For most of the teams in the Big Ten, Ohio State will be their toughest game this year

Tom Dienhart of the Big Ten Network released his list of toughest Big Ten conference games for each team, and Ohio State is highlighted often. Dienhart names the late November clash against Michigan in Ann Arbor as Ohio State’s toughest Big Ten game this season, and the Buckeyes are named as the toughest conference game for seven other Big Ten schools. The only Big Ten schools Ohio State plays in which they weren’t named the toughest conference opponent this year were Nebraska and Rutgers, with Dienhart selecting games at Penn State as the toughest for the Cornhuskers and Scarlet Knights.

Yesterday Dienhart also released the best non-conference game for each Big Ten school and ranked them from 1-14. The obvious top pick for the list was the showdown in early September in Columbus between Ohio State and Oklahoma. Even though Michigan and Florida squaring off in Arlington in one of the marquee matchups of the first full weekend of college football will be interesting, it just didn’t have quite the same intrigue as the Sooners and Buckeyes squaring off.

Olentangy Liberty product Brendon White played safety, linebacker, receiver, and quarterback in high school, with his versatility drawing comparisons to Darron Lee. Head coach Urban Meyer gave White a shot at wide receiver in spring practice, but it appears he is better suited on the defensive side of the football, as evidenced by the early enrollee announcing last night on Twitter that he was now a safety. In 2015, White was named Associated Press all-state defensive back after hauling in six interceptions.

With Ohio State’s lack of depth at wide receiver, Meyer allowed White to work with the receivers in spring practice, but apparently something didn’t click or else White wouldn’t be moving to one of the deepest units on Ohio State’s football team. Meyer might have recognized early on in White’s college career that safety is in his blood, as his father is former Ohio State and NFL safety William White. Along with the position change, White also said he will be getting a new jersey number soon as well.

Wide receivers coach Zach Smith challenged freshman wide receiver Trevon Grimes on whether Grimes was really a “hometown legend” in Fort Lauderdale. To test this Smith called a barbershop in Fort Lauderdale to see if the employees there could name Grimes. After struggling to come up with Grimes’ name early on in the phone call, the employees were finally able to provide Smith with Grimes’ name, helping the young wide receiver to truly prove that he is a “hometown legend”.

“The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Tuesday approved extending the coach’s box to 38 feet for the 2017-18 men’s basketball season.”

NCAA.com

The NCAA approved a number of rule changes earlier this week, with the most notable being extending the coach’s box from 28 feet to 38 feet. The change was made to allow for better communication between coaches and their teams, especially when the team is at the opposite end of the court.

Another rule that was passed by the NCAA was the reset of the shot clock to 20 seconds when the ball is inbounded into the front court after a foul on the defense. If there was more than 20 seconds on the shot clock at the time of the foul, the shot clock will not be reset.

The NCAA also approved the use of instant replay by referees in the final two minutes of the second half and overtime to determine if a secondary defender is in or outside the restricted area-arc when a call is made. A mandatory minimum of 0.3 seconds will be taken off the game clock when the basketball is touched and an official immediately blows his whistle. Along with these changes, the NCAA also approved changes of legal screen and cylinder rules that are aimed at improving the game.

STICK TO SPORTS

• Dogs could be allowed on restaurant patios in Ohio soon.
• Jeni’s Ice Cream is adding a bunch of new flavors.
• Cincinnati and Columbus top the list as best cities for new college graduates.
• The “unicorn pizza” is a thing and it looks terrible.
• The soup company made famous by Seinfeld has filed for bankruptcy.