By: Michael Duchesne (The Lantern.com) -- Anything worth having is worth waiting for. That old maxim applies to both Carlos Hyde’s yearlong wait to take the field with his Ohio State football teammates and also to the wait Buckeye fans have endured to see him suit up. Because when he does suit up, Carlos Hyde is impressive indeed. At an imposing 6-feet-1-inch and 230 pounds, Hyde is the type of big, physical back that gives opposing defensive coordinators fits, as well as any defensive backs unlucky ... Read More

By: Doug DiLill (TheLantern.com) -- The Buckeyes added 19 players in the 2010 recruiting class, but none might excite the fans as much as Roderick Smith. The Big Ten is a conference that has traditionally been centered around powerful running games. With Smith, Ohio State should continue that trend. The 6-foot-3-inch, 220 pound running back from Fort Wayne, Ind. has many fans dreaming of another Chris “Beanie” Wells. Wells led the Buckeyes to two Big Ten Championships in his time as a starter at OSU, and ... Read More

Form: TheBigLead.com -- In September, when Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes lost at home to USC, Ohio State fell to a troubling 0-6 in recent years against Top 5 opponents. Tressel’s conservative play-calling and the regression of star quarterback Terrelle Pryor roiled Buckeyes fans. Some of the fears were assuaged with a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon, but it didn’t take a month before a new problem enveloped Columbus: Not only is Ohio State’s recruiting class this year down a bit – 18th ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Columbus -- There have been years when Ohio State grabbed the headlines at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, the top all-star game in the country for high school football players. Ted Ginn Jr. won the game's MVP as a future Buckeye in 2004, Beanie Wells did the same in 2006 and Terrelle Pryor, while not yet pledged to OSU, won the award in 2008 and pointed to a Buckeye leaf on his helmet during ... Read More

By: Mike Tokito (OregonLive.com) -- When Beanie Wells left Ohio State after his junior year last season, it seemed to open the door for his backup, Dan Herron, to slide into the featured runner role. But an ankle injury has kept Herron, a sophomore, from carrying the full load. That, in turn, opened the door for junior Brandon Saine. Now Ohio State goes into its Rose Bowl matchup with both ready go against Oregon. "We love the fact if those two guys are healthy, ... Read More

By: Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) -- As they do every season, Ohio State fans had plenty of burning questions about a Buckeyes running back this fall. Jaamal Berry. They wondered when Berry would see the field, how his injured hamstring was progressing and whether head coach Jim Tressel would end up redshirting the highly touted freshman from Miami. These questions peppered Tressel at his weekly news conference and filled up my inbox. As the wait for Berry continued, it was clear that many Buckeye fans had ... Read More

By: Stewart Mandel (SI.com) -- The marriage between Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor began with such promise. The nation's most gifted high school quarterback joining forces with the reigning powerhouse of the Big Ten? What could possibly go wrong? It turns out, just about everything. It's been a rough week for the Buckeyes' presumed savior. Ohio State fans are apoplectic following the sophomore's nightmarish four-turnover performance in a 26-18 loss at 1-5 Purdue last weekend. Many are ready to throw in the towel and declare ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises(Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Columbus- At some point Saturday, 248-pound Wis consin running back John Clay is going to barrel through a hole and an Ohio State linebacker like Austin Spitler (14 pounds lighter than Clay), Ross Homan (19 pounds lighter) or Brian Rolle (27 pounds lighter) is going to be waiting for him. The collision will match the Big Ten's best rushing offense against the Big Ten's best rushing defense. Or maybe collision isn't the right word. Once the nation's fifth-leading ... Read More

By: Tim Bielik (BleacherReport.com) -- With about six minutes left in Saturday's game in Ohio Stadium, Ohio State failed to convert a fourth-and-two inside the Navy red zone. Ten seconds later, a 29-14 game became 29-21. It was a shocking meltdown that ended in LB Brian Rolle's two-point conversion return to make the final score 31-27 Buckeyes. The stunned Buckeye faithful now have lost all faith that their team can beat the mighty Trojans this Saturday. Even the oddsmakers agree, making Ohio State an underdog ... Read More

By: RUSTY MILLER (AP via DaytonDailyNews.com) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jim Tressel has always wanted to see an Army-Navy game. "That's on my sports 'bucket list' to someday see that game," he said. "I've never been to it, but I've heard it's breathtaking." Seeing the Midshipmen shift gears on that lethal running attack against Army in a stadium full of dress uniforms is one thing. Tressel has no desire to see Navy put on a show on Saturday when they take on his sixth-ranked ... Read More

By: Tim Bielik (BleacherReport.com) -- Well it's been a long summer, but at last it's finally here. College football finally kicks off the 2009 season this week. It's been an offseason full of questions and unsolved mysteries for a team that has been to the BCS for the past four seasons. Ohio State welcomes the Navy Midshipmen to the Horseshoe on Saturday, a truly unorthodox opponent before the non-conference game of the year against the USC Trojans. After crushing losses, the Buckeyes have been the subject ... Read More

By: Doug Harris (MiddletownJournal.com) -- Ohio State may be a consensus top-10 team in the national polls, but don’t look for Terrelle Pryor and Co. to be there by the end of the season. I believe they’ll be held back by a problem that’s plagued the program throughout the Jim Tressel years: poor offensive line play. I’m trying to think of the last time the OSU line actually mashed an opposing defensive front — something I recall being relatively common in the 1990s. The ... Read More

By: Todd Porter (CantonRep.com) -- COLUMBUS — Boom and Zoom, that’s how Head Coach Jim Tressel started referring to them. Ohio State’s offense last year had more Boom and far less Zoom, but Brandon Saine is hoping to find his way in the Buckeye backfield more this season. The 6-foot-1, 217-pound junior from Piqua came to Ohio State with the same kind of hype as most incoming freshmen running backs do in Columbus. His nickname is “Zoom.” Dan Herron is called “Boom.” One runs fast; ... Read More