1967-69. Four more wins and the Buckeyes will tie the 19-game streak begun by the 2002 championship team that ended with a 17-7 loss at Wisconsin in October 2003.Top of the heap: Ohio State is 58-8-1 in games when the team is ranked No. 1. Series: The Buckeyes are 65-12-5 against the Hoosiers. Jim Tressel's record against Indiana is 6-0. On a roll: Saturday's 44 points are the most the Buckeyes have scored this season. They gained 540 yards, topping 500 for the fifth time this season. Wing back Anthony Gonzalez, who caught four of Troy Smith's passes for 69 yards, said that even though 17 points is the closest an opponent has been to the Buckeyes this year, "The games don't feel like [blowouts]. Every team that we've played so far has had their own kind of unique talent." Asked if a close game help would help the Buckeyes prepare for Michigan, Gonzalez said, "I feel like we play the same way regardless. When the Texas game was close, I feel that we were playing the same way as [we have in routs]. I don't know if a close game would help. It's something that we as an offense have experienced before." Then-No. 2 Texas lost to the Buckeyes, 24-7, on Sept. 9. The only other opponent to keep Ohio State from scoring at least 30 points was Penn State (28-6).Top rusher: Antonio Pittman gained 111 yards on 16 carries for the Buckeyes. Chris Wells gained 68 yards on 10 carries.
Tom Williams