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

From: BigTen.org -- Seven Big Ten teams were selected to participate in the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin will represent the conference in this year's tournament. Ohio State, also the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Champion, is the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament and the top seed in the East Region and will start at the Cleveland, Ohio second/third round site. The ... Read More

By: Blake Williams (TheLantern.com) -- INDIANAPOLIS — After sneaking past Northwestern, 67-61, in overtime Friday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Ohio State men's basketball team will play Michigan on Saturday. The Buckeyes needed an Evan Turner buzzer-beater from just inside halfcourt to top the Wolverines in the 2010 tournament. With the No. 4-seeded Wolverines' (20-12) 60-55 win against Illinois on Friday, Michigan coach John Beilein said his team is playing its best basketball late in the ... Read More

By Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) --  The Big Ten hasn't quite reached the SEC/ACC level when it comes to paying assistant coaches, but several schools are willing to shell out the big bucks for top aides. How much will it cost to fix Michigan's porous defense? The Wolverines hope the $750,000 salary paid to new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will do the trick. Mattison, whose two-year contract was obtained by the Associated Press, has become the Big Ten's highest-paid assistant. The veteran ... Read More