There is one school of thought Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari must subscribe to – that people are remembered for what they do last.

When Bellisari walks off the field tomorrow against No. 12 Illinois (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten), it will be the last time the three-year starter leaves Ohio Stadium as an OSU football player.

After the Wisconsin collapse, the boos in Columbus didn’t look like they would ever evolve into “thanks for the memories.” But over the last three games Bellisari has combined to throw for 675 yards with six touchdown passes and most importantly just one interception for the No. 25 Buckeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten).

“His last 12 quarters were ones that I had always hoped for,” OSU coach Jim Tressel said. “I think what Steve wants to do is what he knows he is capable of and finish this thing out right. (To) end up being one of those darn good ones that everyone embraces when he comes back.”

With two wins the Buckeyes, at worst, clinch a Big Ten co-championship, and most likely, a Bowl Championship Series bid. It is a much different atmosphere than in October where OSU backup quarterback Scott McMullen was the most popular man on campus and a bowl bid was questionable.

While he may not be the most popular man in Columbus yet – Bellisari likes where he stands.

“It definitely feels good,” Bellisari said. “It’s nice, I’m not going to lie.”

His teammates admire the way he has taken the negative attention.

“The bashing he’s taken in the papers and the adversity and how he’s handled it is just special,” OSU safety Donnie Nickey said. “His brother (former Buckeye Greg Bellisari) helped him a lot through the whole thing. Just on what he’s done in the past.

“He just looks at the brighter side of things. You never see him walking around in the locker room with his head down,” Nickey said.

OSU cornerback Cie Grant is impressed Bellisari has not had an incident similar to the one’s Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Ryan Leaf has patented.

“Put it this way, Steve has dealt with it better than I would have dealt with it,” Grant said. “That’s why I can take my hat off to him because most guys out in that situation, they’re going to talk back to the media or do different things like that. I think Steve has dealt with the fans and everything well.”

Penn State and Minnesota were on the road where there was no home crowd to rattle the senior quarterback. After only one interception in those two games, the improved play was brought back to Columbus against Purdue.

“I don’t think it’s really me. I think it’s really more of this team,” Bellisari said. “I’ve gotten healthy. I think the lineman have gelled a little bit more and I think the receivers have gotten a little more comfortable.”

One-handed catches from receiving buddies usually help with that.

“In the past Steve had a hard time getting used to the receivers,” OSU wide receiver Chris Vance said. “As the season went on, you can see in his progressions everything is starting to come together and once he got comfortable and had some time to throw the ball and see everything around him. It gave him a lot more confidence to get the ball to play-makers that needed it. I notice a lot of difference right now.”

The one thing Bellisari’s teammates have never questioned is his leadership qualities.

“Steve is a competitor. He doesn’t want to do a lot of talking, he is all about action,” Grant said. “He’s one of those guys where he’ll talk you through his game like he has the past two weeks. Steve is a leader. I don’t care what anybody says about him. He is a guy we all look to. We’re going to keep rallying around him the way we’ve been and he’s going to keep producing.”

Nickey agreed.

“He gets knocked and he still gets back up,” Nickey said. “He’s a leader on this team and he leads by example.”