By JON SPENCER
(Mansfield, Ohio) News Journal

COLUMBUS - Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel was a senior at Berea High School the last time it happened. Two members of his OSU staff weren't even born yet and a couple others were just toddlers.

Thirty-three years and 24 meetings have past since Northwestern last beat the Buckeyes in 1971. That streak is expected to continue Saturday night when the 1-3 Wildcats host 3-0 OSU in a nationally-televised, prime time affair at Ryan Field.

"That (streak) doesn't matter because if we make mistakes and turn the ball over, they're going to capitalize," wide receiver Santonio Holmes said. "Coach never puts an emphasis on how many years we've beaten one team. He tells us it's the Big Ten season, so you've got to play your hardest, regardless of who you're playing.

"I'm going to leave everything on the field so there's no doubt." During the streak, Ohio State has beaten the Cats by an average margin of 42-10. The teams didn't meet in 1995, when Northwestern won an outright Big Ten title, or in 1996, when Northwestern and OSU shared the league title, or in 2000, when the Cats last posted a winning record and shared another league crown.

"It's tradition," linebacker A.J. Hawk said of Ohio State's stranglehold in this series, "but we can't think too much about that. If we think about that we'll get lazy and complacent."

Northwestern running back Noah Herron refuses to carry the weight of a 24-game losing streak on his shoulders. But he can see how it's a psychological burden for some.

"Sometimes teams at a Northwestern or Indiana, they get caught up playing the traditions," Herron said. "The tradition of Ohio State. The tradition of Michigan. The tradition of Penn State. We're not playing those years of tradition. We're playing the 2004 Ohio State Buckeyes, so we can't look at it like we haven't beat them in 33 years. What's that matter? Thirty-three years we were unlucky, so we've got to go out and change that."

Herron could play a key role in whether or not that happens. He is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, having rushed for 362 yards and three touchdowns. The 5-11, 230-pound senior has also been an effective receiver out of the backfield, catching 12 passes.

If Northwestern has success running the ball out of its spread attack, it could be a long night for the Buckeyes. They have looked vulnerable against the run, yielding 150 yards on the ground to Marshall and 157 to North Carolina State.

Only Michigan (170) rushed for more yardage last season against the Buckeyes, nearly tripling the average output (62.3) allowed by Ohio State.

"A lot of teams we play spread it out on us and then come right back up the middle," said Hawk, one of only four returning starters on defense. "We've got to be more aware of that." Since shifting to the spread in 2000 under coach and Troy, Ohio native Randy Walker, the Cats are averaging 27 points and 418 yards - 199 rushing and 218 passing.

"If I were them, I'd be thinking, it's about time we get a win," OSU free safety Nate Salley said of this lopsided series. "I know our thought process is, we're not trying to lose. That's all part of competing."

The end of The Streak would carry special significance for the 11 Ohioans on Northwestern's roster. Seven are from the Columbus area, including starters Jeff Backes (Upper Arlington, cornerback), Ikechuku Ndukwe (Dublin Coffman, guard) and Mark Philmore (Reynoldsburg, wide receiver).

"I don't think there's any question there's an increasing number of Division 1-A players in central Ohio," Walker said. "It's a combination of a couple things - population, the incredible quality of the schools, and you're getting great coaching and investment in football."