COLUMBUS -- With no games against winning teams for the next three weeks, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said it's time for his team to improve.

''Sometimes in big games against big opponents, you get so caught up in the moment that you don't improve. Or all of a sudden you (start) relishing the nice things that are said about you,'' he said. ''Improvement is an issue of focus and an issue of 'I know that's what I need to do.' It doesn't really matter who you're playing.''

The sixth-ranked Buckeyes (4-0) will try to focus on Indiana (2-2) this Saturday a lot more than they did on Cincinnati a week ago. They barely escaped with a 23-19 victory, weathering a last-minute storm as the Bearcats threw four passes into the end zone from the Ohio State 15. Three were incomplete -- actually, two were dropped -- and the last was intercepted by the Buckeyes' Will Allen.

Even though Indiana hasn't been a Big Ten contender since the 1960s, the Buckeyes are on high alert.

''This is our conference,'' tailback Lydell Ross said. ''This is important, winning games in your conference. We can't underestimate any team. We have to be more prepared.''

Ross likely will get most of the work at tailback as Maurice Clarett recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery last week. Clarett didn't play against the Bearcats, while Ross had 130 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Ohio State looked flat despite Ross' career-best performance. Tressel said his team wasn't focused, which makes the Buckeyes particularly diligent to not let it happen again.

''We're still keying and focused on Indiana,'' defensive end Will Smith said. ''We've just got to go out and play hard. We just didn't come out as hard as we usually come out (against Cincinnati). We made some key mistakes and missed tackles and they got some big plays out of them because they were playing hard.''

Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo has different problems heading into his team's conference debut.

''When you think about these guys, they've never had a winning season,'' DiNardo said of the Indiana veterans.

As a result, he will have as many freshman starting (8) as he does juniors (1) and seniors (7). Fresh faces mean a fresh attitude, DiNardo believes.

The influx of new players has produced some encouraging signs. Last week against Central Michigan, the Hoosiers (2-2) were down 29-16 early in the second half and then fumbled the ball away. Yet they rallied for a 39-29 victory.

''I think the kids are hanging in there,'' DiNardo said. ''The fact that our kids didn't go in the tank is what won the game.''

With just 55 scholarship players available, DiNardo shortened practices and cut down on contact during workouts this week. The Hoosiers lost two of their best defensive players to injury last week, safety Joe Gonzalez (hernia) and end Derek Barnett (broken ankle).

Indiana will go with Gibran Hamdan at quarterback for the third game in a row. But he has completed just 46 percent of his passes and has twice as many interceptions (6) as touchdown passes.

''I've never been to Ohio State,'' said Hamdan, a senior who had seen most of his playing time as a holder before two weeks ago. ''I went to Kentucky as freshman and I thought it was loud there, and I thought it was loud at Kentucky this year, too.''

If it was loud before 70,000 at Kentucky, how much louder will 100,000 fans at Ohio State be?

DiNardo doesn't seem to be worried.

''I would say that my first Big Ten game will be very traditional in that the crowd is going to be very much into it, it's going to be a very physical football team, and this particular team makes a living running the football,'' said DiNardo, who headed rebuilding projects at Vanderbilt and LSU. ''Those things are all pretty traditional about the Big Ten.''