Rumors that Meyer would eventually take the job began to swirl almost as soon as Jim Tressel was fired by the school.

There was little chance that interim head coach Luke Fickel was going to do enough to impress the OSU brass to give him the job on a full-time basis.

Meyer has only been away from the game for a couple of years but believes he now has a better idea of how to balance work and his family.

Meyer resigned as Gators coach after last season, citing health concerns and a desire to spend more time with his family. “A year ago in my mind I was convinced I was done coaching,” he said, but added that he is feeling great. “I’ve been checked out and I’m ready to go,” he said. “I’ve been to a place and I don’t want to go back.”

It also helps that the deal is to pay Meyer very handsomely and the job is located in his home state of Ohio. He will receive a six-year contract that pays $4 million annually, plus another $2.4 million total in “retention payments,” making Meyer one of the highest paid coaches in the NCAA.

They were one of the teams that took its turn holding, then giving up, the top spot in the national rankings this season.

But the Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked No.1 in the nation as the NCAA tournament begins, and there are plenty of people expecting the Buckeyes to win six in a row and bring the national title back to Columbus.

Ohio State begins its NCAA journey as the top overall seed in the tournament and the No. 1 seed in the East regional. The Buckeyes play the winner of Texas-San Antonio/Alabama State on Friday in Cleveland, with a matchup against either Villanova or George Mason awaiting providing the Buckeyes don’t stumble in a monumental upset Friday.

That doesn’t appear likely, not with super freshman Jared Sullinger sparking a strong supporting cast. Ohio State topped Penn State 71-60 in the Big Ten championship game on Sunday, its 32nd victory of the season.

Sullinger leads the Buckeyes in scoring at 17.2 points and rebounds at 10.1 per contest.

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Freshman Jared Sullinger lead the way with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots.

The Buckeyes are just so difficult to defend because of the inside-outside game of Sullinger and Jon Diebler.

They play outstanding defense and just slowly, methodically wear down the opponent and pull away.

The Buckeyes were given the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament and seem like as good a bet as any to cut down the nets in April.

The regular season is complete and save for two losses in February, the Ohio State Buckeyes have not been stopped.

The top-ranked team in the nation, the Buckeyes tip off the Big Ten Conference tournament this week in Indianapolis with eyes on capturing the conference title … and a whole lot more.

Ohio State begins tournament play Friday against the winner of the Northwestern/Minnesota game. A win Friday sends the Buckeyes into Saturday’s semifinals, against either Michigan or Illinois.

Led by sensational freshman Jared Sullinger (17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds per game, 55.7 percent field-goal shooting), the Buckeyes will be a handful for whoever they run across in March and April. Losses at Wisconsin and at Purdue in February in an eight-day span only momentarily slowed down the Ohio State express.

Ohio State won four games in a row after the loss to the Boilermakers, winning by an average of 22.3 points. In the regular-season finale on Sunday, the Buckeyes avenged the earlier loss to Wisconsin, throttling the Badgers 93-65.

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The Ohio State Buckeyes returned to the top of the polls this week, ascending again to No. 1 in both the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 and The Associated Press Top 25.

The Buckeyes, winners of their first 24 games before losing two of three, have since won three in a row. Sunday’s 82-61 victory over Indiana, coupled with Duke’s loss Saturday night at Virginia Tech, vaulted the Big Ten Conference leaders to the top of the national rankings.

Ohio State stumbled against No. 14 Wisconsin on Feb. 12 and No. 11 Purdue on Feb. 20, but otherwise have escaped unblemished to this point. In a wild season where the top spot in the rankings has been a revolving door, the Buckeyes look as good a bet as anybody to be in the top spot in two weeks when the NCAA Tournament field is announced.

Led by fantastic freshman Jared Sullinger (17.4 points, 9.8 rebounds), Ohio State beat Penn State on Tuesday, and wraps up the regular season at home Sunday against No. 10 Wisconsin.

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The Ohio State Buckeyes get the chance to reverse a disturbing trend against the Southeastern Conference.

The Buckeyes came into this season with national championship aspirations. Nonetheless, an 11-1 season vaults No. 6-ranked Ohio State into the Sugar Bowl, Jan. 4 in New Orleans against eighth-ranked Arkansas of the SEC.

And that’s where the Buckeyes’ troubles normally begin during bowl season. Ohio State is 0-9 all-time against SEC foes in bowl games. But a high-powered offense hopes to end that streak.

The Buckeyes are led by Terrell Pryor, who passed for 25 touchdowns and 2,551 yards this season. Arkansas has its own strong quarterback in Ryan Mallett, who passed for 3,592 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2010.

Offense figures to be the story of the day when the Buckeyes and Hogs meet. Ohio State is averaging 39.4 points per game, while Arkansas has put up 37.3 per contest. Yardage wise, both teams are in the top 20 in the nation, the Hogs averaging 489.3 yards per contest (10th in the nation) while the Buckeyes average 448.8 per game (18th).

Both teams also feature 1,000-yard rushers. Ohio State’s Dan Herron has 1,068 yards and 15 touchdowns, sparking a rushing attach that ranks 14th in the nation at 219.7 per contest. Arkansas’s Knile Davis has rushed for 1,183 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season.

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The Terrelle Pryor Heisman Trophy bandwagon got plenty more riders after Saturday night. The Ohio State Buckeyes defense deserves some praise, too.

Pryor passed for 233 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 113 yards and a score, and the Buckeyes’ defense intercepted four passes as the second-ranked Buckeyes downed No. 12 Miami 36-24 in Columbus.

In a rematch of the 2002 Fiesta Bowl that decided the national championship, the Buckeyes looked every bit like a team destined to again raise the trophy. Pryor completed 12-of-27 passes and rushed 20 times, helped spark an Ohio State offense that finished with 414 yards of total offense.

Defensively, the Buckeyes made the big plays when needed, none bigger than Cameron Heyward’s 80-yard interception return that stopped a Miami drive that had moved the Hurricanes inside the Ohio State 10.

Devin Barclay booted five field goals for the Buckeyes, who remain No. 2 in the nation.

Ohio State plays host to Ohio this Saturday and welcomes in Eastern Michigan Sept. 25.

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If the Ohio State Buckeyes had their eyes on somebody other than Marshall in the season opener Thursday, it didn’t appear that way.

With a showdown against No. 13 Miami looming this Saturday, the second-ranked Buckeyes did as they were supposed to against the Thundering Herd, rolling to 35 first-half points in a 45-7 rout to kick off a season that Ohio State hopes will end with a BCS national championship.

Next up: the big one against the Hurricanes at Ohio Stadium, the first meeting between the two schools since Ohio State’s epic double-overtime victory in the Fiesta Bowl for the 2002 national championship.

Ohio State forced a fumble on the opening kickoff of the game and never looked back.

Terrelle Pryor kicked off his Heisman Trophy campaign with 247 yards passing and three touchdowns, completing 17-of-25 attempts. Brandon Saine rushed for two touchdowns and 103 yards on just nine carries.

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With 14 starters coming back to one of the perennial powerhouse programs in college football, it is no surprise big things are expected from the Ohio State Buckeyes this season.

The five-time defending Big Ten Conference champions are coming off an 11-2 season during which they beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl, lost only to USC and Purdue, and finished No. 5 in the nation in the USA Today coaches poll.

Both the USA Today and the Sports Illustrated preseason rankings have the Buckeyes on the move this season, up to No. 2 to kick off the 2010 campaign.

Defending national champion Alabama occupies the top spot in both polls. The Buckeyes did receive four first-place votes in the USA Today rankings.

Ohio State begins the new season Sept. 2 against Marshall at home.

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It was a day of honors for the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Big Ten media days on Monday, more evidence of how high expectations are entering 2010.

The Buckeyes finished first in the Big Ten’s preseason predicted order of finish, followed by Iowa and Wisconsin. Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor earned the conference’s offensive player of the year for the second consecutive season.

Pryor passed for 2,094 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, earning offensive MVP honors in the Rose Bowl. Pryor also rushed for 779 yards a year ago, leading the Buckeyes in that category.

The Buckeyes enter 2010 having won at least a share of the Big Ten title the past five years. Ohio State holds the conference record for most consecutive titles won, six (1972-1977).

Ohio State opens its season Sept. 2 at home against Marshall.

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