From: AP via SacramentoBee.com -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- William Buford had career-highs of 28 points and five 3-pointers as No. 2 Ohio State showed off its perimeter shooting in an 87-54 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Jared Sullinger added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-1, 1-0), who dominated the boards 49-30. Deshaun Thomas had 16 points for Ohio State, which broke the game open with a 13-0 first-half run fueled by 3-pointers. Jordan ... Read More

From: ESPN.com -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For a change, No. 2-ranked Ohio State is healthy. Big man Jared Sullinger appears to be close to being healthy for the first time in three weeks. He missed two games with back spasms, and most of another with an injured ankle. After missing a lot of conditioning drills in practice, and playing sparingly in games, he still isn't in game shape. "It is going to take him time," coach Thad Matta said before ... Read More

From: ZanesvilleTimesRecorder.com -- COLUMBUS -- Ohio State might be 12-1 and a consensus No. 2 team in the country, but it's no finished product. In fact, coach Thad Matta sees the Buckeyes as a team in progress as it enters Big Ten play tonight with Northwestern. "They're continuing to build a bond and to build togetherness. I'm always on that," Matta said. With 11 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, it's not the same team that won the Big Ten championship the past two years. "You've ... Read More

By: Bob Fisher (MansfieldNewsJournal.com) -- To say we Michigan fans are enjoying the current problems at Ohio State would be an understatement. Some OSU fans are surprised the Buckeyes got hit with a one-year bowl ban among other sanctions. Michigan fans are surprised it wasn't longer. The University of Southern California received a two-year bowl ban in 2010 because of one football player -- Reggie Bush. Ohio State had multiple players committing violations, plus a coach who knowingly played ineligible players and knowingly ... Read More

By: Kyle Vassalo (BleacherReport.com) -- Michigan fans who are buying into the notion that Ohio State losing nine scholarships over the course of the next three years and sustaining a one-year bowl ban will cause Ohio State to lose recruits are kidding themselves. Urban Meyer's effect was felt immediately at Ohio State. Five-star recruit Noah Spence signing with the Buckeyes proves that not only does Ohio State have a chance to match the level of recruiting they saw against ... Read More

By Garry Smits (Jacksonville.com) --As it turns out, an Ohio State coach will once again guide the Buckeyes in his final game in Jacksonville. But interim coach Luke Fickell won’t be leaving under the same circumstances that marked the end of Woody Hayes’ career when a punch he threw at Clemson linebacker Charlie Baumann late in the 1978 Gator Bowl resulted in Hayes’ firing the next day. “We’re going to write a new history of Ohio State in the Gator Bowl,” ... Read More

From: ESPN.com -- Ohio State probably could have gotten by this week without a banged-up Jared Sullinger. The star forward, though, doesn't want to miss any time with Big Ten play approaching. The second-ranked Buckeyes play their final non-conference game Thursday night when they meet Miami of Ohio at Nationwide Arena.Ohio State (11-1) didn't have Sullinger healthy in three of its last four games before the sophomore returned Tuesday night against Lamar. He missed a 64-35 win over Texas-Pan American ... Read More

By Kyle Meinke (annarbor.com) --Remember when Brady Hoke was last summer's recruiting darling? That is fading into a distant memory, thanks to the Big Ten's newest coach. Urban Meyer was hired at Ohio State three weeks ago, and began his tenure with such a recruiting flurry that the Buckeyes' class shot up to No. 5 in the nation this week, according to Scout. Texas remains No. 1 overall and Michigan is holding steady at No. 2 on the strength of Hoke's hot summer, which ... Read More

By: Adam Wells (BleacherReport.com) -- When Urban Meyer signed on to become Ohio State's head coach, I can't imagine that he was aware of the NCAA slapping more sanctions on the program that include a one-year bowl ban and the loss of more scholarships. But even with that setback, the Buckeyes will still rule the roost in the Big Ten. High school football players want national exposure and an opportunity to play in BCS games because it will ... Read More

By: Gregg Doyal (CBSSports.com) -- When Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith pulled Urban Meyer out of a hat, I thought he had saved his job. More to the point, I thought he should have saved his job. That was a huge hire, the perfect hire, and for being able to pull off that coup, Smith deserved to stay. Until Tuesday. And now I'm back to where I've been for the last year, wondering how the hell Gene Smith still has ... Read More