Ohio State Buckeyes – The News Desk

Fueled by donor spending spree, Ryan Day confident Ohio State can finally break through

12Apr

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Fueled by donor spending spree, Ryan Day confident Ohio State can finally break through

COLUMBUS, Ohio — At his postgame news conference following Ohio State’s 30-24 loss to Michigan last November, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day looked defeated and despondent. He surely realized at that moment that despite winning 88 percent of his games as a head coach, he and his program would now be defined by their unthinkable three-year losing streak to the Wolverines.Four-plus months later, sitting in his office at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the 45-year-old Day is smiling, giddy and seemingly at ease. He exudes the confidence of a coach who knows how loaded his roster is, after getting back nearly every one of Ohio State’s juniors who could have turned pro while adding some of the most accomplished transfers in the portal.“At Ohio State, you’ve got to beat the Team Up North and win ever...

How Celeste Taylor found the perfect fit at Ohio State

19Dec

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How Celeste Taylor found the perfect fit at Ohio State

Celeste Taylor did everything she could at Duke. The 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor was a big reason why Duke reached its first NCAA Tournament since 2018. From the moment she arrived in 2021, she was the player coach Kara Lawson leaned on to help establish the culture she wanted.Among finding her voice as a leader, helping younger players with film and Xs and Os, there wasn’t much Taylor didn’t have a hand in at Duke. When the Blue Devils faced Colorado in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, her on-court impact was on full display as well. She finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, 10 steals and eight assists, but Duke lost 61-53 in overtime. She wished she shot better than 21 percent in the loss, but it was hard to watch that game and see more that Taylor could do....

Why college football’s identity crisis resulted in Florida State being cheated

4Dec

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Why college football’s identity crisis resulted in Florida State being cheated

This sport’s identity crisis has existed since the inception of the College Football Playoff a decade ago, but never before have we had to come to terms with it the way we did on Sunday.That identity crisis? Whether the teams that play for the national championship should be the best or the most deserving. In the nine years before this season, the best and most deserving seamlessly became one, resulting in cut-and-dried decisions on which teams would make the field.In the final season of the four-team era — before it expands to 12 in 2024 — the CFP committee was charged with a very difficult decision that was guaranteed to result in a worthy team feeling cheated. The committee, for the first time, was actually going to have to choose what it values more — the teams that earned it or the t...

Has the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry gotten out of hand? Why Jim Harbaugh may have a point

1Dec

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Has the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry gotten out of hand? Why Jim Harbaugh may have a point

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – With a pang of nostalgia, traditionalists have noted this year’s Michigan-Ohio State game might have been the last of its kind.Stretching back to the 1970s, no rivalry in college football has been played with more at stake. This game determines legacies, alters coaching careers and, more often than not, decides the Big Ten race. This season, the stars aligned for one of the biggest Michigan–Ohio State games ever played, a 30-24 Michigan victory that put the Wolverines on track for a third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff and left Ohio State on the outside looking in.With the Big Ten scrapping its divisions and expanding to 18 teams next season, a Michigan-Ohio State rematch in the conference championship game could become a reality. The new 12-team Colle...

Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 13: Conference title clashes will tell all

28Nov

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Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 13: Conference title clashes will tell all

The 2023 season comes down to conference championship weekend. We could have the simplest and most impressive College Football Playoff field in the 10-year history of the event, we could have complete chaos or we could have something in between, with a little bit of last-minute drama.Michigan’s win against Ohio State moves the Wolverines up to No. 2 in this week’s rankings and leaves four undefeated Power 5 teams entering the weekend. If Georgia, Michigan, Washington and Florida State win, it’s an easy selection. But the SEC, Pac-12 and ACC games could be very competitive and see undefeated teams lose, giving the committee its hardest decisions since 2014.Oregon still likely has the strongest case among one-loss teams. The Ducks were the top-ranked one-loss team by the committee last week...

Ohio State’s Ryan Day loses sight of who he is when he coaches against Michigan

28Nov

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Ohio State’s Ryan Day loses sight of who he is when he coaches against Michigan

Every Saturday night, Ari Wasserman and David Ubben react to the weekend’s slate of games on “Until Saturday.” On Mondays, they revisit the biggest takeaway from Saturday night’s instant reaction. This week: Ari wonders why Ryan Day changes his coaching style when Ohio State plays Michigan. Kalen DeBoer sent the punt team out, but he wasn’t punting. This is a man who never doubts himself or his team.The Apple Cup was tied with 1:15 remaining. Washington faced a fourth-and-1 from its own 29 yard-line. DeBoer called on the punt team to try to draw Washington State offside. When it didn’t work, he called a timeout — not to give up on gaining a first down, but to organize the perfect play.Washington ran a triple-option concept. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had the option to hand the ball off...

Ohio State-Michigan, pure hatred and the apex of the greatest rivalry

23Nov

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Ohio State-Michigan, pure hatred and the apex of the greatest rivalry

Jim Harbaugh was asked at his news conference earlier this week if he respects Ryan Day and his staff. Harbaugh, as he often does when asked something that makes him uncomfortable, hesitated before dodging the question.“It’s all about our preparation for Ohio,” Harbaugh said. “The days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game, that’s where our focus is. Preparing ourselves and planning, gonna practice and then execute. Anything else is irrelevant when you get to this kind of big game.”Ryan Day was asked something similar a day later. He, too, wasn’t interested in giving an honest answer.“With everything going on and the things that are out there, we’ve kind of just stayed away from all the distractions and have just kind of focused on our team,” he said. “I think our gu...

Women’s college basketball power rankings: South Carolina returns to a familiar spot

22Nov

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Women’s college basketball power rankings: South Carolina returns to a familiar spot

If the hope was that two weeks of basketball would have given a clearer picture of the hierarchy in women’s college basketball this season, that has not been the case. In fact, most of my conversations since Nov. 6 have featured some variation of, “Wait, is Team X good?”Aside from South Carolina at the top — stop me if you’ve heard that before — every other projected contender has taken its lumps. While the Gamecocks roll through their opposition, most teams around the country need some time to figure out new rosters and systems. Growing pains were expected, like LSU and Virginia Tech integrating new transfers, or Maryland and Indiana dealing with the graduations of WNBA first-round picks.Nevertheless, on the whole, the quality of play around the country has been better than expected. But...

Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 12: Washington deserves more respect

20Nov

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Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 12: Washington deserves more respect

It’s time to put some respect back on Washington’s name.The Huskies are undefeated and have the best win in the country, based on these rankings, but they have continually sat outside the top four of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s in-season rankings. That needs to change this week. After pulling out a 22-20 win against Oregon State on a rainy night in Corvallis, Washington has the most impressive resume in the country. The Huskies move up to No. 2 in this week’s Athletic 133.Washington has wins over Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Oregon State and USC. Nobody can match that many good victories. Yes, the Huskies needed a pick six and a questionable penalty to escape Arizona State and played Stanford close, but no team blows everyone out every single week.Quarterback Michael Peni...

Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 11: Which 10-0 contender is the top dog?

14Nov

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Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 11: Which 10-0 contender is the top dog?

We’re finally in the stretch run. The biggest games have arrived, and the shakeup at the top is underway.Michigan finally played a notable team, taking care of Penn State in Happy Valley. Georgia crushed a top-10 Ole Miss team. Washington held on against Utah and Oregon handled USC. They all have more big games to come in the next two weeks before conference championships.After all of that, there is a change at the top here. Georgia is back to No. 1 in this week’s Athletic 133.The two-time defending national champs have rounded into form, beating up on Kentucky, Florida, Missouri and Ole Miss in their last five games. This past week was a reminder that Georgia at its best again looks like the best team in the country. Oh, and Brock Bowers, one of the nation’s best pass-catchers, is back. ...