Category: Buckeyes Wire

Ohio State Women’s Basketball continues strong play with win over Penn State

The Ohio State Buckeyes Women’s Basketball team defeated Penn State 78-66 on Sunday to move to 3-2 in Big Ten play.

The Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team backed up a big win over Michigan on Thursday with a strong performance against Penn State on Sunday.

Dorka Juhasz led the Buckeyes with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Aaliyah Patty added 13 points. Kierstan Bell and Janai Crooms both also scored in double digits off the bench for the surging Buckeyes.

Ohio State didn’t play its best game of the season (that was still the upset win over Louisville), but it did enough to gut out a win over a solid Big Ten opponent.

This was Ohio State’s third game in six days, and there’s not much time to rest. The Buckeyes visit Michigan State on Thursday before hosting Illinois on Sunday. Both the Spartans and Illini are towards the bottom of the Big Ten so far, but neither team is much of a pushover. After those two, the Buckeyes have a big road trip against Iowa coming up. That game will be important for Ohio State’s NCAA tournament hopes and potential seeding.

Ohio State has shown it can play with and beat anyone this year, but the Buckeyes have also put in some poor performances in bad losses. If they can add real consistency to the clear talent, then these Buckeyes might become a real threat moving forward this season.

Ohio State Football: Two Buckeyes taken in top three of recent mock NFL Draft

The Buckeyes will have multiple first-round picks, and in a recent SB Nation mock 2020 NFL draft, they have two of the top three selections.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have two of the nation’s top-three players according to one mock 2020 NFL Draft.

Consensus top-five picks, Chase Young and Jeff Okudah have both declared for the NFL Draft and will leave Ohio State. The unpredictable NFL Draft could put them anywhere in the country.

For the bulk of drafts, Chase Young, who set the university’s single-season sack record, is the No. 2 overall pick behind LSU’s Joe Burrow, the 2019 Heisman winner. He is widely expected to be taken by reunited with Dwayne Haskins and Terry McLaurin with the Washington Redskins.

As for Okudah, he is also expected to be the top defensive back prospect in the nation. That said, in SB Nation’s recent mock draft, the duo were both top-three picks.

Young was named the best defender in the country to go along with the best defensive lineman and defender in the Big Ten. Many accolades found their way to Young after one of the most dominant seasons by a defensive end in recent history.

Okudah failed to get too many awards simply because teams didn’t look his way. They were uninterested in his side of the field because of how dominant Okudah was.

If this becomes a reality for Ohio State, it’ll be the first time the program has two top-five picks since Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott were selected No. 3 and No. 4 in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Come to think of it, that wasn’t really that long ago. It’s how things are done at Ohio State.

Where Ohio State ranks in Sporting News’ way-too-early top 25

The Ohio State Buckeyes football team has been ranked as a top-two team in Sporting News’ way-too-early 2020 top 25.

The Ohio State Buckeyes went out of the 2019 season in disappointing fashion. It was a horrible ending to what was otherwise a dominant year for the Buckeyes. An opportunity lost if you will.

They cruised through the regular season with little turbulence. While they had a brief scare in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Buckeyes were able to come out on top.

Sadly losing to Clemson, having yet to ever beat the Tigers in program history, the Buckeyes will look towards next season. They’ll have to reload much of their roster though.

Some of the nation’s top draft picks will be coming out of Columbus. Two of the top-five prospects are Buckeyes, a program expecting to have numerous first-round picks.

However, the Buckeyes are No. 2 in Sporting News’ way-too-early top-25 because they retain Heisman finalist Justin Fields and three All Big-Ten performers on the offensive line. The program also has some game-breakers at the skill positions coming back, and others on the way. Once again, the defensive line should be deep and dominant.

“The receiving corps will be the deepest in the country. Expect Garrett Wilson to be a breakout star while five-star receiver Julian Fleming joins the fun. Wyatt Davis and Josh Myers return to a nasty offensive line. Shaun Wade’s decision to return to school helps a defense that will rebuild the line around Tyreke Smith and Zach Harrison. Road trips to Oregon and Penn State are the biggest potholes to another Playoff run. Second-year coach Ryan Day can work with that,” Sporting News’ Bill Bender wrote.

Clemson came in at No. 1 with Alabama, LSU and Georgia rounding out the top five. As for the Big Ten in general, Penn State came in at No. 9, Minnesota at No. 12, Wisconsin at No. 14, and Michigan at No. 15.

Things may have felt like they ended prematurely, but OSU fans can at least take comfort in believing this team will again compete for some pretty special things in 2020.

Where is Ohio State ranked in FOX analyst’s way-too-early Top 25?

The Ohio State football program is expected to be a team to reckon with again according to Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports.

It’s been time to move on from 2019 for two weeks now. Are you there yet?

However, the Ohio State Buckeyes won’t get the sting of that crushing College Football Playoff semifinal defeat out of their mouths until the 2020 season is upon us. Thankfully, they’ll likely be competing at the highest level next year as well.

Bruce Feldman, a FOX Sports’ analyst, ranked his way-too-early top-25 for 2020. Ohio State, who will be returning Heisman finalist Justin Fields, came in at No. 2.

Clemson took the top spot while LSU, Alabama, and Oregon rounded out the top five. Penn State was the only other Big Ten team in the top-ten aside from OSU.

The Buckeyes will be losing J.K. Dobbins, Chase Young, Jeff Okudah and an array of talented receivers. But, they will be bringing in the nation’s best offensive lineman, Paris Johnson Jr., and wide receiver, Julian Fleming along with other highly skilled pass catchers.

They’ve tag-teamed to help Ohio State boast the fourth-best recruiting class according to 247 Sports. That’s why the Buckeyes will be able to reload so easily and why Feldman believes they could compete for really big things again in 2020.

That said, while 2019 may still be rough for fans to take in, 2020 should help give hope that this program will stay among the top tier in college football.

Ohio State football fans should be rooting for LSU, obviously right?

Ohio State Buckeyes fans should be rooting for LSU and Joe Burrow against the Clemson Tigers in Monday’s CFP Championship Game.

The LSU Tigers will take on the Clemson Tigers on Monday night at 8 p.m. Eastern.

It’s unfortunate the Ohio State Buckeyes won’t be involved, but that doesn’t mean fans shouldn’t still tune in. There’s one reason to watch, and his name is Joe Burrow.

The majority of the Buckeyes’ fanbase still has love for Burrow even after the 2019 Heisman winner transferred out of Columbus. Burrow was on the Buckeyes’ roster for three seasons — nearly beating out another Heisman finalist, Dwyane Haskins for the starting spot.

He knew he wasn’t going to get the chance to start in Columbus so he took his talents to LSU. In Baton Rouge, he’s turned in one of the best seasons in recent history.

With 5,208 yards and 55 touchdowns entering the College Football Playoff national championship game, Burrow is the 2020 NFL Draft’s projected No. 1 pick. He’s turned LSU into a must-watch team.

Burrow accounted for seven FIRST HALF touchdowns against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Tigers semifinal game. Now, he’s looking to take down the defending champs on the national stage.

Of course there’s also this; the Clemson Tigers downed Ohio State, another reason Buckeye faithful shouldn’t be rooting for the Trevor Lawrence-led side.

One more reason is that the Buckeyes should still feel cheated as the refs made their mark on the team’s semifinal performance. They were the better team, yet Clemson came out with the victory. OSU clearly missed out on some opportunities too, but the better team lost that night.

The Buckeyes should want to see Clemson exposed, and they may get their wish with Burrow hitting stride at the right time. There’s no reason to believe he’ll cool down quite yet.

Former Buckeye Joe Burrow against the team that defeated Ohio State. As they’ll be saying in New Orleans, Geaux Tigers!

Ohio State men’s hockey drops second game of weekend to Wisconsin

The Ohio State men’s hockey team lost the second game of a two-game weekend series to split with Wisconsin.

The Ohio State men’s hockey team has been on a roll as of late, going 8-1-1 in its last ten games coming into Sunday night against Wisconsin. It also took the first contest against the Badgers on Friday night and were hoping for the weekend sweep Saturday.

It was not meant to be.

It started off good enough. The Badgers scored first just after a power play at 13:28 of the first before Ohio State answered back. Ronnie Hein scored a power-play goal with 2:22 left in the period to knot it up at one apiece headed to the first break.

But Wisconsin turned up the heat in the second period, scoring four goals to just one by the Buckeyes to lead 5-2 after two periods of play. The badgers got four-straight goals at 17:01, 15:37, 5:19, and 3:30 of the period — the last of which on the power-play. Sam McCormick scored his first goal of the year to provide Ohio State with its only goal of the period, but the damage was done.

The third period got a little chippy and both teams had some scoring chances, but the score held with no goals and the Buckeyes fell by way of the same 5-2 score.

With the loss, Ohio State drops to 14-6-2 overall, and 7-4-1-0 in the Big Ten. The Bucks are next in action with a two-game set against Notre Dame at home next weekend.

Watch what Urban Meyer says is his greatest college football memory

Watch as former Ohio State and Florida head coach Urban Meyer describes his favorite college football memory of all-time.

There are college football memories from us common-folk, then there are college football memories from those that are icons of the sport. Recently, three members of the FOX College Football crew were asked to recount their favorite college football moments. The panel consisted of FOX analyst and former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt, Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, and of course former Ohio State and Florida head coach Urban Meyer.

So what do you think Meyer picked as his favorite college football memory? There’s a slew of them for him to be sure, but it might be one a moment plenty of Ohio State fans think of fondly as well.

Of all the national title games, bowls, rivalry games, and other fantastic moments Meyer has been a part of, his favorite memory of all-time is the 2016 contest between Ohio State and Michigan.

“The best moment that I can remember that was a flashback as I was going — I have to go with 2016,” said Meyer. “You know the respect I have, I grew up in the ten-year war — Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler. You cannot lose that game, hardest game I’ve ever been a part of. Every yard, every second, every inch mattered, and it was double-overtime against That Team Up North. We scored in the second overtime after J.T. DID get that first down, and then he launches himself in the endzone for the big win, and that has to be the best moment that I can remember.”

Click on the below and listen to what Meyer says for yourself.

It’s interesting here that Meyer’s favorite memory comes from his time at Ohio State in a The Game instead of any of the national title games, or contests at the University of Florida.

Once a Buckeye …

Ohio State Women’s Hockey dominates Minnesota State in sweep

The Ohio State Buckeyes completed a sweep of Minnesota State this weekend with wins by scores of 6-0 and 8-4.

The Ohio State Women’s Hockey team swept Minnesota State over the weekend, setting up the Buckeyes for a tough stretch to end the season. Ohio State won 6-0 on Friday night and followed that with an 8-4 victory on Saturday.

Women’s Ice Hockey is one of the smallest Division I sports, with only 41 schools fielding teams at the top level. The tournament is intense, but only eight schools are invited–four conference champions and four at-large teams.

The Buckeyes currently sit at No. 5 in the rankings, in solid position to get one of the four at-large bids. However, the second half of the schedule is brutal for the Buckeyes. Ten of Ohio State’s final 12 games are against potential tournament teams. The Buckeyes have an upcoming series against No. 2 Minnesota this weekend.

Ohio State remains the only team to have defeated Minnesota this year. Picking up another such win–especially on the road–will give the Buckeyes a bit of much-needed breathing room in potential tournament selection. The Buckeyes also have a two-game series against No. 1 Wisconsin in February, as well as series against strong WCHA foes Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State.

The Buckeyes have a very strong SOS and good resume so far, but making the tournament in such a small sport is always difficult. Still, a strong finish to the season would give the Buckeyes a bid to the NCAA Tournament–and possibly a chance to host their quarterfinal match.

Five questions that need answered for Ohio State football in 2020

Now that Ohio State’s season is over, we can look ahead to 2020. Here are five questions that need to be answered for next year.

It’s going to feel like an eternity until Ohio State kicks off the next college football season, especially with how things seemed to end so abruptly against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. As with any college football team, there are always holes to fill and questions that present themselves in the offseason that will need to be answered.

Here are five questions Ryan Day and the rest of the coaching staff will need to address heading through winter workouts, spring ball, and ultimately the fall.

No. 1 – Who steps up in the secondary?

It’s probably the biggest issue that needs addressed going into next season. The Buckeyes lose three of four starters in the back-end of the defense, and those are huge hole to fill. Gone are starters Jordan Fuller at safety, and Damon Arnette and Jeff Okudah at the corner spots. Who will be the next man up at each spot?

At least Shaun Wade coming back will help out for the No. 1 corner spot, but there’s going to be one whale of a competition for the rest. Josh Proctor will get first crack at the safety spot, then you have Marcus Williamson, Sevyn Banks, Marcus Hooker, Amir Riep and others that will have to not only grab the other three, but play well in the spotlight.

Next … No Chase Young? Then who?

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Watch what Indiana head coach Archie Miller said about Ohio State postgame

Indiana head coach Archie Miller met with the media after the win over Ohio State. Here’s what he said about the Buckeyes.

Ohio State fought like heck to get back in the game in the first half against Indiana Saturday, but then fell behind again after halftime. It was a bit too much to overcome against a quality opponent on the road.

Many Ohio State fans feel like the sky is falling now after four-straight losses, but this conference is awfully tough, and there’s not a night off anywhere. The Hoosier head man knows that. Archie Miller met with the media after the game to discuss his team’s performance — and despite the loss by Ohio State — had some very complimentary things to say about coach Holtmann and this Buckeye squad.

You too can watch and get a listen to make you feel like the season isn’t lost after a tough stretch here. I mean, who better to listen to than a coach that knows the Buckeyes well.

Click on the below, thanks to the Indiana Hoosiers’ YouTube channel and listen to the comments about Ohio State by Miller.

https://www.facebook.com/IndianaMBB/videos/2576989505688230/

On to the next one. Ohio State will host Nebraska on Tuesday night and will again attempt to stop this losing streak.