By: JON SPENCER (Gannett News Service) —
COLUMBUS – No. 1 Ohio State will play No. 2 Texas in the Jan. 5 Fiesta Bowl.
No, that’s not a misprint.

It’s the way the schools are positioned in the current 2009 recruiting rankings on Scout.com, with LSU, Oklahoma and Alabama rounding out the Top 5.

Ohio State’s 24-man class includes four five-star recruits: running back Jaamal Berry from Miami, Fla.; defensive end Melvin Fellows from Garfield Heights; linebacker Dorian Bell of Monroeville, Pa.; and defensive tackle Johnny Simon of Youngstown. Thirteen other verbal commitments have received four stars.

Although it’s impossible to project how the ’09 class will pan out, this much is certain: Most of the recruits will arrive with much more fanfare than linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, two of the most decorated players ever at Ohio State.

Laurinaitis, just the third three-time consensus All-American in school history, was rated a three-star recruit. So was Jenkins, this year’s Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s best defensive back.

Brian Robiskie, a senior co-captain with Laurinaitis and Jenkins, has caught 95 passes for 19 touchdowns the past two seasons. He was a two-star.

Based on their recruiting reps, some will look at this 28-man senior class, which includes 20 fifth-year players, and say it overachieved by winning drugs no prescription four straight Big Ten titles, never losing to Michigan, playing in four BCS bowl games and reaching the BCS title game twice.

A more jaundiced eye will look at the individual honors heaped on Laurinaitis and Jenkins and suggest this class, by extension. underachieved by getting embarrassed in the past two national championship games and losing its past four games to Top 10 opponents.

“It’s weird,” Jenkins said. “I know we’ve accomplished a whole bunch of stuff. The perspective of us is that we haven’t done as well as we could have with the opportunities we’ve had. This (game with Texas) is definitely one of those things to help us move into the category of ‘They were great, with all this stuff, and they did this.’ It could be the catalyst to put us up there with some of the historic teams.”

A win against third-ranked Texas, which is favored by between 8.5 and 10 points, would make 10th-ranked Ohio State 11-2 and mark the third straight year the Buckeyes have won at least 11 games, unparalleled in school history. It would also give this senior class a four-year record of 44-7, breaking the school record for wins it shares with the 1998 and 2005 classes.

“I remember looking back to my freshman year and seeing A.J. (Hawk) and Bob (Carpenter) and all the seniors up on the (Fiesta Bowl) stage, holding the trophy and kissing it, thinking to myself, ‘Man, I can’t wait until next year to get on the stage and do that.’ But I haven’t been able to,” Laurinaitis said.

“Being a senior, your class is always remembered by your last game. When you think back to that ’05 class, they went up to Michigan and won a tough game and they also beat Notre Dame and Brady Quinn (in the Fiesta Bowl). The last two years we beat Michigan, but we lost (in the BCS title games) to Florida and LSU. You’re always remembered by your last performance. It would be nice to put on a good one for ourselves and everybody.”

If recruiting services are to be treated as gospel, this senior class set a new standard for overachievement. The only five-stars in the bunch are All-Big Ten offensive tackle Alex Boone and backup safety Jamario O’Neal. If you throw in the 2004 recruiting class, which includes 13 fifth-year players on the current roster, the only five-star was Ted Ginn Jr.

He entered the NFL draft after the 41-14 spanking by Florida in the 2006 national championship game. Ginn provided the only highlight by returning the opening kickoff for a TD, but was knocked out of the game when he got hurt in the end zone celebration. Without him, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith was easy prey for the Gators.

“Troy and Ted not being able to win that last game really hurt me because they were great guys and they deserved it,” said fifth-year defensive tackle Nader Abdallah, who has played the best ball of his career in the second half of this season. “People will always remember that game. It’s pretty sad they couldn’t leave on a high note. That’s what we’re trying to prevent right now, making sure we get better from the last couple of games and carry it into this game with Texas.”

Jenkins said a win over the Longhorns, who were one play away from playing for a national championship, would be the “exclamation point” on the seniors’ legacy.

It also would ease the sting of regular-season losses to USC (35-3) and Penn State (13-6) and help regain some of the respect lost on the biggest stages during the past three years.

“We’ve lost two games this season, but I feel so thankful that a bad season here is two losses,” fifth-year senior tight end Rory Nicol said. “There are a lot of places where .500 is a winning season. It’s strange because we came in and maybe didn’t have a lot of expectations. Then, last year, we achieved a ton and had a ton of expectations and maybe you feel like (the 38-24 title game loss to LSU) was a letdown.

“In the eye of the public, I’m sure we do have to beat Texas or they’re just going to flip the script (from Big Ten champs to flops). It’s important that we win because it’s another great team and another great opportunity for us to springboard into next season.

“I think it’s really important that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

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