OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

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Got an Ohio State question? Send it in. Submit your question to cleveland.com/heydoug, and Plain Dealer Ohio State beat writer Doug Lesmerises will choose some to answer here in the sports section. All of Doug's answers are archived online.

Q: Hey, Doug: Who was redshirted for the Buckeyes this season? - Chris Bien, North Kingsville, Ohio

A: Hey, Chris: Unlike last season, when it happened to Ross Homan, Lawrence Wilson and Curtis Terry, there were no obvious redshirts among older players forced out by injury. In Ohio State's 19-player freshman class, 10 played: quarterback Terrelle Pryor, offensive linemen Mike Brewster, Mike Adams and J.B. Shugarts, receivers DeVier Posey and Lamaar Thomas, linebackers Etienne Sabino and Andrew Sweat, defensive lineman Keith Wells and defensive end Nathan Williams.

Continue reading "Hey, Doug! Your Ohio State questions answered" »

Thoughts from my basement on Ohio State's 73-68 win at Miami on Tuesday night.

* New strategy - get the other team's best player to hit Anthony Crater in the face. Miami was up 19-7 when leading scorer Jack McClinton was ejected for taking a swipe at Crater 10 minutes into the game. When the NCAA Tournament selection committee is considering Ohio State's road win over a ranked team three months from now, McClinton's ejection won't be a huge deal. This was a giant win for Ohio State. But you must realize the game would have been very different with McClinton in there the entire way. He had 12 points in just eight minutes.

Continue reading "Ohio State basketball: Thoughts on the Buckeyes' win at Miami" »

The BCS bowl pairings will be revealed Sunday at 8 p.m. on FOX. There's still the chance that Boise State could be chosen instead of Ohio State for a BCS bowl and send the Buckeyes to the Capital One Bowl, though I think there's a better chance of Jim Tressel hiring Charlie Weis as his new offensive coordinator.

So assuming that Ohio State will play in a BCS bowl, here's my attempt to explain why the Fiesta, Sugar and Orange Bowls all remain as possible landing spots for Ohio State. I've done it before in less detail, but when it comes to the BCS, there's usually a lot of explaining to do. But if you want to curl up into a little ball until Sunday night and just wait for the announcement, that's fine. Just stop reading now.

Ohio State could go to the:

Continue reading "Ohio State football: A full look at the Buckeyes' BCS bowl scenarios" »

This is the 10th season of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and the Big Ten is still looking for its first yearly win. The ACC holds a 56-30 edge all-time and has blown out the Big Ten 8-3 in each of the last two seasons. Could this be the year the Big Ten finally breaks through? Anyone for a Big Ten-Big Sky Challenge?

Here are the 11 games:

Monday

No. 22 Wisconsin 74, Virginia Tech 72: Was a must-win for the Big Ten if it really has a chance.

Tuesday

Ohio State at No. 22 Miami, 7, ESPN: Buckeyes are 2-5 in the Challenge, but after losing to North Carolina two straight years, at least there's a shot.

Iowa at Boston College, 7, ESPNU: 4-2 Eagles already lost to Purdue, can that count? Hawkeyes are off to 6-1 start.

Clemson at Illinois, 7:30, ESPN2: A tossup, but the Illini, playing better than expected, must pull out a battle of unbeatens.

No. 4 Duke at No. 10 Purdue, 9, ESPN: Duke is 9-0 in the history of the Challenge, but Purdue should be angry after an OT loss to Oklahoma.

Virginia at Minnesota, 9:30, ESPN2: The Big Ten needs to be up 4-2 after this game to hold out any real hope.

Continue reading "Previewing the ACC-Big Ten Challenge" »

COLUMBUS -- The last time Ohio State's basketball team was ranked, it lost to a team from Florida. That came in the 2007 national title game against the Florida Gators, when the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes ended the brief Greg Oden-Mike Conley era at Ohio State.

Though last season produced an NIT championship for Ohio State, it never produced an appearance in the top 25. So when Ohio State visits Miami Tuesday night as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, playing for conference reputation is swell. But the Buckeyes, at 3-0 and currently No. 30 in the AP poll and No. 28 in the coaches poll as part of the "others receiving votes," are playing for their own reputation first.

"I think it's a really big game for us, as long as we stay focused and come out ready to play, and hopefully it puts us in that top 25 ranking we haven't been in," junior David Lighty said.

Miami (4-1) is ranked No. 22 in the coaches poll and No. 21 in the AP. Ohio State was 3-7 against ranked opponents last season and is 15-18 against ranked opponents in the five years under coach Thad Matta.

Continue reading "Buckeyes look to prove their early-season worth in showdown vs. ACC's Miami" »

Hey, Doug: Who was redshirted for the Buckeyes this season? -- Chris Bien, North Kingsville

Hey, Chris: Unlike last season, when it happened to Ross Homan, Lawrence Wilson and Curtis Terry, there were no obvious redshirts among older players forced out by injury. In Ohio State's 19-player freshman class, nine played: quarterback Terrelle Pryor, offensive linemen Mike Brewster, Mike Adams and J.B. Shugarts, receivers DeVier Posey and Lamaar Thomas, linebackers Etienne Sabino and Andrew Sweat and defensive end Nathan Williams.

That left 10 players who redshirted, with defensive lineman Willie Mobley, receiver Jake Stoneburner and defensive back Travis Howard among those for whom injuries factored into the decision. Also saving a year of eligibility were tight end Nic DiLillo, fullback Jermil Martin, kicker Ben Buchanan, defensive backs Orhian Johnson and Zach Domicone and defensive linemen Garrett Goebel and Keith Wells did play in three games, according to Ohio State's participation chart, which is the most he could play and retain a redshirt.

Among those redshirts, Domicone and Goebel were names I heard coaches mention as players to watch for next season.

Continue reading "Hey, Doug: Doug Lesmerises answers your Ohio State questions" »

Men

Akron 85, Fairleigh Dickinson 41

Nate Linhart came off the bench to score 19 points and grab seven rebounds as the Zips (4-2) routed the Knights (0-5) in a Legends Classic game in Hackensack, N.J.

Brett McKnight and Anthony Hitchens both added 12 points for Akron, which hit 47.1 percent from the field and forced Fairleigh Dickinson to commit 22 turnovers.

The Zips, who opened the game with a 20-7 run and jumped out to a 43-23 lead at the break, was in command from the start and held double-digit leads for most of the game.

Continue reading "Local college basketball roundup" »

COLUMBUS -- Thirty-five years ago, a vote of Big Ten athletic directors infamously sent Ohio State to the Rose Bowl ahead of Michigan after their 10-10 tie on the field, breaking a conference tie in the standings that Bo Schembechler never got over.

If only the Big 12 would have resorted to something as logical as a vote of athletic directors on Sunday.

Instead, the conference playing the best football in the country this season left the determination of its potential champion up to the most convoluted system in sports. Out of other tiebreakers, the Big 12 South champion -- with Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech all tied at 11-1 and 7-1, with each going 1-1 against the others -- was determined by the team ranked highest in the BCS standings on Sunday.

That was No. 2 Oklahoma, which finished ahead of No. 3 Texas despite the Longhorns winning their head-to-head matchup on a neutral field seven weeks ago. Texas Tech, blown out by Oklahoma and a last-second winner over Texas, was No. 7.

A college conference sacrificing its sovereignty in favor of the BCS? The Big 12 would have been better off doing anything that would have kept the decision in-house -- a tiebreaker based on total points, an arm-wrestling contest between Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy, Barry Switzer flipping a coin.

Continue reading "College football Insider: Big 12 a willing victim in BCS morass" »

This week's best national games (with BCS ranking):

1. No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Florida, SEC Championship, Saturday, 4, CBS: It's the No. 3 scoring defense in the nation against the No. 3 scoring offense, and whatever the national title game is, it might have trouble living up to what will serve as a national semifinal.

2. No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 20 Missouri, Big 12 Championship, Saturday, 8, ABC: It's a rematch of last year's title game, when Missouri came in ranked No. 1 and the Sooners beat the Tigers for the second time. A Missouri upset could send Texas off the sidelines and into the national title game and send Missouri to the Fiesta Bowl to face Ohio State.

3. No. 17 Boston College vs. No. 25 Virginia Tech, ACC Championship, Saturday, 1, ABC: Winner goes to the Orange Bowl, which still could be where Ohio State lands. The Buckeyes are 3-0 against Boston College, last playing in 1995, and have never played Virginia Tech, though the Hokies are on the schedule for 2014 and 2015.

Continue reading "Doug Lesmerises looks at college football in preview/review" »

Florida always had its fun with Phil Fulmer. And then some.

One wicked Sunshine State columnist once referred to the Tennessee football coach as "the third largest free-standing structure in the state of Tennessee."

But then the opposing coach is always an easier target when the home team is having its way with him.

Alas, Kentucky has never had the pleasure.

The Phil Fulmer Era officially ended Saturday after 16 years, plus four games, and after a 28-10 win, the Tennessee football coach finished a perfect 17-0 against his final foe.

"Lasting anywhere for 17 seasons is quite an accomplishment," said Kentucky coach Rich Brooks this week, and he's right.

But when Southeastern Conference gridologists ponder the Fulmer Era, his prolonged dominance of the Cats notwithstanding, just how will his reign be remembered?

There is the national title. Select company there. Fulmer won his ring in 1998, six years after he succeeded UT legend Johnny Majors, one year after alpha quarterback Peyton Manning assumed his throne as the NFL's endorsement king.

Ironically, it was Manning's successor, Tee Martin, who led a balanced and talented UT squad to 13 straight victories, including a 23-16 Fiesta Bowl triumph over Bobby Bowden and Florida State to clinch the national championship.

Fulmer enters his final game seventh all time among SEC coaches in overall wins (151) and 12th in win percentage (.743). He snared two conference championships (1997-98), and either won or tied for seven division titles. Six times, including a stretch of five straight years (1995-99), his Vols finished in the AP's final top 10.

Yet at least two issues will keep Fulmer from being remembered as one of the all-time greats.

One is the police blotter. Fulmer's players were known for habitually falling into some sort of legal trouble or another, from assaults to drugs to DUIs. At one point, the league joke was that pepper spray could be purchased wherever officially licensed Volunteer products were sold.

In fact, some serious UT scholars contend the beginning of the end for Fulmer came in February when the coach assessed punter Dustin Colquitt's fifth alcohol-related arrest and handed out a measly four-game suspension.

Upon the school's announcement, Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist John Adams reacted by writing, "UT's leadership problem is at the top."

Oh, yeah, Adams also mentioned last year's 39-point loss to the Gators.

Which brings us to Reason No. 1 -- all that Florida fun.

Fulmer just couldn't beat Steve Spurrier -- not at first, not when it counted, not before a national audience formed the opinion Steve Superior was, indeed, superior.

Spurrier held a 7-3 record against Fulmer when the head Gator departed Gainesville for the NFL. The old nemeses have split four games since Spurrier took over at South Carolina.

Then, after Fulmer won two of three from Spurrier's successor, Ron Zook, Urban Meyer landed at The Swamp. Results reverted. Meyer is 4-0 against Tennessee, a perfect reason Fulmer no longer will be the coach there.

In fact, the Kentucky game, in a way, represents one reason Fulmer held on as long as he did. The SEC teams Tennessee should routinely beat, it did. There seemed always a November to remember in Knoxville, the month when the schedule grew softer and the win column fatter.

Even that couldn't last forever, however. Vandy beat the Vols two years ago. And now, after this season finale, Phil Fulmer is gone as well, having walked through that "T" one last time, having beaten Kentucky one more time.

COLUMBUS -- They hadn't shared the field in weeks, yet when Ohio State receiver Brian Hartline lined up against Michigan with Todd Boeckman at quarterback last weekend, their simultaneous adjustment led to a touchdown.

A receiver and quarterback thinking in tandem. It takes time, and once freshman Terrelle Pryor took over at quarterback this season, it didn't happen much.

Mark that down on the list of reasons that Ohio State's passing game should improve next year, when DeVier Posey, Pryor's classmate, should see a lot more action, and their friendship off the field can translate into yards on the field.

"It does take time," OSU receivers coach Darrell Hazell said late in the season of the quarterback-receiver connection. "You expect it to happen overnight, and it doesn't happen that way. But you're going to watch two very good players, Terrelle and DeVier, grow up together, and you're really going to like them."

Hartline, a junior, talked before this season how his connection with Boeckman had improved so much after working together in 2007, but after three games, when Boeckman went to the bench, everything was new again for Hartline and senior Brian Robiskie. By the end of the season, they'd improved, Pryor stressing how he knew Robiskie would be open on his 8-yard touchdown catch against the Wolverines.

"We've been going over that goal-line pass for the longest time," Pryor said. "We've been practicing and practicing."

Robiskie said going into the Michigan game that practice had yielded progress.

Continue reading "Ohio State receivers Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline have had to make adjustments" »