Jody Victor: The game last Tuesday was the first road game against an interstate rival for the Buckeyes since 1994 when Ohio State took on the Vikings Dec. 17.

With the win, Ohio State (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) 80, Cleveland State (7-4; 0-0 Horizon League) 63, the Buckeyes now are 51-10 all-time against the Horizon League and 2-1 this season. Ohio State also is now 6-1 all-time against Cleveland State.

The win for the Buckeyes is their first in the city of Cleveland since 1969. By holding Cleveland State to less than 40 percent shooting in the first half, Ohio State has held its opponents at 40 percent shooting or less in five consecutive halves.

At the helm of the Buckeyes, Matta is 38-6 in regular-season non-conference games. Ohio State has held its opponents to 70 or fewer points in 39 of its last 47 games.

Go Bucks!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: The Football Writers Association of America Team, the second longest continuously published team in college football, has been a staple of the college football scene since 1944. The 25-man team is one of the youngest, if not the youngest in history, with 15 underclassmen, including three redshirt freshmen and two sophomores, along with 10 juniors and 10 seniors.

Four schools - Arkansas, Kansas, LSU and Missouri - have two players each on the team. There are three repeat All-Americas on the team from 2006: Ohio State junior linebacker James Laurinaitis, Michigan senior offensive tackle Jake Long and Arkansas' junior running back Darren McFadden.

Also, James Laurinaitis, 2007 Butkus Award winner, and Cameron Heyward, freshman defensive end, were honored by the Sporting News Saturday. Laurinaitis was named a first-team All-American and Heyward was recognized on the freshman All-American squad.

Congratulations to all!

Go Bucks!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis was named the winner of the 2007 Butkus Award. The Butkus Award is presented by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando to the nation's top college linebacker.

"I think I was the most surprised guy in the room. It's really overwhelming. It's an honor for our whole defense, for all my teammmates and coaches. their play allows me to receive this type of attention. I can't even pick up the trophy without breaking into a smile. This is terrific."

Laurinaitis was also a repeat first-team All-America selection by the Walter Camp Football foundation. Vernon Gholston and Malcolm Jenkins both were second-team selections. The Walter Camp All-American team is selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the 119 Football Bowl subdivision schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm.

Walter Camp, "The Father of American Football," first selected an All-American teram in 1889. Camp - a former Yale University athlete and football coach - is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the n als and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation - a New Haven based all-volunteer group - was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of  selecting annually and All-American team.

Members of the 2007 Walter Camp All-American team will be honored at the organization's national awards banquet on January 12, 2008 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.

Go Bucks!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: The Buckeyes are back in the BCS National Championship game for the second-consecutive year and will take on SEC champion LSU January 7 at the Superdome in New Orleans. This is the third BCS title game appearance for the Buckeyes overall.

But unlike a year ago when Ohio State was the undisputed No. 1 team in the land, the Buckeyes needed a little help from the rest of the country to climb back into one of the top two spots in the BCS standings.

After suffering a narrow defeat to Rose Bowl-bound Illinois on the second-to-last game of its regular-season, Ohio State's chances seemed slim. Could they climb back up the BCS rankings so late in the season after the loss dropped them from No. 1 to No. 7?

Surely anything was possible in this wild and wacky 2007 college football season, where the top spot in the BCS changed hands three times in the last four weeks, six of eight different teams ranked No. 2 lost to unranked teams, and 13 Top 5 teams lost to unranked opponents.

So with all that in mind Ohio State went about its business, capturing its third-consecutive Big Ten title with a 14-3 win at Michigan on the last day of the season, and then waited. If nothing else, the Buckeyes clinched a trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl Jan.1.

Standing in front of Ohio State heading into the Michigan game were West Virginia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Oregon and LSU. But after losses by Oregon and Oklahoma that weekend, followed by LSU and Kansas losses on Thanksgiving weekend, all the Buckeyes needed was for either No.1 Missouri or No. 2 West Virginia to slip up on the last day of the regular season.

The Buckeyes got their wish. And after both teams faltered and all the smoke cleared, Ohio State and LSU were No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, in the final BCS standings.

Ohio State (11-1) led the nation in total and scoring defense in 2007, allowing 222.5 yards per contest and just 10.7 points per game. They held seven different teams to single digits and limited 11 teams to two touchdowns or less.

LSU (11-2), champion of the Southeastern Conference, is making its second appearance in the BCS title game after beating Oklahoma for the national championship in 2003 - a game also played at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Go Bucks! Go Bucks!! Go bucks!!!

Jody Victor