With the big, but not-so-shocking, announcement Monday that Urban Meyer will come out of retirement and coach The Ohio State University, it was only natural to get Phil on the show and talk about the Buckeyes.

So this is our "Urban Meyer Special." The regular show will return Thursday morning.
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Sure, Ohio State and Penn State will set offensive football back a couple decades Saturday, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it. Derek Aschman of the Penn State blog Nittany Lions Den was kind enough to answer a few questions before this much-anticipated field goal extravagaza.

1) Is there any way to gauge where this Penn State team is emotionally after the past two weeks? Obviously the whole Sandusky thing and subsequent Paterno resignation is a distraction and then a close loss to Nebraska. What kind of team shows up in Ohio Stadium Saturday?

This Nittany Lion squad has the best senior leadership of any team since 2005.  This has shown throughout the year in close wins against Iowa and Purdue as well as last minute wins against Temple, Indiana and Illinois.  Even rallying from being down by seventeen to Nebraska was a product of great leadership. That being said, there is not a team in America that could ignore Modern Warfare 3 being released everything that has occurred here in Happy Valley.  Mike McQueary was the only offensive coach on the sideline, and Joe Paterno is Joe Paterno.  Every website is slandering people these players love.  Even tonight I see the athletes tweeting about South Park’s rendition of State College.  There simply is no way this team could go on unaffected. Still, getting on with the question, I think the team has pulled themselves together in an unbelievable way.  The biggest problem this Saturday, in respect to the scandal, is with coaching.  At the end of the day Penn State is down two coaches and has no offensive guys left on the sideline.  If Penn State pulls themselves together, Tom Bradley will deserve much of the credit.


2) Outside of Devon Still, who's been dominant this year, I don't know much about this Penn State defense. What other players are standing out this season for the Lions?

What this Nittany Lions’ defense lacks in star-power, they gain in team chemistry.  Devon Still is definitely an impressive physical specimen though, and OLB Gerald Hodges played lights out through October.  Hodges’ speed and ability to shed blockers has made opponents’ east-west running game a nightmare.  The most underrated player on the defense, in my humble opinion, is S Drew Astorino.  Astorino has no business being a Division I player given his size, but he plays smart and fast, and creates as many problems in the backfield as anybody.  With Hodges likely to play spy against Braxton Miller, expect Astorino to blitz at select times throughout the game and be a nuisance to any screens or flares to the outside.

3) Matt McGloin's numbers aren't fantastic, but he's steady. Can he make enough big plays through the air to open up some room for Silas Redd on the ground?

No. Look, I love McGloin’s passion as much as the next guy, but he is not going to make any big plays.  Luckily for him, he has a great batch of wide-receivers who can make him look good.  Derek Moye is a tall receiver with good hands, and is as good as any WR in the conference.  Justin Brown is big and able create separation as well as anybody, and Devon “Moo Moo” Smith has lethal speed on crossing patterns. What makes McGloin affective is that he knows his strengths and he knows his many limitations.  Specifically, he throws nearly every ball to a place where only his guy, if anybody, can catch it.  Often times it’s over-thrown, but rarely is it in an area where a defender can get a hand on the ball.  The rest of the job comes down to the receivers, who have not always had the best hands this season, to make the grab and gain some yards.

4) Penn State has won a number of close games this year until the loss to Nebraska. Has there been one factor that has helped the Lions keep winning close games?

Heart.  The defense doesn’t allow big plays, even though they’re on the field most of the game, because they play with tremendous heart and chemistry.  On the flipside, the offense is unspectacular and knows it.  Still, when time was running out against teams such as Temple and Illinois, the offense has stepped and somehow made the plays that were necessary. None of the games have been pretty thus far, but tremendous heart and leadership has led to a lot of Ws this season for the Nittany Lions.

5) Give me a prediction. Does Penn State come out with a win Saturday?

Predictions…hmmmm… Penn State struggles against scrambling quarterback and all defenses.  Sadly, Ohio State is pretty good in both of those places, which doesn’t bode well for Penn State.  Ultimately, I think those factors, as well as the off-the-field distractions surrounding the program, become too much to handle.  Ohio State gets a few points on the board and Penn State’s anemic offense doesn’t get it done against a very good Buckeye defense.  I know I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but my objective guess is 10-6 Ohio State. no comments

It appears Terrelle Pryor will get a shot at his NFL dream in 2011 after all.

However, he's going to have to sit out the first five games if any team is willing to draft him in Monday's NFL Supplemental Draft and then keep him on the roster during the suspension.

Why can't Pryor be in uniform for the first five games?

It seems the almighty NFL is going to apply the NCAA's five-game suspension to Pryor for his actions at Ohio State—none of which broke any laws.

According to the NFL:

"... Pryor made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL Draft. Those actions included failing to cooperate with the NCAA and hiring an agent in violation of NCAA rules, which resulted in Ohio State declaring him ineligible to continue playing college football.

"Pryor then applied to enter the NFL after the regular draft. Pryor had accepted at the end of the 2010 college football season a suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season for violating NCAA rules. Pryor will be ineligible to practice prior to or play in the first five games of the NFL regular season after he signs."

So now the NFL is the NCAA's daddy.

In reality, Pryor would have been lucky to see the field anyways in the first five games, much less the entire season. So call this a public perception suspension for the NFL. So now Pryor has to wait five games before he can wear a baseball cap backwards and hold a clipboard. no comments

It's time to get nasty.

We're talking SEC nasty. Or is that Big Ten nasty?

A year ago it would have been easy to answer that question. Thanks to Jim Tressel and Ohio State's players making money selling everything from autographs to memorabilia, the Big Ten has jumped right into the middle of the conversation.

OSU's fans are as passionate as any in the SEC, so therefore you get a fanbase who wants to do things for their team that don't always jive with the NCAA.

Let's not forget that the SEC has a long history of playing in the gray area of NCAA rules...and sometimes just obliterating the rules.

So with all that we know of today, which one is dirtier.

Let's do a comparison.

History of Cheating: SEC

Since 1990, more than half of the SEC football programs have faced NCAA sanctions for major violations.

The SEC has a history of "questionable" recruiting practices, which includes allegations of paying players and helping top prospects get the necessary score on the SAT. Just read what Terry Bowden said about the Auburn program when he took over in 1993.

Bowden claims there was a detailed system of paying star high school players around $10,000 to $15,000 if they signed with Auburn. He also alleged the pay-for-play program was run by connected Auburn Board of Trustee Bobby Lowder.

Bowden also pointed the finger at legendary Auburn coach Pat Dye.

Auburn isn't alone in the SEC.

How about Charley Pell with Florida in the early 1980s?

Pell was fired in 1984 amid serious allegations from the NCAA, which eventually determined the coach and his staff committed 59 infractions. Florida was place on two years of probation.

Tennessee served a two-year sentence following violations by former coach Johnny Majors, and of course there was Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State.

While Sherrill was never found guilty of any NCAA violations, Mississippi State was placed on four years probation after he left.

This is just a short summary of issues with the SEC.

Many of the SEC's biggest boosters are so wealthy they don't mind slipping a player some spending money or direct them to a good deal on a car.

History of Cheating: Big Ten

While the SEC's violations are well documented, the Big Ten has a history of skirting the NCAA's rules as well.

Michigan State also has a storied history of cheating, going back to the days of Duffy Daughtery. The Spartans were found guilty of major violations in the 1950s and was eventually placed on probation for three years.

The Spartans continued to have some issues under George Perles. In 1994, it was discovered that Michigan State had some issues with grade tampering. Perles was fired during the 1994 season and the president made the Spartans forfeit their five victories for that season.

Of course, now there are the recent transgressions of Ohio State's former head coach Jim Tressel, as well as current and former players (read on for more).

Like the SEC, not all of the issues are NCAA related. no comments

As an Ohio State fan, I've spent the last few months trying to justify to myself that it wasn't that bad, that things were inevitably at their lowest today and in no way could they stumble further into the cellar tomorrow. Oops.

Now? Yeah, whatever. They did it. They did everything. Terrelle Pryor fights dogs with Michael Vick, robs stage coaches and eats baby brains? Sure. I'm buying. Jim Tressel worships Satan and drinks cases of Busch Light by himself at home in his garage? Sounds perfectly plausible. Ohio State football will field a team of Yorkshire Terriers next season? I can totally see that.  

Why the hell not? Pryor is already apparently breaking every other rule possible - including getting somewhere between $20-$40K for autographing memorabilia for an Ohio State booster who gave him cash and, oh yeah, checks. (Seriously, do we not know that checks are easily traced? We have to be the worst cheaters ever.)

Of course, Pryor will have to sell his autographs somewhere else since he won't be doing it in Columbus anymore. The quarterback declared his eligibilty over for Ohio State - just before the NCAA was about to do the same.

As more and more pieces become public, Tressel's resignation becomes clearer. Things are bad. This football program at OSU is undergoing a pre-emptive internal strike to avoid the NCAA's even more epic wrath. Tressel's gone. Pryor's gone. A lot of wins from the past two seasons will be gone. AD Gene Smith, despite anything you read, is also gone. Luke Fickell is a true interim coach and will be gone next year because nobody associated with this mess will survive. Scholarships will be gone and probably any chance at playing in a bowl game next year.

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Saturday's Ohio State spring game was probably the most interesting since 2002 when everyone wanted a look at Maurice Clarett. Of course, it shouldn't have been interesting at all. If it wasn't for the looming five-game suspension of the Tat 5, including starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Saturday's scrimmage would have been the typical "who should be the third-string strong safety?" kind of stuff that comes about every spring.

Instead, 40-some thousand Ohio State fans shelled out $15 (WHAT THE!?) to watch four quarterbacks slug it out in an attempt to get a leg up heading into the summer practices.

Most who left - and the legion watching at home via the Big Ten Network - came away a little giddy with the performance of true freshman Braxton Miller. An early enrollee, Miller looked composed, led the offense on two scoring drives and looked, well, competent.

There are caveats, of course.
A) It was the Spring Game, virtually meaningless to everyone except fans desperate for a glimpse of something, anything.
B) The Ohio State secondary was beyond banged up. There were more pads left at the practice facility then on the field.
C) Did I mention it was the Spring Game?

Yet Miller just looked like a quarterback (and a lot like a QB named Troy Smith from a few years ago.) The rest of the field was up and down.
Senior Joe Bauserman remains a veteran with a scattershot arm - capable of drilling it into a window 30 yards downfield on one play and into the first row of B Deck on the next.
Sophomore Kenny Guiton looked better than his reviews coming into the game, but doesn't have the physical skills of the others.
Redshirt freshman Taylor Graham is a dead ringer for his Dad, Kent and lacks all the same mobility. (I was hoping Elliott Uzelac would start calling option plays for the kid just for a stroll down memory lane.). Graham has a big arm and threw a nice touch pass for a 68-yard TD pass. But he took five sacks - and really, how many non-mobiile QBs have seen consistent playing time under Tress?

Lots of time between now and the fall, but it's hard to envision Braxton Miller NOT involved in the offense the first fives games.

Other thoughts:

- The Buckeye defense will again be very good, if not a dominant force. A nice rotation of plenty of guys up front, some good linebackers finally getting their turn (Etienne Sabino in the middle) and lots of competition in the defensive backfield.
- Safety play may remain a concern, but most of those guys were watching from the sideline today.
- Running backs look strong with the trio of Jordan Hall, Rod Smith and Jamaal Berry providing a nice versatility of styles and strengths until Boom Herron comes back in game 6. Carlos Hyde was the second back in, but didn't have a great day. Still, he's the only true thumper and he'll get some carries.
- Wide receiver wasn't as bad as advertised. There were some drops, but there's talent. Enough to get through the first five games without Devier Posey? Maybe.
- The offensive line struggled with the first-team defensive unit, but was without starting tackle J.B. Shugarts. Either way, spring games are never easy on offensive lines.

So, things aren't as bad as I think most had feared. Too bad this wasn't one of those boring spring games where the vets are in place. But, it was a little more interesting than usual. no comments

So I was waiting to write something about Jim Tressel's resignation until the Sports Illustrated bombshell hit the interwebs tonight. After Tressel's sudden and reportedly forced resignation Monday, the timing seemed more than coincidence with the upcoming release of the SI piece. Common sense dictated to most of the college football world that some charge of damning evidence had convinced Ohio State higher-ups that Tressel couldn't survive the looming NCAA hearing in August.

But, if you read the linked piece, you won't find a ton of SMU-in-the-80s info. Yeah, turns out Jim Tressel hasn't received his angel wings. And he conveniently ignores his player's transgressions. And it tuns out maybe more than the original six players were involved in trading stuff for tats, cash and weed.

Okay. Sure there's some damaging stuff there. But after that build-up and the constant stream of press over the past few months, it wasn't quite the hammer most expected.

It's a bit puzzling. Just two weeks ago Ohio State AD Gene Smith was still standing behind Tressel. What exactly made the Ohio State administration and Board of Trustees do such an about face?

Was it the news that QB Terrelle Pryor is now the target of a new and more in-depth investigation?

(By the way, Pryor, for good measure showed up at a team meeting tonight driving a 350Z with temporary tags. Oh, AND WBNS-TV in Columbus had footage of Pryor driving a brand-new Dodge Challenger with dealer tags this week).

Pryor's seemingly long list of indiscretions could have put the administration over the edge, especially if you consider the NCAA's ruling against USC and Reggie Bush that essentially said more successful players must be monitored more.

More likely, though, it was death by a million paper cuts (and slightly larger knives) of bad public relations. Three months of negative media coverage with many more months to come. It seems OSU's leadership finally realized that no matter the outcome of the NCAA investigation - this whole thing was never going to go away as long as Tressel was coach.

If that's the case, then it seems pretty plausible that AD Smith and most of Ohio State's compliance department should be rewriting their resumes as well. It's difficult to imagine anyone involved surviving this mess. no comments

Who needs the camouflage helmet more? Terrelle Pryor or Jim Tressel?

It's probably a toss up, but only Pryor will be wearing the Ohio State special digital camouflage helmets during spring practice.

The Buckeyes have their reasons for wearing them this spring, but I ask you what are your thoughts on the look? no comments

It wasn't that big of a surprise when the appeal of Ohio State's Tat 5 (QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Dan Herron, WR Devier Posey, OT Mike Adams and DE Solomon Thomas) was denied by the NCAA in an attempt to have their five-game suspension reduced.

But the second bit of news that came out ... sort of was as head coach Jim Tressel asked, yes REQUESTED to have his previous two-game suspension increased to five games.

"Throughout this entire situation my players and I have committed ourselves to facing our mistakes and growing from them; we can only successfully do that together," Tressel said in a statement. "Like my players, I am very sorry for the mistakes I made. I request of the university that my sanctions now include five games so that the players and I can handle this adversity together."

Look, I'm an admitted Ohio State grad and fan, but how much of this baloney are we supposed to swallow? Somehow they're spinning this that Tressel is a hero who wants to stand by his players? Or could it be that the NCAA made it clear that two games was not going to be nearly enough of a suspension for Tressel's transgressions and Ohio State just tried to get out in front of the story and increased suspension?

Either way, Tress is sitting for five games. Just tired of all the BS. Say you messed up. Take your suspension and stop with all the horribly poor public relations maneuvering. no comments

Ugh. Sometimes being a college football fan sucks. (And if you think it won't happen to good 'ol State U. where you attended - just wait.)

After Yahoo! Sports initial report that Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel knew of the NCAA violations of the last year's Tatgate in Columbus almost nine months before admitting it, the school has suspended Tressel for two games and fined him $250K.

In a very awkward press conference Tressel attempted to explain that he received an email from an attorney in April of 2010 informing him that two players (the number would later grow to six) were connected to a federal drug investigation of tattoo parlor owner in Columbus. Tressel claimed he didn't inform anyone because the attorney asked that he keep the fact in confidence so as not to endanger the federal investigation. In doing so, Tressel violated NCAA rules by not informing college football's overlords that some of his players had potentially violated the rules.

Frankly, watching the press conference, Tressel's excuses came off as a bit contrived, especially when asked why the named players were permitted to play during the 2010 season despite the head coach being aware they may not be eligible. Tressel gave an answer that essentially said he didn't want to give away the secrecy of a federal investigation.

I guess there's no way that can be refuted but it seems a pretty far-fetched of an excuse. And why did it take until January for this to be outed when Ohio State held a press conference on the subject in mid-December? To me, Tress tried to cover for his players' stupidity with his own stupidity. Stupid is what I'm saying. I think "Uh, I forgot." would have been more believable.

For now it's two games, but the NCAA hasn't had a whack at this one yet. Wouldn't surprise me to see Tressel's suspension upped to four games or maybe five to match his players. no comments