By John Nestor

Columbus, OH

As little as three weeks ago it looked like Ohio State would be left to just play out the string down the stretch of the season. Things have definitely changed.

After consecutive wins over ranked teams Ohio State (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) heads into this week's game at Indiana on a roll and guarding against a letdown.

The Buckeyes are coming off a huge 33-29 victory over Wisconsin under the lights Saturday night. It was an emotional win that came down to a TD pass from freshman quarterback Braxton Miller to Devin Smith with 20 seconds left.

Now Ohio State has to prepare for Indiana, a young team that is struggling at 1-8, 0-5 in the conference.

Indiana has given up an average of 51 points per game to its last four opponents, but Ohio State can't afford to take them lightly.

"We continue to focus on ourselves," Ohio State coach Luke Fickell said. "We know that November is where the real games begin. And everybody -- we say it again, how you start isn't exactly what they remember, but how you finish is the key."

Where the Buckeyes finish remains to be seen but recent wins over Illinois and Wisconsin have given them a shot at a conference title.

Games with Purdue, Penn State and Michigan loom but first comes the Hoosiers and the Buckeyes can afford no slip-ups.

"It's about us getting better and we're going to make sure those guys understand that our preparation will match up with our performance," Fickell said. "So there will be no let-down. Got a lot better chance at being able to push, too, them when they're feeling pretty good about themselves. So I promise that will happen."

Penn State is 5-0 in the Leaders Division but if Ohio State can win out and get someone to knock off the Nittany Lions, then the Buckeyes could find themselves in the first ever Big Ten Conference championship game.

But that's a ways off and there is plenty of work to be done.

"We focus on one game at a time. We're in no place to look past anything," Fickell said. "But what we're thinking is a big part of it. And we can pound things into their head and us as coaches can do the same thing but it ultimately comes down to you controlling your mind.

"Our focus is one at a time, our focus is about us getting better and hopefully that's where we are and we'll continue to pound it into their heads."

 

 

 

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