From: USAToday.com -- In its annual "College Football Pigskin Preview" edition, Playboy magazine has picked the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the BCS national championship over the Texas Longhorns. The magazine's preview edition, which hits newsstands on Friday, also lists its Top 25 teams (more on that below) and its annual preseason All America Team. If you are a fan of the Buckeyes, act quickly because we expect newsstands in Columbus, Ohio, to sell out rather quickly -- due to ... Read More

From: Cleveland Plain Dealer -- One of the most volatile periods in NCAA history continues, with the movement of prominent football and men's basketball programs from powerhouse conferences in the spotlight. Nebraska and Colorado will leave the Big 12: Nebraska to join the Big Ten; Colorado joining the PAC-10. A "Goodbye Big 12" vigil continues, apparently. Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are all but set to leave the league for the PAC-10, and Texas A&M might jump in, too. ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With spring football behind them and national title hopes ahead, the Ohio State Buckeyes have three months to work out and gameplan before fall practice begins. One idea for success is simple: Get the Buckeyes' best player on the field more often. Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock estimates that a year ago, Cameron Heyward played about 60 percent of the defense's snaps. He was part of a defensive line rotation that ... Read More

By: John Cupps -- COLUMBUS, OH - This week Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated came out with his preseason Top 25 football rankings  and Ohio State took the No. 3 spot.   Andy places Alabama in the No. 1 slot while Boise State came in just above the Buckeyes.   Texas and Iowa round out the top five. Now that the Buckeyes have cast the BCS bowl gorilla from their backs, it's time to work on Ohio State's personal King Kong -- the ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- WEST CHESTER, Ohio -- As soon as he decided to become a Buckeye, Christian Bryant went to work. On Tuesday, the Glenville defensive back gave his oral commitment to Ohio State and started calling Cincinnati-area linebacker Jordan Hicks, the next major in-state recruit he wanted to see join him in Columbus. Bryant said Hicks never called him back. As anticipated, Hicks announced at a news conference at West Chester Lakota West High School on Friday that ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- WEST CHESTER, Ohio - Jordan Hicks moved to Ohio from South Carolina in sixth grade, and the fact that he didn't grow up rooting for the Buckeyes was one of the reasons he didn't choose to become a Buckeye today. The top-rated football recruit in the state of Ohio, the West Chester Lakota West linebacker today announced that he plans to play at Texas, picking the Longhorns over Ohio State and Florida. Asked during ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Linebacker Jordan Hicks, rated as the No. 1 football recruit in Ohio, will announce his college choice on Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Lakota West High School outside Cincinnati. Hicks has narrowed his choices to Ohio State, Texas and Florida and the general feeling among recruiting analysts is that Hicks is headed for Texas, a school he has followed as a fan. But he would be a big get for the Buckeyes, who have a 2010 class that ... Read More

From: BleacherReport.com -- With the 2009 season The Ohio State Buckeyes are looking to continue their success into 2010. The key to a potential National Championship run lies in the hands of the most controversial Buckeye to date. The controversy doesn't lie in his abilities, or in off field behavior, but rather with each fan's personal opinion. Pryor has, in my opinion, the most pressure of any recruit in the modern era. He is compared in every way to Vince Young. Every pass, every ... Read More

By: Jim Naveau (RecoredPub.com)-- COLUMBUS — The standards have been set so high in Ohio State football that it seems like there are only two kinds of off-seasons anymore. There are the off-seasons where people talk about winning a national championship. And then there are off-seasons where people really, seriously talk about winning a national championship. Call them a Category One off-season and a Category Two off-season. With the possibility of as many as 16 starters returning from the OSU team that beat Oregon 26-17 in ... Read More

From: Cleveland Plain Dealer -- Head Coach Jim Tressel On playing in the Rose Bowl Game…“I think they are anxious to play in the Rose Bowl. They have heard about the Rose Bowl their entire lives, or at least certainly their entire playing lives. Here at Ohio State is one of the goals that you have and now they are here and they have worked extremely hard. They know they have a very, very good opponent that they are being matched up with ... Read More

By: Molly Gray (TheLantern.com) -- For the three Ohio State captains and defensive leaders, anticipation for Friday’s game is four years in the making. For Austin Spitler, Doug Worthington and Kurt Coleman, the Rose Bowl will be their last game as Buckeyes and they are ready to leave their legacy behind with a victory in one of the most historic and traditional games in all of football. “You wouldn’t want any other surroundings as your last game than the Rose Bowl and the tradition and ... Read More

From: Vindy.com -- Three conference teams are ranked, including Ohio State. Mcclatchey-tribune Big Ten basketball is back — conference games start Tuesday night with Purdue at Iowa and Penn State at Minnesota — and that leads to the annual holiday season question: How good is the Big Ten? “I think our league has done a good job, but not a great one,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “There are some games a couple teams would like to have back. There were a couple of games we surprised ... Read More

By: John Kampf (News-Herald.com) -- COLUMBUS — It's been a while since members of Ohio State's football team ended a season with smiles on their faces. With practices ramping back up this week in preparation for a Rose Bowl matchup with Oregon on New Year's Day, that is the goal — to end the season on a winning note for the first time since a 34-20 win over Notre Dame in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. "Just to go out on top and be in ... Read More