For many of the Ohio State players, the trip to Los Angeles is their first.

Even for those who were members of the squad that lost to USC in the 2008 season, this bowl game trip has presented a lot more time to play.

“It’s beautiful out here,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “It’s an opportunity you don’t usually get and we’re just enjoying it.”

Part of enjoying L.A. has been experiencing all of the famous Southern California restaurants. Team members were treated to Pink’s Hot Dog Stand in Hollywood and Lawry’s The Prime Rib, among others.

“I would have to say the steakhouse [Lawry’s] that we went to was definitely great,” sophomore running back Dan Herron said.

For quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was left behind on the trip to Lawry’s because he didn’t have dress pants, the mall has been the number one spot so far, he said.

“I went to the mall about two times,” Pryor said. “We have a mall right across the street, I go there. And then I went to the Beverly Center yesterday.”

But the sophomore quarterback hasn’t made any purchases to distract him from preparing for the game, he said.

Disneyland awes team members

As is tradition, members of both teams were treated to a day at Disneyland on Saturday.

“My favorite part … I’d have to say has been Disneyland,” freshman linebacker Adam Homan said. “It was really fun to ride the rides and just see all the different people around there and just see the culture and how people live in L.A.”

Herron said that his favorite ride at Disneyland was the Tower of Terror in the California Adventure Park, but that he also enjoyed having fun with his teammates.

“We had a lot of funny pictures and stuff so we definitely enjoyed that,” Herron said.

Christmas surprise for defensive tackle

Opposing quarterbacks rarely elude Heyward, who leads the Buckeye defense in sacks this year with 5.5.

However, on Christmas morning, Heyward’s mother succeeded in tricking the 287-pound athlete into believing that instead of a new iPod he was only getting an iPod case from Santa.

“My mom gave me this iPod case and she had told me that she was getting me a new iPod,” Heyward said. “So I’m looking around and I don’t see it. So I finally open up the box for the case and [the iPod] is in there.”

Heyward said he was surprised and laughed when his mom teased him saying, “I got you!”

Step over ‘Queer Eye,’ Pryor is the new fashion guru in town

Each day this week, Pryor has shown up with a pair of fashion glasses and a baseball hat, looking more like a hip-hop artist than a football player.

When asked why he wears the glasses, since he claimed his vision has proven to be an asset on the field, Pryor said it was simply for looks.

“Yeah, I just think they look really good,” Pryor said.

He even took some time to comment on the fashion choices of his coach, Jim Tressel, comparing him to Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who is known for wearing an Oregon visor.

“Women love Tressel, he’s got the vest on and they love it,” Pryor said. “I try to [wear a vest] sometimes but I don’t want to copy coach Tressel, that’s his thing. If I start dressing like that it’s going to be the TP Vest, I don’t want to take that from him.”

Oregon’s flashy uniforms don’t intimidate Ohio State

Ohio State and Oregon are arguably two of the most polar opposite teams, tradition-wise, in all of college football.

“They’re definitely a tradition-rich team with a long history, while we’re known for our recent teams and flashy uniforms that Nike generously provides for us,” said Oregon tight end Ed Dickson on Tuesday.

Ohio State players agreed that while it would be fun to wear their Nike jerseys from earlier in the season at Michigan, it really doesn’t matter.

“It would probably be pretty cool but we’re all here to take care of business,” Herron said. “We can’t worry about our uniforms. We came out here to win a game.”