Ohio State Ranked 20th In 2012 ESPN Preseason Poll

Ohio State is ranked 20th in the country by College Football Live's Preseason Top 25 poll. Finishing 6-7 last year under interim head coach Luke Fickell, the Buckeyes weren't ranked at all for the last few weeks. Urban Meyer was then hired and since, hope has been building that the Buckeyes can be as good as they allow themselves to be.

While OSU isn't eligible for any kind of championship, they still have the opportunity to win a lot of games to build momentum into the 2013 season.

College Football Live's 2012 Preseason Top 25:

1. USC
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Georgia
7. Florida St.
8. South Carolina
9. Arkansas
10. Michigan
11. West Virginia
12. Michigan State
13. Kansas State
14. TCU
15. Stanford
16. Wisconsin
17. Nebraska
18. Clemson
19. Virginia Tech
20. Ohio State

21. Oklahoma State
22. Texas
23. Boise State
24. Notre Dame
25. Florida

Former Ohio State Running Back Daniel "Boom" Herron Drafted By Bengals

Boom Herron is headed to the Bengals

While Daniel "Boom" Herron missed the first six games of the season in 2011, he was still able to make a big impact on the team by rushing for 678 yards, averaging 5 yards per carry (135 total carries).

Today, Boom Herron's hard work at Ohio State paid off as the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Herron in the 6th round with the 191st overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

His total career at Ohio State (4 years) he had 32 touchdowns and 2,872 yards on 593 carries. He once played backup to fellow former Buckeye Beanie Wells and also split time with backs such as Brandon Saine and Jordan Hall.

Herron was also named one of the 2011 team captains by Luke Fickell. He leaves the Buckeyes ranked eighth in TDs and was a first-team All-Big Ten performer his junior season.

Boom gets to stay in the great state of Ohio, near his friends and family. Herron will get to learn from current running back Cedric Benson has been given a opprotunity from the Bengals to come in and compete right away. I think Boom's tenacity and hard work will pay off with some minutes this fall.

This leaves Mike Brewster from Ohio State as the only other Buckeye prospect that is expected to be taken in the NFL draft this year. With the draft winding down, time is running out for Brewster who's stock fell after a lackluster senior year.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest news, updates and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

Scarlet Tops Gray 20-14 In 2012 Ohio State Spring Game

Michael Thomas making an impact early

New head coach Urban Meyer told everybody he planned to work on the passing game during Saturday’s Scarlet and Gray Game, and he wasn't joking.

What he didn’t say was the Buckeyes would be unveiling an up-tempo spread offense that left the Buckeyes working to run a new play every 25 to 30 seconds. As it turned out, it was largely entertaining even if there weren’t many points scored.

The Scarlet rallied for a 20-14 win over the Gray before an announced crowd of 81,112 on a raw 45 degree day at Ohio Stadium. (At least the rains subsided before the scrimmage began.)

Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller was 24 of 31 passing for 258 yards with an interception for the Scarlet team.

His top targets were freshman Michael Thomas (12 catches, 131 yards), Chris Fields (five catches, 72 yards) and Nick Vannett (four catches, 38 yards). Tailback Rod Smith had 46 yards on eight carries with a touchdown, while Carlos Hyde also had a TD run.

Miller said he has developed a special bond with Thomas, an early enrolling freshman who spent last fall at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy.

Gray team quarterback Kenny Guiton completed 16 of 24 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown with a critical late interception. He also rushed for a touchdown on the final play of the third quarter.

Corey “Philly” Brown had seven catches for 90 yards for the Gray.

Unprompted, Meyer shared the team’s top playmakers – excluding the quarterback position -- in his opinion.

“Right now, the top playmakers in order would be Jordan Hall, Jake Stoneburner, Carlos (Hyde) and then Philly Brown, Michael Thomas and Devin Smith,” said Meyer, who watched the entire 91-play scrimmage on the field from behind the offense. “And then we have (Jeff) Heuerman right there and (Nick) Vannett as well.”

There were no kickoffs as each series at the start of a half or after a score started on the offense’s 35-yard line. There were four 10-minute quarters. The second half was played with a running clock.

The Scarlet team had the ball to start the scrimmage and went 65 yards in eight plays to a touchdown. Miller came out firing, completing all four of his pass attempts for 51 of those yards. He hit Thomas for 11 yards, Tyrone Williams for 6, Chris Fields for 25 and Williams again for 9. Carlos Hyde did the rest, going up the middle for the 1-yard touchdown behind a block from Jack Mewhort. The Scarlet led 7-0 with 7:43 left in the first half.

Guiton then led the Gray on a prolonged drive from the 35 down to the Scarlet 19. That included 12-yard runs by Guiton and Dunn. But Guiton’s third-down pass to Brown was broken up by safety Christian Bryant. Kyle Clinton attempted a 36-yard field goal – with Meyer standing right next to the holder – but it was wide right.

The Scarlet team then drove from its own 20 down to the Gray 24. Miller hit Fields for 21 yards on a crossing route. But the drive was stymied when Miller was sacked by Adam Bellamy. Drew Basil came in and hit a 41-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 9:47 left in the second quarter.

Meyer then had Basil attempt a series of field goals that did not factor into the scoring. He was good from 41, Bellamy blocked an attempt from 45, good from 45 and 53 and short on a pair of 58-yard attempts.

The next Gray series was marred by sacks by Michael Bennett and Ryan Shazier for the Scarlet. But the Scarlet gave the ball right back as Miller overthrew Vannett and was intercepted by Gray’s Adam Griffin. Later in the half, Miller had an apparent 49-yard completion to Fields – reminiscent of his heave to Devin Smith to beat Wisconsin –negated by an offensive pass interference penalty.

The Gray took over on its own 49 after a short Scarlet punt. Aided by a personal foul on Joel Hale, the Gray had a first down at the Scarlet 28. On first down there, Guiton threw down the middle perfectly to Smith on a crossing route. He hauled it in at the 10 and deftly split a pair of defenders on his way to the 28-yard touchdown that cut the Scarlet lead to 10-7 with 37 seconds left in the half.

Miller and the Scarlet moved quickly into field goal range as he hit four straight passes – 10 yards to Thomas, 11 and 15 yards to Vannett and 14 more to Thomas – to get out of bounds at the 15 and stop the clock with six seconds left. Basil’s 32-yard field goal capped the half and put the Scarlet up 13-7 at the break.

2013 4-Star OLB Alex Anzalone Commits To Ohio State

The 11th commitment for the Buckeyes

2013 4-star linebacker Alex Anzalone made his third visit to Ohio State is less than two months and as the old saying goes, “The third time is a charm," as Anzalone has confirmed his commitment to the Buckeyes.

Anzalone was back in Columbus today for the Buckeyes’ spring game and gave Meyer the good news. He becomes the 11th commitment in the class of 2013 for Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The 6'3" and 220-pound Anzalone could play inside or on the perimeter for the Bucks. Fickell and the coaching staff will have to decide where they want him.

Anzalone has over 30 scholarship offers including Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Michigan, Stanford and UCLA before picking the Buckeyes.

Anzalone is the No. 4 prospect in Pennsylvania, the country’s No. 96 overall prospect and the No. 5 outside linebacker.

Anzalone’s commitment is not surprising, as we told you on Monday that he was attending the Buckeyes spring game, but that doesn’t lessen its importance. He is another huge grab for the Buckeyes. 

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest news, updates and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

2012 Spring Game Rosters Set For Ohio State

The Meyer era is set to unfold

The 2012 Spring Game will take place this Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Teams were selected earlier this morning and below are the results of the "draft" day that the Ohio State players and coaches held.

Team Scarlet

Head Coach – Tom Herman

Assistant Coaches – Everett Withers, Mike Vrabel, Tim Hinton

Game Captains – Zach Boren and Jack Mewhort

QBs – Braxton Miller, Justin Siems

OL – Darryl Baldwin, Reid Fragel, Marcus Hall, Eric Kramer, Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort, Tim Trummer

RBs – Carlos Hyde, Rod Smith

FB – Zach Boren

TEs – Jeff Heuerman, Derek Burkholder, Nick Vannett

WRs – Chris Fields, Frank Kangah, Ryan Ross, Evan Spencer, Michael Thomas, Tyrone Williams

DL – Michael Bennett, Logan Beougher, Chase Farris, Joel Hale, Johnathan Hankins, William McCary, J.T. Moore, Se’Von Pittman, Kharim Stephens

LBs – Connor Crowell, Storm Klein, Ryan Shazier, Stewart Smith

DBs – C.J. Barnett, Christian Bryant, Doran Grant, Zach Domicone, Travis Howard, Vincent Petrella, Ron Tanner, Julian Vann, Jamie Wood

K/P – Drew Basil, Kyle Clinton, Kevin Niehoff

LS – Bryce Haynes

Team Gray

Head Coach – Luke Fickell

Assistant Coaches – Kerry Coombs, Ed Warinner, Stan Drayton, Zach Smith

Team Captains – Etienne Sabino and John Simon

QBs – Kenny Guiton, Cardale Jones

OL – Ivon Blackman, Brian Bobek, Jacoby Boren, Tommy Brown, Taylor Decker, Andrew Norwell, Ben St. John, Antonio Underwood

RBs – Bri’onte Dunn, Jordan Hall

FB – Adam Homan

TEs – Kyle Schuck, Jake Stoneburner

WRs – Corey Brown, Peter Gwilym, Verlon Reed, Taylor Rice, Devin Smith

DL – Adam Bellamy, Dalton Britt, Chris Carter, Garrett Goebel, Steve Miller, John Simon, Nathan Williams

LBs – Curtis Grant, Ross Oltorik, Joshua Perry, Andy Reed, Luke Roberts, Etienne Sabino

DBs – Corey Brown, Adam Griffin, Orhian Johnson, Tyvis Powell, Bradley Roby, Nick Sarac

K/P – Ben Buchanan, Kyle Clinton, Russell Doup

LS – George Makridis

Top OLB Alex Anzalone To Attend Ohio State's Spring Game

Anzalone has met Meyer before

4-star linebacker Alex Anzalone attended an Ohio State junior day in February and came out of Urban Meyer’s office with a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes. Anzalone made that visit with his mother and father.

Anzalone was back in Columbus near the end of March for another Ohio State visit, this time with just his mom as his father had to work.

Three of the top schools Anzalone is considering are Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame, and all three will hold their spring game on April 21.

After visiting Penn State yesterday, Anzalone has told the media he will definitely be in Columbus next weekend. Anzalone has over 30 scholarship offers. His list includes Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford, UCLA, Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida State and Arkansas. Anzalone will probably start to narrow his list down in the near future.

The 6'3", 220-pound Anzalone could play inside or on the perimeter at the next level. Fickell has told him he could play any of the three linebacker positions at Ohio State.

He is the No. 4 prospect in Pennsylvania, the country’s No. 97 overall prospect and the No. 6 outside linebacker.

This could be a huge factor on where Anzalone ends up playing college football, as he wasn't expected to attend the OSU spring game. Now that he is, Urban is sure to be ready to pull out all of the stops for Alex. 

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest updates, news and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

4-Star Outside Linebacker David Perkins Commits To Ohio State

Perkins becomes #22

According to 247Sports, 4-star outside linebacker David Perkins has committed to Ohio State. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Perkins is ranked as the nation’s No. 16 outside linebacker and No. 177 prospect overall. Perkins did have future officials scheduled with Oregon, Illinois and California, but will no longer be taking those trips.

Perkins is the 22nd commit to Ohio State in the class of 2012 and the eighth ranked inside the Top247. He previously took an official visit to Missouri, and also held scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona, Iowa, LSU, Michigan State, North Carolina, Tennessee and Notre Dame, where he originally committed to during the summer before reopening his commitment during the season.

As a senior, Perkins earned First-Team All-State as a running back, but was also a standout defensively. He finished with 191 carries for 1,311 yards and 15 touchdowns, and also caught another 19 passes for 275 yards and three scores. On the other side of the ball, Perkins racked up 103 tackles including 24 stops for loss and seven sacks. He also forced eight fumbles, recovered five and intercepted two passes.

Perkins helped lead Washington to the class 4-A state championship game this season, and had eight tackles, with three coming for loss, a sack and a forced fumble in the loss to Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest news, updates, and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

Sitting Down With 2012 Linebacker Recruit Camren Williams

Williams is down to two schools

The 2012 recruiting class took a huge momentum shift nationally, when Urban Meyer raced into the picture for Ohio State. Enough cannot be said about how Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel continued to recruit, and recruit well. Before Meyer came onto the coaching staff, Fickell had wrapped up 9 recruits on his own, and had picked up some pretty decent players.

Once Urban stepped in though, the bar was set a couple of feet higher. Recruits are gaining interest fast, and now are taking a serious look at where they stand.

Now another recruit has joined the mix, and we didn't have to wait long to hear from another star prospect.

That prospect is Camren Williams of West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial. Williams, a 6-2/200 linebacker, is a four star recruit that is currently committed to Penn State. He the brother of current UNC offensive lineman Brennan Williams.

We talked with Camren on Tuesday night, and he gave us the latest info on his recruitment and thoughts on Ohio State.

The 2011 Ohio State Team Awards

Herron has come a long way

It was announced over the weekend that the annual team awards for the football team were given out. Daniel "Boom" Herron was the head-liner this year, getting the team's MVP status.

After leading the Buckeyes in rushing last season with 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns, Heron was suspended the first five games of the 2011 season for his involvement in the tattoos-for-memorabilia scandal.

He was suspended an additional game by the NCAA for the overpayment he received from now-dissociated booster Bobby DiGeronimo, but returned to run for 596 yards and three touchdowns over the final six games of the season. The Buckeyes won their first three games with Herron back in the lineup, including a 33-29 upset of Wisconsin in Columbus. Herron ran for 160 in that game, but Ohio State then slumped with a three-game losing streak to close out the season. They will now play in the 2011-2012 Gator Bowl, against Florida.

Here are some past MVP Award Winners:

2001: Jonathan Wells

2002: Craig Krenzel & Chris Gamble

2003: Michael Jenkins

2004: Mike Nugent

2005: A.J. Hawk

2006: Troy Smith

2007: Beanie Wells

2008: Beanie Wells

2009: Kurt Coleman

2010: Dane Sanzenbacher

Initial Gator Bowl Impressions: My Take

Chill, we got thisss

Wow, Gator Bowl against the Gators, this could get interesting. Urban Meyer’s old team against, Urban Meyer’s new team. A rematch of the 2007 National Championship, debacle!!

Let’s be honest two of the more disappointing teams in the nation this year. I have been reading a lot of people saying they have no desire to watch the game, some say the Buckeyes shouldn’t even have accepted a bowl bid. Well, to them I say: “Go Away!” (I could use much stronger language, but anyone could be reading this article).

The players, on this team, not Jim Tressel, not Terrelle Pryor earned this bowl bid. 95% of the players on this team (not exact math) had absolutely nothing to do with the penalties or infractions of the past year, they were innocent bystanders caught in an awful web of lies and deceit. They fought hard all year, won a game (Wisconsin) or two that they shouldn't have, and achieved the necessary 6 wins to become bowl eligible.

Urban Meyer Is Finally Home

Meyer is officially back in Columbus.

On a rainy afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio State got its man.

Urban Meyer was announced as the 24^th head coach of The Ohio State University at a press conference Wednesday.  After a tumultuous eleven months or so, Buckeye fans finally had a reason to smile, as Meyer said all the right things to make you believe that Ohio State football will be national title contenders again sooner rather than later.



Athletic Director Gene Smith gave an opening statement before handing the podium over to the former Bowling Green, Utah and Florida coach.  Smith said many good things about Meyer, calling him a great football coach, but more importantly, a great person.  Smith thanked Luke Fickell for all that he has done for the team, adding that Fickell will stay on the staff under Meyer.  “This is the right time,” Smith said, “for Urban Meyer to lead our football program.”

While Meyer’s name had been thrown around the Ohio State job for months, both Smith and Meyer confirmed that the first contact they had was on November 20, 2011.  They first met in person to talk about the opening on Wednesday, Nov. 23, Meyer was presented with an offer to become head coach on Sunday, Nov. 27, and he accepted the offer this morning, Nov. 28.

It's Official: Urban Meyer Accepts The Ohio State Job

The dream is a reality

Latest Update (5:15 PM): Urban Meyer is now the official Head Coach of Ohio State. Meyer assumes his position effective immediately.

Luke Fickell, who has served as Ohio State's head football coach since May, will continue to serve as the current team's head coach through any possible bowl appearance. He will remain on Coach Meyer's staff, but doesn't say if he'll have a future role.

According to Urban Meyer's agent Trace Armstrong, and Mike and Mike in the Morning, Urban Meyer, the former coach of the Florida Gators and now former ESPN analyst, has accepted the job to be Ohio State's 24th Head Coach.

This doesn't come as a huge shock to Buckeye fans, as rumors have been swirling for months that Urban Meyer was going to be named the next head coach, but this is the final period. As of now, there is not an official set contract, but the most likely scenario is a 7 year deal worth $40 million.

Ed. Note: I've decided to move all the updates up on the post, as it's getting a little bit crowded. You can read the rest of this post after the jump, while updates will stay on the front of the page. Keep it here for all the latest news and updates.


Update #1: The press conference introducing Meyer is expected to occur at OSU late this afternoon. Ohio State has still not announced that the hiring is official

Update #2: According to Rivals.com, former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops, brother of Bob Stoops who's the head coach for Oklahoma, could be announced as Ohio State's defensive coordinator in the next 48 hours.

Update #3: According to Clay Hall of ABC6/FOX28, Ohio State will be releasing official details on the Urban Meyer hiring at 11 AM EST.

Update #4: According to Dom Tiberi of 10TV, Urban Meyer will be introduced as Ohio State's 24th Head Coach today at a 5 PM EST Press Conference.

Update #5: 10TV is now reporting that Luke Fickell will be retained on Ohio State's staff. This only means that Mike Vrabel will indeed be staying at Ohio State as well. Marcus Hartman has confirmed that Mark Pantoni will be joining Urban Meyer's staff as director of football administration. To dumb this down a bit, this means that Pantoni is basically the head of recruiting, and was once referred to as Urban Meyer's right hand man. Great news for Buckeye fans.

Update #6: A Bucknuts trusted user is reporting that Florida's current strength and conditioning coach, Mickey Marotti, is coming to Columbus as well with Urban Meyer, as OSU's new Director of Operations.

Update #7: Urban Meyer will NOT be introduced as Ohio State's head coach at the Duke Basketball game, which takes place tomorrow.

Update #8: Urban Meyer is officially the head coach of Ohio State. Luke Fickell has also accepted the job as defensive coordinator.

Update #9: Contract states that it's a 6-year deal is six years, 4 million per. Retention payments of 450K, 750k and 1.2M for dates on 14, 16 and 18.

Recap: Ohio State 34 Michigan 40

The last drive wasn't enough

When people remember the 2011 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-6, 3-5), what will come to mind? That this was the first team to lose to Michigan in 7 years? Maybe they'll remember it as Braxton Miller's coming out party, where he led the Buckeyes to a 6-6 record, which would have been much worse without him. 

Perhaps the line of thinking will go towards the team that came after Jim Tressel and before Urban Meyer. Whichever way people remember it, this season was rough for OSU fans, and they most likely will try and forget it.

When OSU took the field, there was some serious energy on offense, before Braxton Miller connected with a wide open Philly Brown for the first score of the game. Better yet, it was a long pass that completed an outstanding drive, that was perhaps one of the best drives this season. The common phrase this game was "Where was this play-calling all season?". 

It seemed as if Fickell, coaching in what may be his first and last Michigan game was pulling out all the stops and kidnapping Jim Bollman's playbook for the day, to allow Braxton to actually be set free. The 18th-ranked Wolverines and first-year head coach Brady Hoke notched their first win over the arch-rival Buckeyes since 2003, prevailing 40-34 in what was by far the most entertaining Ohio State-Michigan game since the one-versus-two game in 2006. The offense's on both sides exploded, but the same could be said about the defense's.

Live Blog: Ohio State vs. #18 Michigan

The Rivalry is finally here. Ohio State hasn't had the season Buckeye fans had hoped for, but with this group of freshman, hopes are high for the coming years. Right now, nothing else matters. Urban Meyer? Psh. Luke Fickell? It's his time to leave a legacy. Go Bucks.

Join the Live Blog at 11:45 to cheer on the Buckeyes as they head to Ann Arbor.

Urban Meyer And Ohio State Have Reached A Deal

He's coming home, all smiles

According to Bill Greene of Scout.com, and our many trusted friends at Eleven Warriors and The Buckeye Battle Cry, Urban Meyer has reached a deal with Ohio State officials to make Urban Meyer the next head coach of Ohio State. It appears that the final lines will be dotted and signed after the Michigan game. The formal announcement will be coming next week, not a specific date, but it will take place.

Next week of course, the Duke basketball game is going on, so we might see an introduction at halftime of that game. All eyes are now on Michigan as it seems that we have Urban wrapped up. This could quite possibly be the best Tuesday in a long time. It started out with the commitment of Adolphus Washington, a 5-star DE, to Ohio State, and now it seems the biggest news is that Meyer will take over the Buckeyes next year.

There is nothing completely official from Ohio State University out yet, but the agreement all but points to them just waiting on a good time to announce it.

Stay tuned for the latest Urban Meyer, Recruiting, and Ohio State news.

Geno’s List Part 1: Top Ten Potential Coaching Candidates

What's in store for Ohio State?

“It is my honor to introduce to you, the next head football coach at The Ohio State University…….”

Just think, in less than two weeks, we could be hearing this sentence from Gene Smith. Scandals aside, the next coach will inherit one of the most-coveted jobs in college football and a substantial nucleus of young talent to build a successful team around.

Before I get into talking about the top ten potential coaching candidates that could be on Geno’s List, let’s take a moment to discuss the lay of the land and what we’re looking for in a candidate. Based on what we've seen so far this season from the interim regime, it’s clear we need someone head coaching experience to fill the shoes of our iconic former coach.

In addition, the next coach will have an enormous challenge mimicking the Jim Tressel-built recruiting wall in the state of Ohio. Even before The Vest’s departure, the wall was already showing some cracks with blue-chip recruits Trey DePriest, Jordan Hicks and Aundrey Walker fleeing the Buckeye state for Alabama, Texas and Southern California, respectively. Someone with Ohio ties has to be near or at the top of the list of candidates. Not to mention, they obviously have to be able to recruit in the Sun Belt states. And finally, the final criterion to evaluate the candidates is their past offensive coaching experience.

With the evolution of the college game and our annual lethargic production, we need someone with an offensive coaching background. Gone are the days of three yards and cloud of dust. If we want to be able to beat teams from other BCS conferences and our own, we have got to regularly score above 30 on a consistent basis. While I’m by no means dismissing the importance of defense, we've have got to score more points.

Therefore, I’m going to evaluate candidates based on three criteria:
1. Head Coaching experience
2. Ohio ties
3. Offensive coaching background.

Let's get on to the list after the jump.

What Should We Expect From Ohio State Against Penn State?

It's Penn State week. In previous years people would be clamoring for this game. Media demands would be huge. You would have Jim Tressel battling with Joe Paterno. The Senator verses The Legend. I think it is safe to say that things have changed over the last 12 months.


First, you have the NCAA mess at OSU.This mess was precipitated by players and worsened by the head man himself. So in late May this rivalry lost Jim Tressel to a forced resignation. Okay so we lost Tressel and Pryor, but this game could still have had the winningest coach in college football history, coaching for a division title against a young, inexperienced, seemingly talented team playing at home for the final time this season. But then, all hell broke loose at PSU. 


I don’t want to get into the scandal, we all know what happened, and now this rivalry has rightfully lost Joe Paterno on the other sideline. I can truly say that a Luke Fickell vs Tom Bradley battle does not have the same classic ring as to what could have been. Now on to the game.

Luke Fickell: Is He Done?

I do get to stay, right guys? Right? Guys?

Honest to goodness I don’t know where to start with this team. Even though I don’t know where to start I do know who to blame. Unfortunately the blame lies within the coaching staff and their decisions. Personally, I have no problems with Luke Fickell, he is a home grown Buckeye who loves this school like no other. He wants to succeed, he wants to be a winner, but he just is not ready. This is not his fault, it is not the fault of the players he has, it is the fault of the man who caused this mess. No, I am not talking about Pryor, I am not even talking about Jim Bollman. I am talking about Jim Tressel. 

We don’t know if Tressel had the plan to groom Fickell for the job, and steadily promote him over the next few years. Was he the heir apparent? God only knows. Jim Tressel resigned in disgrace (thankfully, his disgrace is nowhere in the same galaxy as the former coach of Penn State’s disgrace), and with Darell Hazel gone, Luke Fickell got thrust into the position of head coach. 

Recap: Ohio State 23, Purdue 26

Hall made some big plays

If you thought that Ohio State (6-4, 3-3) would come out fast and looking ready to go for a November to remember, you weren't the only one. Sadly, it looked as if they didn't make any progress from the close-shave against Indiana. The trip to Ross-Ade stadium again seems to give fits to Ohio State offenses, and the defense looked terrible in a 26-23 overtime loss to Purdue. The Boilermakers (5-5, 3-3) had just been coming off 2 straight losses - both in ugly fashion. First came Michigan who they lost to 36-14, and then traveled to Camp Randall where the Badgers took care of business in fashion 62-17.

Of course, those games meant nothing to Purdue. Look at their home record before this game: 4-1. Their only loss came to Notre Dame. They beat Illinois and a Minnesota team that has shown much improvement from the past couple of years. Add to the fact that the Buckeyes have some weird phobia of playing against the Boilermakers at Purdue, and that's a recipe for confidence and success for Danny Hope's squad, which is now one win away from bowl edibility. As for Ohio State, things have taken a turn for the worse since their monumental upset of then highly-ranked Wisconsin. After that game, Ohio State was just 1 game away from being in control of their own destiny on their way to a B1G CCG. All they had to worry about was winning out, but even with Braxton Miller's heroics again, this time with a 4th down roll-out that ended in a fantastic Jordan Hall catch,  the Buckeye defense couldn't come up with a stop in overtime.

Preview: #25 Ohio State vs. Purdue

Will Miller air it out this weekend?

The Ohio State Buckeyes will march into West Lafayette this weekend for a Big Ten clash with the Purdue Boilermakers, who are looking to snap a two-game losing streak.

Ohio State has won three straight games, including last weekend's 34-20 victory over Indiana which gave the Buckeyes bowl eligibility. Ohio State has pulled into second place in the Big Ten Leaders Division, two games behind from Penn State with three games remaining on the slate. Following this weekend's road trip to Purdue, Ohio State will host Penn State and travel to Michigan to close out the season. Their hope is that Penn State will fall to either Nebraska this weekend, or Wisconsin in the Nittany Lion's last regular season game, which would leap Ohio State into the B1G CCG.

Since upsetting Illinois back on October 22nd, Purdue has lost two straight, including a convincing 62-17 pounding by Wisconsin last weekend in Madison. The loss only raised the stakes for the Boilermakers heading down the stretch, as Purdue must win two of its last three games to become bowl eligible, and has Ohio State, Iowa and Indiana in their way to make the postseason. Ohio State leads the all-time series with Purdue, 38-13-2.