By: AP via DallasNews.com -- Colt McCoy was sitting at an awards banquet in Orlando when he felt a breeze on the back of his neck. The Texas quarterback knew exactly what was going on. Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis was sitting behind him, blowing on his neck and whispering that he'd better get used to it because the Buckeyes All-American planned to be dogging McCoy all night when the No. 10 Buckeyes and No. 3 Longhorns meet in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland.com) -- Phoenix- Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo sounds ready if Ohio State does put quarterbacks Terrelle Pryor and Todd Boeckman on the field together in the Fiesta Bowl and Pryor winds up doing something other than throwing the ball. "If he wants to catch the ball on a slant, here we come," Orakpo said with a smile after arriving in Arizona on Monday afternoon. "That's the name of the game. We'll see." The winner of the Nagurski and Lombardi awards ... Read More

By: Carlos Holmes (SpingfieldNewsSun.com) -- Huber Heights native and Ohio State outside linebacker Marcus Freeman is looking to make a lasting impression when he suits up for the very last time as a Buckeye against the Texas Longhorns in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Monday, Jan. 5. It has been a long journey for the fifth-year linebacker who would like nothing better than to close out his collegiate career on a high note. Freeman is focused on the task at hand and ready ... Read More

By: AP via SportingNews.com -- When the talk turns to the potential of Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, people tend to reach for words to describe him. Freakishly athletic. Smart. Sprinter-fast. Gifted. Invariably, though, the best description comes down to two choice words: "young" and "Young." The best comparison for the Buckeyes' 19-year-old, 6-foot-6 freshman always ends up being Texas' Vince Young, the prototypical signal-caller with like abilities, now with the Tennessee Titans. Pryor, like Young, can do things with his feet that other ... Read More

By: Eric Graf (The Arizona Republic) -- For the third time in four years, Buckeye residents will join with Ohio State University alumni and fans to celebrate the football team's appearance in a Valley bowl game and the town's connection to the Buckeye State. "Buckeyes prescription online in Buckeye Day" will be noon to 5 p.m. Saturday in Town Park, Ninth Street and Monroe Avenue in downtown Buckeye. The 38th annual Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 5 will match the Buckeyes and the University ... Read More

By: CHUCK CARLTON (DallasNews.com) -- PHOENIX – Texas coach Mack Brown was critical Monday of a New York Times story which detailed the recruiting of prize defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland of Lufkin. McFarland chose Oklahoma over Texas, orally committing on Christmas Day. While Brown declined any comment about McFarland and his family, he questioned the fairness of the reporting. "One-sided stories usually don't make it when sources aren't checked on the other side," Brown said after Texas landed in Phoenix in preparation ... Read More

By: J. Cupps (BuckeyeCountry.net) -- COLUMBUS - The Ohio State Men's Basketball team fell in both major polls after suffering their first loss of the season to unranked West Virginia 76-48 last Saturday in Columbus. The Buckeyes started the season off unranked and slowly moved to 15th in the AP poll and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today poll before falling to the Mountaineers. With the defeat, OSU fell to 24 and 23 respectively. The unranked Iowa Hawkeyes (10-3) ... Read More

By: Jim Naveau (LimaOhio.com) -- COLOGNE, Germany - Jamar Butler's European basketball career will begin again this week, but it will be in Germany, not in Turkey as his agent said on Dec. 19. Butler, a Shawnee High School grad, arrived in Cologne, Germany, today, where he will play for the Kolen - the German spelling of Cologne - 99ers, a team in the Bundesliga, reportedly the top German professional league. "This is pretty much a better offer and a better situation for him," Butler's ... Read More

By: Jared Field (The Flint Journal) -- Freshman Anthony Crater is leaving the Ohio State men's basketball team after only 10 games, frustrated with his playing time in relief of starting point guard Jeremie Simmons and the offense's slow pace of play. Crater did not respond to a text message seeking confirmation, but his former AAU coach, Carlos Fordham of Flint, Mich., said Crater was to have received his release from his scholarship at noon today. "He felt he wasn't needed like he should ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland.com) -- COLUMBUS -- Bowl season is always the start of next season as much as the end of this one. That means the Fiesta Bowl is both a farewell to the 28 Ohio State seniors and the start of Terrelle Pryor's team. Three years ago, a dominant group that included future first-round NFL picks A.J. Hawk, Santonio Holmes, Nick Mangold, Bobby Carpenter and Donte Whitner said goodbye in Arizona and passed the torch to freshmen James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, ... Read More