Knock on wood, throw salt over your shoulder and don’t step on any cracks. The Buckeyes meet the team from up north Saturday and superstitions are rampant around campus.Ohio State Athletic Director Andy Geiger, along with many other loyal Buckeye fans, is doing anything he can to contribute to the good fortune of the 1996 Rose Bowl- bound Buckeyes.Geiger even knows what a lucky buckeye is. ‘Do I know?’ he said with a grin as he pulled three lucky buckeyes from his pocket. Geiger carries his buckeyes with him every day, but that’s not all he does to ensure that lady luck smiles on OSU.Geiger wears the same hat, blazer, tie, pants and shoes to every football game. ‘I try to do the same thing every time,’ he said. Geiger also shakes hands with every OSU football coach on the field before each game. Other members of OSU’s athletic department are trying to bring a little extra luck to the Buckeyes as well. ‘We always sit in the same seats on the charter plane to away games,’ said Associate Athletic Director Tom Hof. ‘We were nervous last week because the seats were different.’ Jim Smith, marketing director for the athletic department, eats half of a stick doughnut with maple icing before every game. Smith said it started as a coincidence when he did it before the games against Rice and Pittsburgh.’It became a joke,’ he said. ‘When I forgot for the Notre Dame game, it ended up on my desk.’Smith said it’s more of a ritual than a superstition, but he’ll be sure to eat another doughnut this weekend just to ease the minds of the more superstitious Buckeye fans. ‘Nobody is going to let me forget,’ he said.OSU President E. Gordon Gee is also doing his best to contribute to the good luck of the Buckeyes. ‘I wear basically the same clothes to every game,’ Gee said. ‘I always wear the same pants.’ Gee doesn’t have a lucky bow tie, but he does have several scarlet and gray ties he wears on game days.Stacey Kurfiss, a senior band member majoring in psychology and communications, said the marching band has many superstitions.’Everybody pretty much carries something in their pocket during games,’ she said. ‘Most people carry a lucky buckeye that they’ve had since tryouts.’Kurfiss said each row also has a lucky mascot. A stuffed banana that says ‘Beat Blue’ is the mascot for the J through I rows, or the tubas. Kurfiss said each row’s mascot is sacred to them and nobody else is supposed to touch it.’Every time C row’s mascot has been stolen by other people in the band, the team lost,’ she said.Although Kurfiss doesn’t have a lucky charm of her own, she does have an unlucky buckeye necklace.’I got it when we got shut out by Michigan three years ago,’ she said. ‘I took it to the game at Purdue this year, but I had to take it off when we were down by 14 in the first quarter. I don’t even touch it anymore.’ ‘The Neutron Man,’ one of OSU’s biggest fans, has a buckeye necklace that he rubs for good luck.’The biggest thing is my hat…and I’ve worn jersey number 92 for every game this year,’ he said.OSU sophomore Mike Lewis has all the bases covered when it comes to superstition. He always wears the same hat and tries to do the same thing every game day.’Earlier in the season, I actually had a typed itinerary,’ he said.Lewis also said he will never go back to Ann Arbor. He said since OSU lost both times he traveled to watch the Buckeyes battle the Wolverines, it must not be lucky for him to be there.So what do the players and coaches think of all this superstition?’A lot of the coaches and players have superstitions,’ said Larry Petroff, special assistant for football operations. Petroff said he tries to do the same thing every week.’See this warm-up (suit)?’ he said, ‘I wear this warm-up every Monday.’Although many OSU fans have some sort of lucky charm or ritual to bring luck to the Buckeyes, they are well aware that the reason for the Buckeyes great season lies in the talent and strength of the team. ‘It doesn’t have to do with anything but peace of mind,’ Geiger said. ‘Everybody does their best to bring the team good luck.’