By:  Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Another week, another Saturday night thriller and for the Wisconsin Badgers, another deflating loss. No Hail Mary heartbreak this time, but Ohio State freshman quarterback Braxton Miller spoiled the Badgers' furious comeback with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith with 20 seconds remaining. Miller, who completed one pass all game Oct. 15 against Illinois, rolled to his right and released the ball just before crossing the line of scrimmage. Wisconsin's defense left Smith ... Read More

By Pat Brennan (TheLantern.com) -- Ohio State football won its first Big Ten game of the year Saturday when it upset then-No. 16 Illinois, 17-7. In the wake of victory, two OSU players who played significant roles in the contest earned individual honors. Junior defensive tackle John Simon earned several awards for his performance against the Fighting Illini, including Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Simon notched a career-high eight tackles in the game, including four tackles ... Read More

By Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Ohio State bounced back from a two-game losing streak, going on the road to beat previously undefeated and No. 16 Illinois 17-7 today. The Buckeyes did their work almost entirely on the ground, as freshman quarterback Braxton Miller didn't complete his first pass until finding tight end Jake Stoneburner for a 17-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The return of running back Dan Herron after a six-game suspension ... Read More

From AP via WashingtonPost.com-- CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Daniel Herron, who hadn’t played since the Sugar Bowl in January because of NCAA suspensions, ran for 114 yards and a touchdown in his return Saturday to lead Ohio State past No. 16 Illinois, 17-7. With true freshman Braxton Miller at quarterback, the struggling offense of Ohio State (4-3, 2-1 Big Ten) counted on Herron against Illinois (6-1, 2-1). The Buckeyes didn’t complete a pass until Miller hit Jake Stoneburner ... Read More

By Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) --Imagine what Whitney Mercilus would be doing this season with 10 full fingers? As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explained this week, the Akron native and former Garfield High School star lost about three-quarters of an inch off the top of his left index finger in a weightlifting accident six months ago, when he reached out to help a teammate losing control of his lift. Now the junior has been ripping through the ... Read More

By: Stewart Mandel (SportsIllustrated.com) -- The Big Ten certainly wouldn't be the Big Ten without all 11, er, 12 schools. This fall will mark a momentous change, as everyone from Penn State to Michigan State, Iowa to Illinois, acclimates to a world of Leaders and Legends and cross-divisional matchups, trips to Lincoln, Neb., and, for the lucky two, a December showdown in Indianapolis. But even the proudest Northwestern or Minnesota fan, even the newcomers from Nebraska, understand ... Read More

From: PostBulletin.com -- MADISON, Wis. — The face of Big Ten Conference football continues to change. Big Ten officials announced Thursday the league's football teams will begin playing a nine-game conference schedule in 2017. According to the plan: Three teams each from the Legends Division and Leaders Division will have five league home games during odd-numbered years and the three other teams from each division will have five league home games in even-numbered years. In 2017, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State from the ... Read More

By Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State lost more than two regular-season games just twice in Jim Tressel's 10 seasons in Columbus -- during his first season in 2001 and in the transition year of 2004 that helped lead to the undefeated regular season of 2006. In the final part of a three-part series of 12 questions about Ohio State football, the big picture is examined, and the guess is that it will include ... Read More

By: David P Funk (BTPowerhouse.com) -- During Thad Matta's tenure at Ohio State, the Buckeyes have been no stranger to the national recruiting rankings. Unfortunately for the rest of the Big Ten, 2011 won't be any different. Rivals ranks OSU's five-player class no. 10 in the country. ESPN has the Bucks no. 6 and Scout has them at no. 8. "Matta and his coaching staff have done a tremendous job when it comes to recruiting," Matt Barker from Buckeye Banter said. "They ... Read More

By: Bob Fortuna (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio State offered Devan Bogard a football scholarship last fall but the Glenville linebacker felt, at the time, he needed to weigh all his options. However, the senior-to-be couldn't let his longtime dream slip away, so the 6-0, 183-pounder gave the Buckeyes his oral commitment Saturday afternoon. "It's where I've always wanted to play and it's where I want to be," said Bogard, who picked OSU over Illinois, ... Read More