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 ... 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

By: Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) -- When Ohio State selected its four captains last month, left tackle Alex Boone didn't seem too disappointed to not be among them. Boone pointed out that he joked around too much to sit at the captain's table. The 6-foot-8, 312-pound senior is definitely entertaining, but he's also brutally honest, making him a media favorite. Boone didn't hold back Tuesday, ripping Ohio State fans for booing quarterback Todd Boeckman last Saturday against Troy. I spoke to Boone later that ... Read More

Courtesy: University of Minnesota -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers are 4-0 for the first time since the 2005 season. The Gophers are receiving votes in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Polls for the first time since Nov. 6, 2005. Minnesota will put its undefeated record on the line Saturday at Ohio Stadium, opening Big Ten Conference play at Ohio State. Minnesota grabbed four interceptions last week in a 37-3 rout of Florida Atlantic. The victory capped a perfect non-conference slate ... Read More

By: Todd Porter (Canton Repository) -- COLUMBUS No one doubted that Terrelle Pryor passed the eye test. Now he's passed the film test. Pryor, the big freshman with the bigger reputation, is Ohio State's starting quarterback, with no qualifiers attached. "I would call Terrelle the starting quarterback," Tressel told The Repository. "I don't know that that means 95 percent of the snaps or 65 percent, or whatever. But I would consider him that." The Buckeye offense is different than the one that started the season. ... Read More

By: AP via SportingNews.com -- MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Four cream puffs. Four victories. The easy part of the schedule is over for Minnesota. Now it's time for the rugged Big Ten, and conference play couldn't begin any tougher for the Gophers. They open this portion of the season on Saturday at No. 14 Ohio State, the three-time defending Big Ten champions. "The preseason is done for this team. We get a big test the first week," tight end Jack Simmons said. "Not ... Read More

By: Rusty Miller (StarTribune.com) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio - Tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells is likely to return for No. 14 Ohio State against Minnesota on Saturday. "It adds to our arsenal," coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday, shortly after announcing that Wells was probable for Saturday's game. Wells has been out of action since injuring his right foot early in the second half of the opening victory over Youngstown State. Dan Herron has been the tailback in victories over Ohio and Troy and a ... Read More

By: John Mullin (Chicago Tribune) -- The Big Ten's non-conference schedule typically represents shakedown opportunities. Changes made in training camps ideally are in place as teams use the games to settle on rhythms, schemes and personnel. But that hasn't been the case this year for many in the conference, including some of the supposed elite. What often is referred to as the second season finds several schools still in stages of a test drive. Ohio State begins its conference season with quarterback Terrelle Pryor ... Read More