Final	1	2	3	4	-	T
PURDUE	0	0	3	0	-	3
OHIO STATE	10	3	0	3	-	16
SCORING SUMMARY
OSU: 1st QTR - Etienne Sabino 20-yard blocked punt return (Ryan Pretorius made PAT)
OSU: 1st QTR - Ryan Pretorius 24-yard FG
OSU: 2nd QTR - Aaron Pettrey 49-yard FG
PUR: 3rd QTR - Carson Wiggs 53-yard FG
OSU: 4th QTR - Ryan Pretorius 22-yard FG

Tags: Live Events // Add Comment »

BUCKEYES vs. BOILERMAKERS

No. 12/11 Ohio State (5-1, 2-0) vs. Purdue (2-3, 0-1)

Date: Saturday, October 11

Time: 3:30 PM ET

Place: Ohio Stadium - capacity 101,568

TV: ABC will televise the game. Ron Franklin will call the play-by-play with analysis from Ed Cunningham. Jack Arute is the sideline reporter.

Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 The Fan in Columbus is the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State Radio Network. The Jim Tressel Pregame Show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. “Big Daddy” Paul Keels will call the play-by-play and will be assisted by former Buckeye Jim Lachey in the booth and Marty Bannister on the sidelines.

Weather from AccuWeather.com: Sunny skies and a game time temperature of 77 degrees.

Latest Line: Ohio State is an 18 1/2-point favorite. The Over & Under is 45.

Series History: This is the 51st meeting between the two schools. Ohio State owns a 36-12-2 record against Purdue.

Last Season: Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter, one to Ray Small and another to Brian Hartline, and the staunch Buckeye defense shutout the 23rd-ranked Purdue Boilermakers for 59 minutes and 50 seconds to claim a 23-7 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium. Boeckman finished with 200 yards on 17-of-29 passing, with two scores, but a career-high three interceptions. The law firm of Wells & Wells combined for 159 yards on 33 carries. Brandon Saine, playing in his first game since arthroscopic knee surgery following the Northwestern game, has 21 yards on six rushing attempts. The Ohio State defense held Purdue to just 272 yards of total offense, with just four of those coming on the ground.

Analysis and Prediction: So is Purdue’s defense not as bad as I thought, or did Penn State just have an off-day last Saturday when the Nittany Lions went into Ross-Ade Satdium in West Lafayette and walked out with a 20-6 win? I think I may be a combination of both, thought you can add that I don’t think Penn State is all that great. Purdue got off to an easy start to begin the season, facing FCS-member (Division I-AA) Northern Colorado, a team that went 1-11 in 2007 and won 42-10. Week two was a much tougher challenge for the Boilermakers, facing then-16th ranked Oregon in West Lafayette, losing to the Ducks 32-26 in two overtimes. The following week, Sheets broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run with a minute left in the game to lift Purdue to a 32-25 victory over Central Michigan, as the Boilermakers narrowly avoided a huge upset. Week four had the Boilermakers traveling to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where Purdue was handed a 38-21 defeat. Then last week against Penn State, Purdue’s defense played much better holding the Nittany Lions to just 20 points, but offensively the Boilermakers struggled to put any crooked numbers on the scoreboard and lost 20-6. Playing at home with Terrelle Pryor getting more comfortable and a lot more confident as the starting quarterback, I think the Buckeyes will have a feast day on the Boilermaker defense. Offensively, Purdue managed to get just 224 yards of total offense, with 83 of those yards coming on the ground against Penn State. They will have an even harder time moving the ball gainst the Buckeyes. Ohio State 34, Purdue 10

Tags: Buckeye Football, Football Friday // 1 Comment »

Right: Ohio State’s men’s hockey coach John Markell prefers to stand during games because his seat is too hot.
Jim Davidson/The-OZone.net Photo

If there was one Buckeye coach with his cheeks firmly planted on the hot seat, it would be Ohio State’s men’s hockey coach, John Markell.

Markell is entering his 14th season as head coach, and since the 1995-96 season, he has guided the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament five times, marking the only appearances in the program’s history which included a Frozen Four berth in 1998.

But the problem is under Markell, Ohio State is coming off their third-straight losing campaign and their worst since the 96-97 season. Last year, the Buckeyes finished 11th out of 12 teams in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) with a record of 7-18-3, and were 12-25-4 overall.

Could you imagine Jim Tressel sticking around if the football Buckeyes had three-straight losing seasons?

The CCHA held its annual media day two weeks ago and the league announced the annual preseason polls. Notre Dame was picked first by the coaches, followed by Michigan and Miami, with Ohio State ranked seventh. The media selected the Wolverines as the conference favorite, followed by the Irish and Michigan State, and ranked the Buckeyes ninth.

Just four years ago, Ohio State was 27-11-4 and finished second in the CCHA with a record of 21-5-2, the Buckeyes’ highest finish in more than 20 years. The 27 wins tied for the second-most in program history and helped the team reach the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year. Ohio State’s win over Michigan State in the CCHA Super Six semifinals put the team in the tournament’s title game for a second year in a row.

That was then, this is now.

The 26-player Ohio State roster is dominated by underclassmen. The squad includes just three seniors and two juniors, who are joined by 13 sophomores and eight freshmen. Last year, at least nine freshmen were regularly in the Ohio State lineup each game.

Peter Boyd, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound sophomore forward, is the Buckeyes’ top returning scorer with 24 points last season. Boyd is also the top returning goal scorer with 6-foot-1, 190-pound sophomore forward Kyle Reed with 10.

Ohio State’s top returning assists leader is 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward John Albert, who had 17 helpers during the 2007-08 campaign.

Along the blue line, the top returning defensemen are 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior Nick Biondo (4 G, 6 A), and 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore Shane Sims (1 G, 10 A) .

Hard-hitting 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior forward Zach Pelletier returns after sitting out all of last season with an ankle injury that required surgery.

Between the pipes, 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior goaltender Joseph Palmer returns after playing in 34 games last season. He had a goals against average of 3.12, a save percentage of .888, and a record of 10-19-4 during the 2007-08 season.

Top newcomers include 6-foot-1, 175-pound freshman forward Zac Dalpe, who was the 45th overall pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2008 NHL draft, the highest Buckeye draftee since Tom Fritsche went 47th in 2005. Others include 6-foot, 180-pound forward Taylor Stefishen, a fifth-round (136th overall) pick by the Nashville Predators, and 6-foot-1, 203-pound freshman defenseman Matt Bartkowski, a seventh-round (190th overall) selection by the Florida Panthers.

Ohio State has already played its’ only exhibition game on the schedule for 2008-09 season in which the Buckeyes defeated York, 9-3, last Friday at the OSU Ice Rink.

Sims had a goal and two assists, while Albert and sophomore forwards Todd Rudasill and Patrick Schafer each had two assists. Freshman forward Cory Schneider added a goal and an assist.

The Buckeyes begin the regular season portion of the schedule when they host the Miami RedHawks at Value City Arena, Friday night. Both teams will meet again Saturday night at the Steve Cady Arena in Oxford, Ohio. Faceoff for both nights is scheduled for 7:05 p.m, and Saturday’s game will be televised on ONN.

Tags: Buckeye Hockey // Add Comment »

Right: Greg Oden, doing his best Abe Lincoln impersonation, made his NBA debut last night.
Getty Images

Who would of thought that two former Ohio State centers would make their NBA debut on the same night?

Well that’s just what happened with Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers and Kosta Koufos of the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

Of course one figures to be a prominent fixture in the starting line-up while the other will be fighting for garbage time even if he sticks in the Association.

Oden was in the starting line-up for the Trail Blazers as they hosted the Sacramento Kings in both team’s preseason opener at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden had to sit out all of last season after he underwent microfracture knee surgery in September 2007.

Oden scored on a two-hand jam just two minutes into the game and finished with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and was 3-of-5 from the foul line. He also had five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 20 minutes of game action.

About his performance, Oden had this to say to Jason Quick of The Oregonian:

It was all right. But there’s always room for improvement. I know I’m not in the best shape of my life and all I can do is work through that.”

Portland went on to defeat Sacramento 110-81.

Meanwhile down the left coast, the Jazz were taking on the defending Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Koufos, the 21st-overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, played just two minutes and scored two points and did not accue any other statistics.

Koufos entered the game with just under two minutes left in the first quarter and drained a 21-footer from the right baseline in his only shot attempt. Shortly thereafter he left the game with a slight hamstring injury and did not return.

Since the Jazz already have three centers on the roster, starter Mehmut Okur and backups Kevin Lyde and Jarron Collins, Koufos is likely ticketed for the NBA Development League as a rookie at some point during the season.

Leaving early wasn’t the wisest move, huh?

Tags: Bucks In The Pros // 1 Comment »

Right: Apparently, Coach Tressel is interviewing for Eric Wedge’s job. Would Jimmy T. use the “bunt” as an offensive weapon?
Plain Dealer Photo

Ah, it’s that time of the week Buckeye fans as Lord James Patrick Tressel addresses the media-type folks at Jack & Benny’s on North High Street and Hudson.

Going incognito, which means I pull on a wig and wear glasses, a goofy golf shirt, and khaki Dockers to look like every other reporter who covers the Buckeyes, I am armed with my laptop and a hand-held voice recorder to bring you Coach Tressel’s press conference.

Each week, Coach T. names the players of the game from the following weekend, which happened to be Wisconsin. The Buckeyes walked out of Camp Randall Stadium in Madison with a 20-17 win over the Badgers, last Saturday.

Junior running back Chris Wells was the Offensive Player of the Game after rushing for 168 yards on 22 carries and a score.

Coach Tressel on Beanie:

I wasn’t a hundred percent sure how much he could play because he’d only carried it a dozen times the week before and for him to step up after Boom got hurt and carry it over 20 times was a real plus for us, and to me, he looked healthier than he’s looked since preseason. And he got a little sore after the game, but in the last couple days he’s felt good and he was our offensive player.”

The Defensive Player of the Game was sophomore Ross Homan. He had 10 total tackles, one tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery.

In his opening statements, Coach Tressel talks about the Wisconsin game:

They went up into a tough environment against a tough team and kept playing and playing and believing and we were awfully proud of them for that. At the same token, we also know that we’ve got to play a lot better than that if we’re going to have a chance here in the Big Ten. The thing that jumps into my mind the most is you can’t have the ball on the ground as much as we had it. I think it was on the ground five or six times. Good fortune was with us where we only lost one of them.”

Later, a reporter asked Coach Tressel if the last drive of the Wisconsin game would give Terrelle Pryor a boost of confidence:

The thing about Terrelle is, he’s only going to think about the things he didn’t do well. That’s his nature. And I hope it gives him confidence that, hey, I can do that, because he’s his own biggest critic, he should have made this throw, should have made this decision, should have read that, I had the dig on the one route, all those things, but he’s a perfectionist. That’s what he is. And he’s not going to stop competing until the game’s over.”

Then Coach T. was asked if there are any similarities between Terrelle and Troy Smith:

I think Terrelle and Troy are very different, but yet I think they do have some similar characteristics, and that might be one of them, is that they’re highly competitive, hold their teammates accountable, and not bashful.”

Following that question, Senator Sweater Vest was asked about what impressed him the most about that last drive vs. Wisconsin:

To me, the thing that jumped up at you is we just held in there and hung in there. I think the first play of the drive, we had a route open and we didn’t hit it, so we’re second and 10 and to me it was just the fact that there was a focus that as long as we had one more play, we’ve got a chance.”

During the player’s press conference following the Wisconsin game, Terrelle said he still thought he made some “young” plays out there before the last drive and Coach Tressel was asked what he thought that he meant by that:

Well, I think that a young thing is a thing that you haven’t slowed the game down and just made a crisp decision, the right decision. The thing about Terrelle, as I said, he is going to analyze every single thing that he didn’t do perfectly, and if he threw it too soon or if he could have hung on or if he didn’t look at when the first option was taken over and he didn’t look at the dig or whatever it happens to be, he’s going to be tough on himself from that standpoint, and he is going to really focus on what he didn’t do, where the rest of us sometimes focus on what he does do and maybe that’s why he gets good, because until he plays a perfect game, I don’t think you’re going to see him smiling and happy in a post-game thing because he’ll be thinking about that one pass he should have made or one check-off he didn’t do or something like that.

Jimmy T. was then asked if he was surprised by Terrelle’s poise:

I heard one analyst say he had spring practice so he got to learn the system, and I’m thinking, I don’t know where he was at spring practice, he came in in August. For a guy to come in in August and step up — he’s passionate about learning. He’s got an innate need for information and some guys don’t have that. Some guys would just rather go out and play, but he wants information because he wants to play as well as he can play.”

Also during the press conference, Coach Tressel was asked what he thought of his defensive line so far this season:

I think they’ve been solid. I don’t know that they’ve been out of this world and I think they know that, that we’ve got to get better, we’ve got to play lower, we’ve got to play faster, but it’s still a team defense and I think it’s not like we’ve had D linemen out of a gap or missed assignments or those kinds of things, but winning comes down to defeating the guy trying to block you and being in your gap and defeating the guy trying to block you and I’m sure we have to get better at that.”

Tags: Buckeye Football, Tressel Talk // 1 Comment »

RB Beanie Wells

This week, Beanie Wells has been named BuckeyeBanter.com’s “Best Damn Player of the Game” after rushing for 168 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown against Wisconsin.

Beanie’s 168 yards was a season-high and it included a 54-yard run in the third quarter, Ohio State’s longest play from scrimmage this year.

It was also his third 100-yard game of the season, the 12th of his career and his fifth-consecutive dating back to last season.

Beanie scored on the game’s opening possession, darting 33 yards for his second touchdown of the season. His last four touchdown runs have been runs of 65 yards vs. Michigan, 62 yards vs. LSU, and runs of 43 and 33 vs. Youngstown State.

Beanie’s last four touchdown runs against the Badgers (dating back to last season) have been 33, 23, 30 and 31 yards.

Now that’s taking it to the house!

QB Terrelle Pryor	LB Ross Homan

Freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor made his third-consecutive start at quarterback for the Buckeyes, and is now a perfect 3-0 as a starter. Pryor was 13-of-19 passing for 144 yards. He also gain 20 yards rushing, which included an 11-yard TD run to win the game with 1:08 to play.

Sophomore WILL linebacker Ross Homan had 10 total tackles, which included a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. It was the second-straight game that Homan had 10 or more tackles.

Tags: Best Damn Player of the Game, Buckeye Leaf Awards // Add Comment »