I have seen rumors but tonight Sports Illustrated had the report on their website. It was only a few sentences but it claimed there were rumors swirling that Urban Meyer was going to be the next head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. I have everything from the deal is done they are just waiting on the sanctions, to they are still talking. I have heard sources say that Urban Meyer has been on the campus at least 6 or so times in the past few weeks. We can not conclude to anything because of him being on the campus but it does help the case that people have at least seen him on the campus. Another report I heard is that he could be introduced at halftime of the Ohio State and Duke basketball game. I don’t know how much of these rumors are true or if any of this report is true at all. It may all just be one big coincidence. In the coming days we will hopefully hear more about what is going on with Urban Meyer. Here is the link to the Sports Illustrated site.

http://tracking.si.com/2011/11/19/report-urban-meyer-to-take-ohio-state-job/

Both Ohio State and Penn State are coming into this game after close loses. Ohio State lost in overtime to Purdue after they had an extra point block with less than a minute to go in regulation. Penn State is coming off a loss to Nebraska in what was their final home game of the season and their first game in over 60 years which Joe Paterno was not on the sidelines, over 40 of which he was the head coach. This is the second concecutive year that Penn State has to travel to Ohio State because of the conference realignment. Ohio State won the meeting between these two teams last year with a score of 38-14. Ohio State doesn’t have Terrelle Pryor or Jim Tressel this year though.

The match up I will be watching is Matt McGloin against the Ohio State secondary. He threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and McGloin has not looked very good this year. He is completing 54% of his passes but in his last four games against Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, and Purdue he only completed he completed 50 of 101 passes. Penn State will want to run the ball but if they get down early, they are going to need to rely on McGloin to make some throws and put them back in the game. Another match up is Braxton Miller vs the Penn State defense. They have only allowed more than 20 points twice this season. Once to Alabama and the other to Northwestern. Miller has seemed to play well in big games like he did against Nebraska and Wisconsin but then he struggled against Indiana and Purdue. I think this will be a very close game but I have Ohio State because they are home and it is Tom Bradley’s first game as a head coach on the road. Ohio State wins 24-20.

On a day when most Ohio State fans were certain they would run past Purdue and get ready for their big match up with Penn State next week, they wouldn’t be so happy at the end of the day. Braxton Miller would complete 8 of 18 for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Buckeyes running back Dan Herron only had 64 yards on 18 carriers have having 3 straight weeks of more than 100 yards. Purdue outgained the Buckeyes 363 to 295 yards.

The Boilermakers started the game opening up a 10 to nothing lead in the first quarter. Ohio State scored on a 38 yards pass from Miller to Jordan Hall. The Boilermakers would add another touchdown to make the score 17 to 7 at halftime. The Buckeyes would score on a Miller run in the third quarter to make the score 17 to 14. Purdue would add another field goal to make the score 20 to 14. Then with less than a minute left on the clock, Miller completed a 13 yard pass to Hall to make the score 20 to 20. Ohio State’s extra point to take the lead and possibly to win the game was blocked. Ohio State and Purdue would end up going to overtime. Ohio State would get the ball first and be forced to kick a field goal. Purude would move the ball down to the 1 yard line and score on a Robert Marve run.

Ohio State lost to Purdue on their last trip to West Lafayette when Ohio State was ranked 7th in the nation and Purdue was 1-5 at the time. Now Ohio State is 6-4 in the Big Ten and Purdue is 5-5 and still fighting for a bowl game. The Buckeyes welcome Penn State to Columbus next week. Penn State is coming off a 17 to 14 loss in their first game without Joe Paterno. After the Penn State game, the Buckeyes finish their season off against Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines haven’t beat the Buckeyes since 2003. The Buckeyes will be looking to rebound next week.

In the midst of all the talks about Penn State, Ohio State received some bad news today. The NCAA notified Ohio State it was adding the charge of ‘Failure to Monitor’ due to recent circumstances. Jordan Hall, Travis Howard, Corey Brown, and former quarterback Terrelle Pryor all attended a charity banquet in which they received $200 for attending. Hall, Howard, and Brown were all suspended for the first two games of the season for receiving improper benefits. Devier Posey, Marcus Hall, and Daniel Herron were all suspended for their parts in a summer job scandal in which they were paid an excess amount of money for their job. Hall and Herron were each suspended one game while Posey was suspended five games. Herron and Posey were each serving suspensions for their part in the tattoo scandal that cost former coach Jim Tressel his job.

Ohio State seem to always be doing something else wrong. More than likely, they are going to be headed for a bowl ban. Ohio State already said they were going to strip itself of five scholarships over the next 3 years. I’m sure the NCAA will be adding to what Ohio State has done. Ohio State is meeting with the NCAA on December 10 to talk about the latest charges. Ohio State was waiting to hear from the NCAA about their hearing they had with the NCAA in August. Who knows when we will hear what the sanctions are now.

Ohio State travels to face the 4-5 Purdue Boilermakers this weekend. The Buckeyes are currently riding a 3 game win streak including an upset over Wisconsin. Freshman QB Braxton Miller has thrown for over 500 yards in his 6 starts so far throwing for 6 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. The Buckeyes leading rusher is sophomore Carlos Hyde who has 513 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Buckeyes also have Dan Herron running the ball. In his 3 games, he has over 400 yards already and 2 touchdowns.  Purdue allows over 400 yards of total offense each game while Ohio State allows just over 300. Purdue also allows almost 200 yards on the ground. One person that Ohio State is going to have to look out for is going to be Caleb Terbush. He will more than likely get the start at quarterback for the Boilermakers. He has thrown 10 touchdowns and almost 1,400 yards. He also also ran for 121 and another touchdown. This week has potential for Ohio State to slip up if they look forward to their big match up with Penn State next week. I think Ohio State wins this game 33-17.