Where does Ohio State go from here?

A few numbers to ponder as college football winds its way through September:--114: The points given up by Ohio State in its last three big-time non-conference losses, the latest Saturday night's 35-3 drubbing at top-ranked Southern Cal. So where do the Buckeyes go from here? The answer is nowhere near the BCS national title game come January. Pollsters are simply going to hold OSU's no-shows on the big state vs. Florida, LSU and now USC against them until proven otherwise. Not even running the table in the lackluster Big Ten will help. And Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel may already be looking beyond this season with the increased playing time for freshman QB Terrelle Pryor, whose growing pains could open the Big Ten race up. Paging Penn State, Illinois or Wisconsin?-- 20: Bowl Championship Series teams that will travel to face non-BCS foes this year. The tally so far is closer than you might think, the BCS teams holding a slender 8-6 edge. Interesting matchups still ahead include Oregon State at No. 20 Utah Oct. 2 and Iowa State's trip to UNLV Saturday night.-- 13: Wins by USC vs. ranked non-conference opponents (including bowl games) vs. two losses over the last six-plus seasons. And no, this isn't all Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish were unranked three times over that span. The Trojans' only blemishes were to No. 2 Texas, 41-38, in the 2005 BCS national title game and 27-20 at No. 25 Kansas State in 2002. Think those UCLA alums that put up the "The football monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over," billboard in Los Angeles last month are re-thinking that one?-- 4: The Mountain West Conference's wins vs. no losses against the Pac-10 Saturday, led by BYU's 59-0 pummeling of UCLA along with TCU beating Stanford. Then there was UNLV's stinging 23-20 OT upset of No. 15 Arizona State in Tempe and New Mexico bumping off Arizona, 36-28. This further strengthens the case that the MWC is as good this year as either the ACC or Big East. Unfortunately, No. 14 BYU travels to Utah on Nov. 22 and that will remove one or the other for that coveted BCS at-large bowl bid.-- 42.6: The average points per game for Missouri in its last 19 games since late 2006. The Tigers have gone 16-3 in that stretch with QB Chase Daniel throwing 49 touchdowns vs. 12 interceptions. Fourth in the Heisman balloting last year, the senior Daniel could chase down the coveted bronze bust if defending champ Tim Tebow of Florida sees his numbers go down in the defensive-minded SEC.-- 5: The total points scored in Auburn's 3-2 win over Mississippi State Saturday night, the first D-I game to finish with that score since 1965 and the first one SEC 3-2 game ever. Scoring was so rare you might have thought you were at a Star Trek convention. No, Hurricane Ike had no effect on Starkville -- just terrific defenses overwhelming overmatched offenses. The Tigers and Bulldogs went a combined 0-for-15 on third-down conversions in the first half with MSU taking a bagel (0-for-14) for the game.-- 0: Wins vs. 12 losses for South Carolina in nationally televised CBS games after Saturday's 14-7 heartbreaker to No. 2 Georgia. Maybe the CBS cameras should show up at Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday when I-AA Wofford visits Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks.-- 93: The total yards rushing for Tennessee in its last three losses to Florida, including last year's 59-20 embarrassment in Gainesville. The No. 4 Gators visit Knoxville Saturday and the Vols (1-1) must far surpass that 93-yard barrier to even make this one competitive. A UF blowout would likely be the beginning of the end for Vols coach Phillip Fulmer, the longest tenured coach in the SEC (17 years), but also minus a league title since UT's improbable run to the national championship 10 years ago.UPSET PICK: Fresno State's near miss dropped us to 0-3 (by a combined total of 17 points no less). We'll try No. 10 Auburn's offense to recover from last week's vanishing act enough to upend No. 6 LSU, a 4-point favorite on the road, on Saturday night LINDSAY'S LOSER: Syracuse coach Greg Robinson is odds-on favorite to be the first I-A coach fired. The Orange were battered at home by Penn State, 55-13, Saturday, SU's seventh straight loss dating back to last season and their 16th in their last 19 games (11 by 20 points or mote). Robinson is now 7-31 in his fourth season, this compared to his predecessor Paul Pasqualoni, who had just one losing season in 14 seasons under the Carrier Dome.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)