By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland.com) -- What the USC loss to Oregon State means for Ohio State and the national title picture: * It's the first step toward BCS chaos, and that should benefit Ohio State. The team everyone had ticketed for a national title game spot just lost to an unranked team. Can Ohio State reach the national title game as a result? I still say no. The Buckeyes would need USC to lose again and the contenders in the SEC and Big ... Read More

BY: Austin Cumblad (MnDaily.com) -- He’s back. After missing three weeks with an injury to his right big toe, Ohio State’s star running back, Chris “Beanie” Wells, is scheduled to return to the field this weekend. Good news for State; bad news for Minnesota. The Gophers open their Big Ten slate Saturday at 11 a.m. C.D.T. at Ohio Stadium against the Buckeyes, who will have their most explosive player on the field for the first time since Aug. 30. Head coach Tim Brewster said he knows ... Read More

By: Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) -- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday that if starting running back Chris "Beanie" Wells made it through the practice week without any issues, he would return to the field for the Big Ten opener against Minnesota. Wells and his ailing right big toe avoided any setbacks, and he'll play for the first time since Aug. 30. "He's ready to go," Tressel said earlier today. "He needs to pass protect better, I told ... Read More

By: AP via SportingNews.com -- Fresh faces, fresh start. The 14th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes bear little resemblance to the team that was in the midst of two-a-days seven weeks ago or even the one that opened the season in late August. True freshmen now start at center and quarterback, there are new people dotting the two-deep on both offense and defense and there's a whole new way of thinking as the Buckeyes open a clean slate with Big Ten play starting this Saturday ... Read More

By: Marcus R. Fuller (TwinCities.com) -- Instead of images of himself in an NFL uniform, James Laurinaitis lay in bed at night in his Columbus, Ohio, apartment in January picturing No. 33 on the field for another year as the star middle linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He remembered the teammates who had been with him when his college career started in 2005 as a freshman playing on special teams straight out of Wayzata High School. He didn't want to say goodbye ... Read More

By: Jim Naveau (LimaOhio.com) -- COLUMBUS - Before getting his first two career interceptions last Saturday, Ohio State safety Kurt Coleman might have been wondering if it was time to get his visualization checked. Not his vision. His visualization. The OSU junior is a believer in visualizing making big plays before games. It's something his dad told him to do when he was growing up and Ohio State's coaches also recommend it. But until last Saturday against Troy, Coleman had come up empty in the ... Read More

By Sam Schechner (The Wall Street Journal) -- In Saturday's football matchup between the University of Minnesota and Ohio State, two other tough rivals are set to face each other: John McCain and Barack Obama. The Gopher-Buckeye showdown is airing on Big Ten Network, where the two candidates are regular advertisers. With a main footprint that reaches seven political battleground states, Big Ten is one of several regional sports networks that have been attracting more political ads as the campaigns jockey to reach ... Read More

By: Lloyd Vance (BlackAthlete.com) -- PHILADELPHIA -- Any talk of a quarterback tandem at Ohio State probably was smashed this weekend, as it was “Hello World” time for Buckeyes super-freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Pryor, who came to Ohio State as the nation’s number one recruit after leading Jeannette High School to Pennsylvania championships in football and basketball, not only looked the part as the Buckeyes team leader, but he was spectacular. Pryor (6-feet-6, 230) became the first true freshman to start for the ... Read More

By: AP via SportingNews.com -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The most important numbers attached to a football team make up its record. No. 14-ranked Ohio State is 3-1 in that regard. But four games into the season the Buckeyes are way, way down the list when it comes to the numbers that make up most NCAA offensive categories. They stand No. 92 in total offense, 56th in rushing and are 104th (of 119 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, or Division I-A) in passing. ... Read More

By: Tom Archdeacon (SpringfieldNewsSun.com) -- To all the so-called Ohio State fans who booed Todd Boeckman, you showed yourself to be a classless bunch. Your actions stained a day which should have been nothing but a celebration of a young talent's debut at the helm of the Buckeyes. Cheer new quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the highly acclaimed freshman. He deserved it for leading OSU past overmatched Troy 28-10 Saturday, Sept. 20. But shower Boeckman with scorn? That's a new low, even among those twisted few at OSU ... Read More