Daily headlines, notes and errata in anticipation of the Game of the Decade of the Year.

The L.A. Times hints at some "suspense" in Chris Wells' status for Saturday night, but Beanie left no doubt where he stands physically, or at least where he thinks he stands:

Jim Tressel said today that he expects Ohio State running back Beanie Wells to play against USC on Saturday even though Wells has not taken part in a full practice since injuring his right foot against Youngstown State 10 day ago.

Tressel was happy with what he saw from Wells on the sidelines while the team practiced Monday.

"I thought Beanie ran very well yesterday," Tressel said today. "I think he ran better than I thought he might. I thing the big thing will be Tuesday and Wednesday work and will that create soreness."
[...]
Tressel said Wells told offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, "I'm ready to carry the ball 45 times on Saturday."
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Emphasis Added

Remembering the oddly Boeckman-heavy debacle in the Superdome in January, OSU fans are more than willing to lend their deep-tissue foot massage talents to the cause between every one of those carries, if that's what the situation demands -- just ask Randy how good that rubbin' feels after a long day at the office park. Ten minutes, and Beanie will never want to put on another pair of shoes again. It's their only hope.

Meanwhile, Pete Carroll spent the day fending off an awful prank caller and reminiscing about how Charlie White cost him a national championship as an Ohio State assistant in 1979. And while some game tickets may be absurdly expensive, they're starting to depreciate, on the whole, along with the expectation that Ohio State can actually make this a game.

Tale of the Tape of the Day . . .

Sweaters vs. Sweater Vests

Classy, fuzzy, old-fashioned yet timeless, conservative yet also sly, both the sweater and sweater vest can be that little knowing wink among strangers, a subtle signal to passersby that you respect tradition, and you've made peace with your place in the world -- but there's just a little bit more than meets the eye.

Still, our first obligation, as always, is to the truth, which in this case means recognizing that it is neither sweater nor vest that commands our attention: it is, after all, what's on the inside that counts. And that's pretty obvious. Advantage: Southern Cal.

Plausible Scenario of the Day. Beanie Wells roars into the Coliseum jacked on giant vats of industrial strength novacaine coursing through his extremities and carries the Buckeyes on his considerable shoulders with a big run that gets Ohio State on the board quickly. Learning from last year's mythical championship debacle, Tressel goes out of his way to ride Beanie until he collapses and take the offense out of Todd Boeckman's hands as much as possible. Terrelle Pryor adds a pair of first down runs on third down and another big scramble to set up more points. Unable to get OSU off the field, USC's offense fails to find a rhythm in the first half and, looking to get untracked with a big play, commits the disastrous turnover at the start of the third quarter that helps Ohio State go ahead by two scores. From there, the Bucks continue to play Tressel Ball, pressure an increasingly frustrated Mark Sanchez on defense and tighten the sleeper hold on a patented 23-14 slugfest.

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Photo of Wells via the Associated Press; Photos of Song Girls and Ohio State fans via US Presswire.