The path to Pasadena and the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 6 has been fraught with potholes and pitfalls. No one knows that better than sophomore linebacker Joshua Perry and the Ohio State football team. After being ranked fourth in the first BCS poll, the Buckeyes have been chasing the heels of Alabama, Florida State and Oregon for most of the year. Ohio State avoided slipping right before the finish line with freshman defensive back Tyvis Powell picking off a Devin Gardner two-point conversion attempt with 32 seconds left to preserve a 42-41 victory over Michigan on Nov. 30. Hours later, the Crimson Tide, the lead thoroughbred in the race, tumbled with a 34-28 loss to rival Auburn. “The Chase is On. The Chase is Real,” says Perry, quoting one of the many placards hung around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “(Being 12-0) really shows the body of work we’ve put in but it also shows that it is never over. We have to keep going.” On the bus ride home from Ann Arbor, the Buckeyes watched as they went from chasing to being the ones being chased. Top-ranked Alabama, which had won the last two national titles, sustained its first loss of the season when freshman kicker Adam Griffith missed a 57-yard field goal with a second left. Auburn’s Chris Davis fielded the miss and returned it over 100 yards for the game-winning touchdown in a 34-28 win. “Ryan (Shazier, a fellow linebacker) and I were sitting in the back of the bus and as soon as we saw it was short and we saw (Chris Davis) back up, we said ‘he’s about to crib this,’” says Perry, an Olentangy High School graduate. “That was an amazing way to end it. “The bus was rocking. But once we settled down, we realized the gravity of the moment. We have to make sure we take care of business. We have a one game season right now.” After Alabama’s fall from grace, the Buckeyes (.9503) moved into second behind Florida State (.9948) in the BCS rankings but many say they still need a convincing win over No. 10 Michigan State (11-1) in the Big Ten championship game (8:17 p.m. Dec. 7 in Indianapolis) to earn a berth in the national title game. The Spartans’ mantra this season, ironically, has been “Chase It.” “At the beginning of the year everyone is chasing something,” says Perry, who was one of the players who applied the pressure on Gardner to force the interception. “We have ‘The Chase;’ they have ‘Chase It,’ whatever IT may be. Both of us are going after something big.” Pundits have theorized the Buckeyes may not only have to beat the Spartans but do it convincingly to hold off challenges from the winner of the SEC championship game between third-ranked Auburn (11-1) and fifth-ranked Missouri (11-1) 4 p.m. Dec. 7 in Atlanta. Ohio State has the third best scoring team (48.2 points a game) among the BCS teams but putting up a lot of points on Michigan State could be difficult. The Spartans had the fourth best defense in the country, allowing only 11.8 points a game. Ohio State’s much-maligned defense wants to show pollsters it can play defense as well. “It’s kind of a pride thing,” Shazier says. “All we hear about is their defense. I want people to start talking about our defense.” Ohio State faces a challenge in stopping the Spartans offense. Michigan State is led by quarterback Connor Cook and running back Jeremy Langford. Cook completed 177 of 304 passes for 2,119 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. Langford rushed 245 times for 1,245 yards and 16 Tds. The Spartans are coached by former Buckeyes coaches Mark Dantonio, who was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator for three seasons, and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, who held the similar position at Ohio State from 2001-11. The Spartans were ranked 10th in total offense (308.2) and seventh in scoring offense (29.8) in the conference but Perry is concerned about Michigan State’s non-flashy pro-style offense. “People might think their offense is kind of simple, a pro-style offense, but they have some wrinkles in there with what they do,” Perry says. “Cook has gotten their offense to a very high level. He has command over what they do.” The Buckeyes defense, which was ranked 18th in the country, had been allowing 18.36 points a game going into the Michigan game. However the Wolverines’ passing attack shredded Ohio State. Gardner completed 32 of 47 passes for 451 yards with four touchdowns. “We didn’t play very well on the defensive side of the ball but we came away with a win,” defensive coordinator Luke Fickell says. “You have to give them credit. They caught us with some things that were very difficult for us to defend. (In the end) we made a play when we had to make a play.” After Michigan pulled within a point, Wolverines coach Brady Hoke elected to go for the two-point conversion rather than kick an extra point and decide the game in overtime. Before the snap, Perry looked over at Powell and clapped his hands. Perry locked in Gardner and Powell stepped in front of the Wolverines receiver Drew Dileo for the interception. “We kind of knew what was coming,” Perry says. “It was a play that we repped I don’t know how many times. A lot of teams have that go-to play. If you’re able to anticipate that, it definitely puts you in the position to make a play.” The play was a sigh of relief for the Buckeyes defense which gave up over 600 yards in total offense. TV announcers such as Mark May poked jabs at the porous defense. Even coach Urban Meyer says Ohio State has no chance at beating Michigan State if the defense plays like it did against the Wolverines. “From game one to game 11, (the Spartans) are the most improved offense, certainly in the Big Ten and maybe one of the most improved in America,” says Meyer, whose team defeated Michigan State 17-16 last year. “(If the defense plays like it did against Michigan) we won't win that game this time. That's just very simple. We have to play much better.” The critiques fuel Perry to play better. “You don’t tune it out,” he says. “You need to take the criticism more than you need to hear the praise. The criticism keep you grounded.” CUTLINE: