Ohio State has overwhelmingly convinced almost every human they are college football’s top team.

Just not the computers. While 125 of the possible 128 first place votes in the USA Today and Associated Press polls belong to the Buckeyes, four of the six computer polls – which make up one-third of the Bowl Championship Series rankings – think otherwise.

Only on the Richard Billingsley list did OSU find itself No. 1. They were No. 2 behind Southern California in the Jeff Sagarin, Colley Matrix and Anderson and Hester polls. In the Kenneth R. Massey poll, both USC and Florida are ahead of the Buckeyes.

Dr. Peter Wolfe’s first rankings will be released Sunday.

How can this be? The main factor is strength of schedule, which unanimously favors USC. Though OSU endured what many considered the nation’s toughest early season slate, USC has three top-25 wins to OSU’s two. At least according to the Colley Matrix poll, USC has the country’s fifth most difficult schedule while OSU’s is 15th.

Whatever the reasoning, the initial release of the BCS standings Monday may be a little more interesting than first thought.

Patterson out, Barton ready

OSU defensive tackle David Patterson will likely be out for the next two weeks after reportedly undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday.

One of the nation’s top interior lineman, the senior captain sprained his MCL (knee) during the second quarter of Saturday’s win over Bowling Green and did not return.

Patterson pleaded with the medical staff to let him back on the field, but caution prevailed. His mother, Leesa, told The Plain Dealer Patterson underwent surgery on his right knee Tuesday. And though Tressel said he expects Patterson to return for next week’s game against Indiana, the tackle’s mother said the plan is to have her son at full strength for the Oct. 28 game against Minnesota.

Senior Joel Penton will get his first career start Saturday with red-shirt freshman Todd Denlinger and Doug Worthington seeing time in the inside rotation, Tressel said.

Also on the injury front, tackle Kirk Barton should be ready to go Saturday.

The junior left Saturday’s game during the first series with a sprained foot and missed Tuesday’s practice, but Tressel said they are “expecting him to be full speed (by Saturday).”

Smith honored

There is a place, free from the confines of coaching, where Troy Smith can satisfy his desire to throw on every down. To throw 50, 60 or 70 passes a game.

“That’s what I do on my video game at home,” Smith said. “That’s a dream, that’s a video game. But that’s not football.”

A few more passes called couldn’t hurt, though. Smith, who went 17 for 20 with three touchdowns on Saturday to win his second Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors, finds himself atop the list of the conference’s career passing efficiency leaders.

And he doesn’t look to drop anytime soon. His 158.2 career rating is rivaled only by former OSU quarterback Joe Germaine’s 151 rating, who is second on the all-time list.

Shut out for Indiana?

Fans may want to think twice about selling next week’s Indiana tickets. A seat at Ohio Stadium could be the only way to see the Oct. 21 game.

ESPN-U, an ESPN subsidiary not carried by most cable providers, owns the game’s exclusive rights. This marks the first time a televised OSU football game will not be available to a majority of local residents.

In past years, OSU games not picked up by ABC or ESPN have been shown on ESPN-Plus as part of the company’s Gameplan package. WBNS Columbus has the rights to air these games, but has been denied the Indiana game as ESPN is clearly using this game as leverage to induce more cable providers to carry ESPN-U.

Hairy situation

On one side of sports’ tonsorial extremes are the New York Yankees and their grooming tyrant of a boss.

Then there is OSU football, what with the flowing locks in vogue with last year’s bunch and now T.J. Downing’s mohawk.

Where exactly is the order here?

“Our hair rule is it (needs to be) well groomed – and we flunked that one last year, not that I didn’t try – and your facial hair needs to be lined up,” Tressel said, smiling. “They tell me that what we had last year was fashionable, but I don’t know.”

The coach then turned to former OSU coach Earle Bruce, who sat in on Tressel’s press conference, and asked if he would have allowed last year’s hair.

“I’m not going to say,” Bruce said with a laugh.