Buckeyes trying to avoid deja vu all over again

"Everyone was kind of saying Michigan-Ohio State was the championship," Laurinaitis said. "I think we thought we already had the best team. Going into that game, we didn't have the same focus and drive."

You want to look for excuses but there aren't any. If Ohio State thought that beating Michigan was enough (42-39 in a thriller), that's a symptom of that old Big Ten arrogance. The conference isn't doing itself any favors so far this bowl season. It is 3-4 in bowls overall; 1-1 against the SEC (Tennessee beat Wisconsin and Michigan beat Florida).

Monday night has to become personal, then, doesn't it? Coming into this season, the SEC had won more than 58 percent of the head-to-head battles with the Big Ten. If they want the stereotype to end, do something about it. Michigan did.

"The 0-8 is a huge hurdle we have to get over," Hartline said.

The 51-day layoff last season between the Michigan game and the Florida game didn't help. Neither did getting to the desert two weeks early, during which Tressel said the team wasn't "razor sharp." But that's where coaches come in. They have to keep players sharp, especially when so much is on the line.

Offensive tackle Alex Boone at least owned it. On the bus on the way back from airport, he stood up and re-committed himself to getting back to the championship game.

"I was pissed," he said. "You come back and you're hoping to see all these fans and nobody's there. Nobody walks to talk to you. Nobody wants to be your friend. A lot of people called me after the game and cursed me out. They were my friends. Your good friends tell you the truth."

A DVD was assembled by the coaching staff and distributed during the Christmas break. It is meant to motivate and embarrass. It contained video clips of various talking heads criticizing the Buckeyes. Boone's "Nana", grandma Noreen, was so upset at the contents that she began screaming at the TV. So where are the Bucks' heads at now?

"What are you supposed to do after you get beat like that?" offensive coordinator Jim Bollman countered. "Do you hide your head in the sand or get back to work?"

Sounds good this week but the truth is Ohio State fell flat again. Have we forgotten Nov. 10? The Bucks seemingly blew their second straight chance at a national championship that day with a home loss to unranked Illinois. In this season of the upset, though, the Buckeyes founds themselves back at No. 1 for the second time this season three weeks later. Both No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia lost on the last night of the season, turning the Buckeyes into Luckeyes once again.

"The simple fact is, prayer works," defensive end Doug Worthington said. "God works in mysterious ways. He wanted us at this game again because we deserve it."

Deserve it?

How about proving it?