Young Buckeyes grow to earn No. 4 ranking

A weak early schedule has helped unbeaten Ohio State receive top recognition.

COLUMBUS (AP) — This wasn’t the way the season was supposed to go for a young Ohio State team.

The Buckeyes were blessed with a weak early schedule, from which they hoped to glean some experience and get comfortable with their roles before moving on to what passes for the toughies in the Big Ten in the back half of the season.

Instead, a little more than a month in, the Buckeyes find themselves ranked No. 4 and a national championship contender.

“You know, we’re a young team, but I would like to think that we’re mature enough to think on Oct. 2 where you’re ranked doesn’t really have much credence,” coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday. “Hopefully they’ll stay focused on the task at hand as to what we need to get better at. And I think they will.”

Number one?

Somebody in the USA Today coaches poll even tossed the Buckeyes a No. 1 vote.

Tressel wouldn’t bite when asked if his team was indeed the best in the country.

“We’ve got a long way to go if we’re going to be the best team in the nation,” he responded.

The first major obstacle comes up Saturday, when the Buckeyes travel to play No. 23 Purdue, which like Ohio State is 5-0 overall and unbeaten in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes are enjoying their rapid climb up in the polls. They were No. 11 in the preseason Associated Press poll, then dropped a spot after struggling early against Youngstown State.

They climbed two spots the next week, two more the next, and then, after sitting at No. 8 for two weeks, they took advantage of four of the top seven teams losing last week to move up four notches.

Scoreboard watching

Linebacker Marcus Freeman said he and his teammates keep a close watch on the teams at the top of the polls and how they’re doing each Saturday.

“Yeah, we all do,” he said. “USC, LSU, Cal — they’re in front of us. You know that USC and Cal are going to play and any college football fan’s going to want to see that game and see who wins and who loses.

“We know LSU has a big game this week with Florida. It’s exciting to see who wins and who loses and see if you can move up or not.”

Last year, the Buckeyes were No. 1 from the preseason to the second week of January. After knocking off second-ranked Michigan in November, they had 51 days of hearing how unbeatable they were. Then they got thumped 41-14 by Florida in the Bowl Championship Series national title game.

Ugly memory

Maybe it’s that ugly memory that has some Ohio State players trying to put a damper on the excitement of a return to the apex of the rankings.

“We know that we have a lot more that we want to accomplish,” wide receiver Brian Robiskie said. “It feels pretty good to be recognized but we know that without taking care of this week, all of that is for nothing. We have to worry about Purdue and worry about going on the road this week.”

Then again, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and West Virginia all were trying to concentrate on the task at hand last week — and their teams still lost.

For now, the Buckeyes are pleased to have avoided the upset bug.

“We’re happy being No. 4 but our goal is to be No. 1,” Freeman said. “Going out each week we know we’re going to have to try to win every game.”

After a day of upsets in college football, Tressel was asked which one most surprised him.

“You know what?” he said. “I’m old and patient — and nothing surprises me.”