Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
For the second consecutive week Ohio State came in at No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 11 in the Coaches' Poll. And for the second consecutive week, the Big Ten mailbag filled up with messages from frustrated Buckeyes fans. 
Why isn't Ohio State moving up in the rankings? The Buckeyes have, after all, won four consecutive games since their disastrous performance against USC.
The simplistic and partially true answer is that the voters are sick of Ohio State, particularly the AP voters (media). Despite the return of Chris "Beanie" Wells, the rise of Terrelle Pryor and several strong performances on defense, Ohio State is still fighting an uphill battle to regain the credibility it lost Sept. 13 at the L.A. Coliseum. This team shouldn't be blamed for the failures of past seasons, but Ohio State has some work to do to convince voters that it merits elite status.
A truly impressive win Saturday at Spartan Stadium certainly would help.
Whether it's right or not, the polls are all about winning and looking impressive, especially on offense. The Buckeyes have satisfied the first requirement but not the second. No offensive touchdowns at home against Purdue? A four-point lead entering the fourth quarter against Troy? Ohio State has eclipsed 35 points only once -- in the opener against FCS member Youngstown State -- and put up more than 30 points just twice in seven games.
Last year, the Buckeyes eclipsed 30 points seven times. They had nine such games in 2006 and eight in 2005. This year's team looks more like the Lloyd Carr-led Michigan squads that would rack up wins but rarely stomp on inferior opponents.
All 11 teams ahead of Ohio State in this week's AP Poll rank among the top 30 nationally in scoring offense. Ohio State is tied with Stanford for 70th in scoring (24.3 ppg).
Margin of victory is another factor. The Buckeyes' six wins have come by an average of 17 points. That's not bad, but let's look at the teams ranked just ahead of Ohio State.
No. 8 Oklahoma State (6-0) -- Six wins by average of 25.5 points.
No. 9 BYU (6-0) -- Six wins by average of 27.7 points.
No. 10 Georgia (5-1) -- Five wins by average of 19.8 points.
No. 11 Missouri (5-1) -- Five wins by average of 31.4 points.
Georgia is the closest team to Ohio State, and it has one fewer win than the Buckeyes. But the strength of the SEC helps the Bulldogs, and their ability to make the Alabama loss look closer than it actually was prevented a major tumble.
Ohio State also isn't helped by the fact that the team leading its league, Penn State, has won seven games by an average of 34.3 points with no margin less than 14 points. The Buckeyes grind out victories while the Lions dominate.
Are the two teams significantly far apart? The great thing is we'll find out Oct. 25 in Columbus. A win there should give Ohio State the poll boost it needs.
