NOtebook \ Ohio State vs. USC

Buckeyes buzz: Let the hype begin! No. 5 Ohio State will practice Thursday morning at the Woody Hayes facility, then will fly out to play top-ranked USC Saturday. After weeks of avoiding all questions about the Trojans, the Buckeyes seemed happy to offer their comments. “We play in a lot of big games, but this is a REAL big game: playing in L.A., 1 vs. 5,” DE Lawrence Wilson said. “It’s a tremendous challenge for our team. It’s a big game. We’re excited for it.”

Tresselese: Coach Jim Tressel was asked what was at stake against USC. Seems like a reasonable question, right? Well, try to find some reason in the answer: “I think at stake every time you play is your opportunity to play your best. That’s what’s at stake. And when you go out there and you do, you feel good about it. And when you go out there and you don’t, you don’t feel good about it. And in some cases, if you do or you don’t, you can line up the next week and in other cases, if you do or you don’t, you have to wait until the next year to line up or maybe a guy’s a senior, he doesn’t get to line up again, but your opportunity, each and every opportunity, and this opportunity is being noticed by many, so it’s exciting.”

Not a fan: Remember last month when Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer, a USC grad, said he was sick of hearing Ohio State fans talk about how great the Buckeyes are and hoped his Trojans won big? DT Lawrence Wilson, asked if he was a Palmer fan: “No. Not at all.”

Stat pack: USC is riding a string of six straight top-4 finishes in The Associated Press Top 25, six straight Bowl Championship Series bowls, six straight Pac-10 championships and six straight 11-win seasons. Oh, and the Trojans are 66-5-2 in games when ranked No. 1.

Associated Press