Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Afternoon Notes: Injury Updates and the BCS

Drew Thurman (4:49 pm)

1) Tressel's weekly press conference was earlier this afternoon, and obviously the Wisconsin game was the focus.

Tressel had a lot to say about about the challenges facing the Badgers, and it was interesting to hear the players who have caught his eye. Outside of Scott Tolzien, it was running back James White that received the most praise from Tressel, not John Clay.  

"Their running backs, I think No. 20 has added another dimension to—obviously John Clay is extraordinary, but you bring in that tempo change guy and all of a sudden, he hits you with a different type look and I think he's added a great look. I think in the last three games he's rushed for 300 and some odd yards and is a good player. He's their kickoff return guy as well. So they're all that everyone expects them to be."

2) Tressel also answered a lot of questions about playing in Camp Randall. Since 2004, the Badgers are 40-4 at home while also winning 25 of their last 28 night games there, so this will be a tough test. What really adds to the pressure is the fact that the Buckeyes enter the contest with the No. 1 ranking hanging over their heads. In typical Tressel fashion though, he downplayed the ranking and the idea of it changing the preparation for a game like this.

"Well, they were going to be ready if we were 15th. I mean, I don't know that that will change their readiness. What's most critical is our readiness and our preparation and then how we handle the adversity and how we handle the situation there. There will be times when you can't hear. There will be times when you're not in the same comfort zone as you are back in your own meeting rooms at halftime or whatever, but I'm not sure that anything in terms of the rankings are going to change. I mean, Wisconsin is going to be ready, so I don't know that that will change it."

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3) On the injury front, Tressel gave updates on a few players. First, he made it clear that Pryor is healthy and will run the ball when needed this week. As for Stoneburner, he said this:

"He was back doing individual drills on Sunday night. I'm told that he's probable, but that was said cautiously with let's see how he does banging into people a little bit today, so I think we'll have a little better idea after today."

And for J.B. Shugarts, he gave this update:

"I think his foot will be bothering him all season like it did all—he's got bad feet. I mean, I don't mean movement-wise, I mean, he just, his feet bothered him all of last year and I don't know if it's the makeup of them or—when you're down there in the trenches, your feet get tromped on all the time, so, yeah, I think he'll be fighting that battle all year. I'm sure he could have gone back in last week, but we thought it was a good opportunity for Andrew Norwell to get 30 plus snaps and we think very highly of Andrew, but you need experience to be ready. So hopefully while it may linger, it won't change J.B.'s effectiveness."

4) On a different note, the BCS projections released yesterday by ESPN's Brad Edwards has created a ton of controversy. His projections have Boise State at No. 1, with the Buckeyes at No. 5 behind Oregon, TCU, and Oklahoma. This hasn't sat well with many Buckeye fans, but I could honestly care less.

The Buckeyes have the toughest part of their schedule remaining, and have a lot of work to do before we freak out about where we sit in the BCS rankings. I hate the BCS as much as the next guy, but I do believe if the Buckeyes take care of business things will work out. In fact, Brad Edwards made it clear that the BCS qualifying schools would pass Boise if they keep winning, due to the fact that Boise's toughest games are out of the way already.

"Boise State rated higher because the Broncos are third in the Harris and USA Today polls and second in the BCS computer ranking, Edwards said. But he also noted Boise State has already played the toughest part of its schedule, while Ohio State and the other top-10 teams from automatic qualifying conferences face tougher competition in the weeks ahead."

5) SI just released an article entitled "Confessions of an Agent" by George Dohrmann who interviews former agent Josh Luchs. The whole article is pretty crazy, as he talks about many big-name football stars who received payments, including Ohio State's very own Santonio Holmes.

"In November 2005, Steve and I flew to Ohio State to talk to receiver Santonio Holmes. We met him outside the football building, and he said, 'Listen, I want to save you the time. We don't need to meet. I've been taking money from [an agent] the last couple years, and he's been taking care of my family too.'"

Nothing is going to come of this for Ohio State or Santonio, as the editor points out in the article. It does add another black eye to Holmes' record though, which has already looked bad in recent years. I always have been a big Santonio fan, but the guy has quite the rap sheet outside of the gridiron.