toledoblade.com --

COLUMBUS - The Ohio State Buckeyes leap-frogged from a No. 8 ranking to No. 4 in the country a day after beating lowly Minnesota 30-7 on Saturday night.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, aware that the move up the ladder came about due to upset losses by other ranked teams, and was not due to style points earned in his team's win over the Golden Gophers, said the rankings are a non-issue at this point.

"We're a young team, but I would like to think that we're mature enough to think that on October second, where you're ranked doesn't really have much credence," Tressel said. "Hopefully, they'll stay focused on the task at hand as to what we need to get better at, and I think they will."

Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) has a showdown with unbeaten, No. 23 Purdue (5-0, 1-0) Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Boilermakers are the first ranked team the Buckeyes will face this season. In six seasons under Tressel, Ohio State is 25-9 overall against ranked teams, including 5-4 on the road.

Tressel said the losses by ranked teams over the past weekend did not surprise him, since most games are competitive.

"I think there's lots of parity," Tressel said. "I don't know if there's more this year or last year or whatever it happens to be, but you better be ready to play. But the nice thing is, if you prepare and you do the things it takes to win, it doesn't matter if you're the favored or the underdog, you need to be prepared to win."

Tressel said there have been so many "so-called" upsets over the years that he is no longer taken aback by the results such as the ones last weekend.

"You know what, I'm old and patient and nothing surprises me," Tressel said.

Due to the Big Ten schedule rotation, Ohio State has not played Purdue since the 2004 season, but junior linebacker Marcus Freeman said the Buckeyes know this opponent pretty well. Purdue is among the leaders nationally in scoring (45.4 points per game) and total
offense (495.8 yards per game).

"Seeing them on film, they're a very talented offense," Freeman said. "They're somebody that we're going to have to be prepared for and study extra hard this week to try and contain their offense. We have a lot of their stats and rankings. We're aware of how good they are."

Ohio State junior wide receiver Brian Robiskie, who leads the Big Ten with 106 receiving yards per game and has 25 catches this season, said the Buckeyes are not fazed by the rankings, since they are aware that a loss will change things dramatically.

"I don't think our high ranking affects how we look at ourselves as a team," Robiskie said. "We know we have a lot more to accomplish. It feels good to be recognized, but we want to end up near the top of the polls. If we lose on Saturday, it will all be for nothing."

The Buckeyes did receive one first-place vote in the most recent poll, but Tressel was not entertaining thoughts of this year's Ohio State team deserving such recognition - at least not yet.

"We've got a long way to go if we're going to be the best team in the nation," he said.

SAINE'S STATUS: Freshman tailback Brandon Saine, who has missed the past two games with an injury, could play this weekend against Purdue. Saine, who is third on the team in rushing with 153 yards in 28 carries, is one of the fastest Buckeyes, and Tressel said Saine's condition has improved significantly.

"I mentioned yesterday that Brandon probably wouldn't go, but you know what, I'm not sure that's true," Tressel said.

"The medical report today came back that he actually did full speed land running after the rehab in the water - he did that last week - and all of a sudden yesterday he was on land running full speed, which is pretty fast. So I think you would call him questionable right now. It will be the doctors and the trainers that will make that decision."

Contact Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6510.

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