By STEVE HEMMELGARN (NewsAndSentinel.com) -

The meeting with the NCAA is still six weeks away yet (Aug. 12), but all Ohio State football fans are holding their breath, looking for the worst, but hoping for the best when it comes to sanctions to be doled out to the Buckeye football program.

Will whatever penalties the NCAA Committee on Infractions imposes on OSU affect the Buckeyes drastically in the coming season? Probably not, but it could have some dire consequences down the road for several years, especially in limiting recruiting and slashing scholarships.

But despite all the obstacles put in Ohio State’s path so far, the 2011 season may turn out to be far from the impending disaster some have forecast. There may, after Aug. 12, not be a bowl game to look forward too, but there’s still a dozen regular-season games to be played and possibly a spot in the first-ever Big Ten championship game Dec. 3 in Indianapolis.

Yes, there’s a new head coach, Luke Fickell, replacing Jim Tressel, but it’s not like he doesn’t know his way around the program, having played at OSU and coached there practically ever since. But being a head coach for the first time under these circumstances is not an ideal situation……

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