Getting to Know Ohio State

Truth be told, I'm not really all that knowledgeable about Ohio State. I don't regularly watch Big-10 games, so beyond a general familiarity with star QB Terrance Prior and head coach Jim Tresvant, I'm fuzzy on a lot of their details. To remedy that, I've asked (in this case "asked" means "threw a screaming fit and demanded") our staff of interns to cancel their Christmas plans and spend their holiday break researching the Buckeyes. More reports will follow, but here are their initial findings:

* Speaking of not knowing much about an opponent, the Buckeye players know next to nothing about Arkansas (as in the team or the entire state). One of them did call out John Daly as a noted Arkansan, but that's about it.

* Ohio State has been to more BCS bowls than any other school, including six in a row. The players admit to feeling a little "spoiled" by this success - will their experience help them fight off any early game jitters, or will they come out flat?

* The Buckeye Blog talks about the need to shut down Ryan Mallett. In a possible case of misguided overconfidence, they're feeling quite good about their chances of doing so.

* What does Jim Tressel think about Arkansas and the Sugar Bowl? Our SBN counterpart, Along the Olentangy, has compiled the quotes from his press conference yesterday. The site Eleven Warriors has additional analysis.

* Everyone at OSU is well aware of that whole "0-9 against the SEC" thing.

* Last but not least, we strongly recommend checking out our "Ask a Buckeye" post from earlier this week. OSU superfan Jon Ross is standing by and ready to answer your questions, and has already shared a lot of great info.