By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) — COLUMBUS, Ohio - Capital One Bowl representatives keep hanging around Ohio State. They were there at Purdue when the Buckeyes lost, maybe as happy as the Boilermaker fans. There were there again Saturday, and probably not to watch New Mexico State.

If the Buckeyes come up short of the Rose Bowl, the Capital One Bowl, played on Jan. 1 in Orlando, could be an excellent consolation prize for all involved.

Ohio State hasn’t played there since losing to Tennessee on Jan. 1, 1996, so the Florida folks would love to snatch up OSU fans who haven’t taken an Orlando bowl trip in 13 years. With the way the season is shaking out, this could be a chance for the Buckeyes to finally beat an SEC team in a bowl, their record currently 0-9.

The Capital One Bowl gets the second choice of both SEC and Big Ten teams after the BCS bowls, but it’s a near certainty that both Florida and Alabama, the top two SEC teams, will go to BCS bowls. That would leave the No. 3 SEC team to the Capital One, and there’s quite a drop to the third-best SEC team this season. At the moment, it looks like 7-1 LSU.

So what are the bowl prospects for Ohio State? If the Buckeyes run the table against Penn State, Iowa and Michigan, they win the Big Ten and go to the Rose Bowl for sure. If they split against Penn State and Iowa and beat Michigan, which I think is the most likely scenario, the Capital One is a very good bet.

If Ohio State beats Penn State and loses to Iowa, the Hawkeyes are off to the Rose and the Capital One would probably pick the Buckeyes ahead of Penn State. If Ohio State loses to Penn State and beats Iowa, the Hawkeyes would still go to the Rose if they don’t lose any other games, but Penn State, at 11-1, would be a very good bet to give the Big Ten a second BCS bowl bid. That would leave Ohio State, as the No. 3 Big Ten team, to the Capital One.

If the Buckeyes lose to both Penn State and Iowa to finish 8-4 and 5-3 in the conference, the Buckeyes could still end up at the Capital One. Wisconsin, at 3-2, is the only other team besides Iowa and Penn State that doesn’t have three conference losses already, and again, the Capital One Bowl should be eager to grab the Buckeyes under almost any circumstances.

And if the Buckeyes throw in a loss to Michigan? Maybe Jim Tressel would just cancel the bowl trip.

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