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COLUMBUS — For the Ohio State football team to keep hopes of returning to the national championship game, the Buckeyes will need some positive vibes from the first Bowl Championship Series standings.

The initial BCS list will be released Sunday, but fans can't always predict placement based on rankings in the Associated Press poll. Last season, Ohio State opened the BCS at No. 1 and stayed there until the national championship game. Florida, which became the Buckeyes' opponent, started No. 6 in the BCS poll even though the Gators were ranked ninth by the writers.

Despite complaints by playoff supporters, OSU coach Jim Tressel said the BCS system has worked for college football.

"I think the time at which the BCS ratings come out is probably a good time for a first poll," Tressel said. "It's probably better and it will be more accurate than the poll that comes out in August. I know it won't sell magazines in August if we don't have a poll and all that stuff, but I think it's the right time. And I know back when we were in (Division) I-AA (at Youngstown State), the poll didn't come out until they announced who was in the playoffs, so you were always kind of hoping you were going to be in that group."

Ohio State is 6-0 heading into Saturday's game against Kent State. It has proven that undefeated teams usually enter the national championship game while one-loss squads need some help.

To win the Big Ten and head to New Orleans on Jan. 7, Ohio State needs to keep piling on wins.

"I think the BCS has been as successful as anything you could possibly have," Tressel said. "We've been doing it for, what, 10 years now maybe? Thereabouts. And there have been some moments where you thought, well, 'This team maybe should have been in the top two,' and they ended up third or whatever.

"But we had that in I-AA where they picked 16 and we were mad one time we were 17th. I swear we would have won it that year."

Crazy BCS?

There are always some surprises when the first Bowl Championship Series poll is released. This year's initial BCS rankings will be announced Sunday. How different was the first BCS poll and AP ranking last year?
AP	BCS
1. Ohio State	1. Ohio State
2. Michigan	2. USC
3. USC	3. Michigan
4. W.Va.	4. Auburn
5. Texas	5. W.Va.
6. Louisville	6. Florida
7. Tennessee	7. Louisville
8. Auburn	8. Notre Dame
9. Florida	9. Texas
10. Not. Dame	10. California