Check out box scores and highlights from all of the area regional final girls soccer games from Nov. 1, 2014.

Check out box scores and highlights from all of the area regional final girls soccer games from Nov. 1, 2014.

Check out statewide high school football scores from Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014.

Check out statewide high school football scores from Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014.

St. Edward has won five straight games to finish the regular season.

St. Edward has won five straight games to finish the regular season.

Check out how the Top 10 Ohio high school football teams in the state for each division, according to the Associated Press poll, fared in Week 10.

Check out how the Top 10 Ohio high school football teams in the state for each division, according to the Associated Press poll, fared in Week 10.

Check out how the cleveland.com Top 25 high school football teams fared on Saturday in Week 10 of the 2014 season.

Check out how the cleveland.com Top 25 high school football teams fared on Saturday in Week 10 of the 2014 season.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph football clinches a playoff spot, according to unofficial computer points ratings.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph football clinches a playoff spot, according to unofficial computer points ratings.

Urban Meyer continues to push Ohio State, which defeated Illinois on Saturday in Columbus.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- His reputation is that he always wants more. Rock star recruits, you betcha, side by side if possible, boarding Urban Meyer's ark of triumph.

Plays and points, oh, my yes! Four straight home games of 50 points or more this season, a record even for Ohio State, the Big Ten's traditional leader in rubble bouncing.

The Abuse Auction

Why run 60 plays when you can fire off more in the spread formation, turning loose elite athletes moving at SEC warp speed to wreck this league – well, except for Michigan State – week in and week out?

Ninety plays? 90? We have 90. Who'll gimme 100? You, sir, with the brush cut and the urgency in your wave?

Sold, at the humiliation market for the opponents, to the coach with the lean and hungry look, driven by the big impression his team has to make.

Against Cincinnati, on September 20, Ohio State ran off 101 snaps and amassed 45 first downs in hanging its usual half-hundred on an in-state opponent. In this case, the final tote board read: Ohio State 52, Cincinnati 28.

Who's counting, you ask, while you offer a lament for lost sportsmanship? Why the college football committee that selects the football Final Four field.

It Was Two Chilis and Only One MOAD

Back at the start of the century, Meyer and Illinois coach Tim Beckman worked together at Bowling Green.

On a cold Saturday night at the Horseshoe, when a bitter wind snapped the huge American flag like an honor guard's rifled salute, Ohio State routed Illinois, 55-14.

Ohio State thrashed Illinois, 60-35, last season.

You must wonder if Beckman messed up the orders at the take-out counter at Tony Packo's up the road in Toledo or something

MOAD means Mother Of All Dogs, by the way. It is not an allusion to much of the Big Ten this season.

Back to the Future?

With the wind and the sprained knee Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett suffered last week at Penn State, and with the Big Ten East Division lead at stake next week in East Lansing, Mich., the thought was that Meyer might go back to the future, the way he went Woody retro last week in the second half and the two overtimes of a squeaker over Penn State.

But in the first half against Illinois, Barrett completed 15 of 24 passes, for two touchdowns and 167 yards. He didn't throw deep that often, although he dropped a beautiful 32-yard touchdown pass into Devin Smith's hands.

With Ohio State's speed edge, quick screens and crosses enabled him to complete passes to six different receivers for 10 or more yards.

The Buckeyes led, 31-0, at halftime. It could have been more.

Meyer has as much use for field goals as Jim Tressel had for fourth-down gambles with the lead that could compromise field position. Barrett was stuffed on a run in the red zone and Ezekiel Elliott was stopped short at the goal line on a Barrett shovel pass.

The New Normal

For decades, Ohio State battered overmatched teams in long, slow games that  were measured out in the 3-yard dust clouds Hayes loved so much.

The Buckeyes' greatest coach since Hayes, Tressel, stressed that "the punt is the most important play in football."

Meyer likes the run, hates "basketball on grass," and likes smash as much or more than flash. But he likes pedal-to-the-metal scoring most of all.

Most of the Ohio State starters, excluding Barrett, were playing in the third quarter Saturday.

The End of Taking "No" for an Answer

It's not just on the field. Meyer will try to "flip" the commitments of future reinforcements, as he did Benedictine's stellar linebacker, Jerome Baker, from Florida to OSU.

A recruit, absent a categorical refusal, is fair game. Meyer "pushes the envelope," the rules boundaries, but does not exceed them. The envelope maybe needs extra stamps when a multi-star high school player is delivered to the Woody Hayes Center, courtesy of recruiting's postmaster general.

Endgame coming

The Buckeyes will walk out of Spartan Stadium next Saturday a different team than the one that walked in. It will be a much more minimalist exercise in power football, at least by all expectations.

Meyer lives by a "more is more" philosophy. But "less" with him is really a lot more than you might expect, too.

But will it be enough?

 

The No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes took care of Illinois on Saturday night, setting the stage for next Saturday's matchup at No. 8 Michigan State.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Now we can get onto the big one.

The No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes took care of business on Saturday night, shutting down Illinois in a 55-14 win in Ohio Stadium.

It's officially time to start talking about next weekend, when the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) travel to East Lansing for the Big Ten's game of the year against No. 8 Michigan State.

But for kicks, here's what happened on Saturday night:

The Buckeyes scored on their first possession for the sixth straight game, and that would've been enough to put away an Illinois team that came out flat after beating then-No. 24 Minnesota last week.

Curtis Samuel got Ohio State on the board less than four minutes into the game on a 23-yard touchdown run.

Ohio State scored on its first three possessions en route to its 20th consecutive Big Ten regular season win, tying the conference mark set by the Buckeyes from 2005-07.

The only sign of life Illinois showed all night was a 56-yard screen play that came out of a funky formation that had all but the Illini center, quarterback and running back lined up out wide. Illinois took it down to the Ohio State 14-yard line, then was called for a chop block on third down and missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.

A touchdown there might have made things interesting, but Ohio State moved the ball all night against Illinois' defense. Even on a night when quarterback J.T. Barrett wasn't at his most sharp, the Buckeyes really didn't skip a beat.

Barrett missed on a couple wide open receivers, but threw two touchdown passes before sitting in the second half.

As Illinois rotated between quarterbacks Reilly O'Toole and Aaron Bailey, Ohio State took a 31-0 lead at the half on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Barrett to Devin Smith.

Smith with finished with two touchdown receptions, giving him 25 for his career and tying him with Santonio Holmes on Ohio State's all-time list.

The Ohio State defense forced four turnovers, keeping Illinois off the board until a five-yard rushing touchdown by Donovonn Young with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

Saturday was exactly what Ohio State needed heading into next week. The Buckeyes could've used a confidence boost after nearly losing to Penn State last week, and they got it.

Heck, even backup quarterback Cardale Jones got in on the action, throwing for 82 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 47 yards..

It was a reminder that the Buckeyes can dominate bad teams, but now the task is scoring against a good defense, which has proved difficult for Ohio State this season in games against Virginia Tech and the Nittany Lions.

When it was over

One might argue Dec. 9, 2011: The day Illinois hired Tim Beckman to be its head coach. (Is that too mean?)

Really it was over when Buckeyes linebacker Darron Lee picked off O'Toole on the first drive of the game. Samuel scored three plays later on a 23-yard run.

What it means

Not much, other than the Ohio State offense seemed to get back on track a bit ahead of next Saturday's game at Michigan State. We've been saying all year that next Saturday is the one that matters.

Now it's finally here.

Barrett sits after first half

Barrett, who came into Saturday with a sprained MCL, was benched in the second half. Cardale Jones played the second half at quarterback for the Buckeyes.

Barrett finished 15-for-24 for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran seven times for 38 yards.

Samuel makes the start at RB

Samuel made the first start of his career, starting at running back in place of Ezekiel Elliott, and going 23 yards for a touchdown on his first touch of the game.

Samuel had 63 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Elliott had a team-high 69 yards on nine carries.

Bosa keeps Bosa-ing

Buckeyes defensive end Joey Bosa picked up two more sacks on Saturday, pushing his season total to 10. He came into Saturday tied for fifth in the nation in sacks.

Another opening drive INT

Lee intercepted O'Toole on the games' first drive after Illini tight end Matt LaCosse bobbled a ball that hit him in the chest. Lee picked it out of the air and returned it to the Illinois 38-yard line.

Ohio State scored its first touchdown last week against Penn State after a Vonn Bell interception on the opening drive.

What's next

Ohio State goes back on the road for its third straight primetime game when the Buckeyes travel to East Lansing for an 8 p.m. showdown with Michigan State.

The Big Ten now plays night games, but as Ohio State's victory over Illinois and several other league games showed Saturday, the league isn't ready for the big stage.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The reality of non-competitive primetime Big Ten games in November played out in the stairwell of C Deck West at Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.

It was halftime, and fans were using it to leave.

After the band was done, of course. The Best Damn Band in the Land was the best part of Big Ten football on this day.

The rest of Saturday, across the Big Ten land, was a sad display of incompetence, Midwest cold and progress at the cost of tradition. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, and there's no reason to expect there won't be more November Saturdays like it to come in this league.

Next week, at long last, we get Ohio State at Michigan State, the game of the year in the Big Ten. But waiting months for one game to matter is no way to go through a season. And waiting with a scarf wrapped over your face only makes it worse.

Primetime games at Ohio Stadium used to be special. Now they are so over. Saturday night, with the Shoe 80 percent empty by the end of the game, wasn't what college football in Columbus should be.

Ohio State's 55-14 whitewashing of Illinois was the capper to the Big Ten's boring day of bashing, the Buckeyes' win freezing and late and never in doubt. The No. 16 Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) looked solid. They could have looked that way while the sun was still out.

If you haven't heard, the Big Ten plays night games in November now, after years of holding out, but all those in knit caps, gloves and snowsuits watching in person had to wonder why. Asking fans to pay $79 a seat and get home well after midnight with a wind chill below freezing should come with a social contract and the understanding that an interesting, important game will be provided in return.

Lousy games during the day are part of the deal. Competitive, interesting night games are part of the deal. Even lousy night games earlier in the calendar have been accepted.

Whatever that thing was Saturday? Not even close.

Night games are now part of the commerce of the league. Ohio State has four 8 p.m. starts and a 6 p.m. start this year. Urban Meyer loves the games for recruiting. The conference loves it for TV. If the product was worth watching, that might make sense.

When half your league can't find a way to keep games interesting, that's a problem.

Maryland (we'll get to the Terrapins soon), beat Penn State 20-19 Saturday, but beyond the Buckeyes' demolition of Illinois, consider the scores of the other four Big Ten games:

• Iowa 48, Northwestern 7

• Wisconsin 37, Rutgers 0

• Nebraska 35, Purdue 14

• Michigan 34, Indiana 10

Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, Purdue and Indiana, the five teams who lost by at least three touchdowns on Saturday, are 18-25 overall and 5-19 in Big Ten play.

When these Wolverines, a day after their AD quit for being snarky to fans and bad at hiring football coaches, are beating up on anyone, there is something wrong with the league.

Who wants to watch these games? Who wants to pay to watch these games? Who wants to pay to watch these games at night?

It is the new way and the new world in the Big Ten. But sometimes there needs to be a reminder about the cost involved.

The cost was leaving down that stairwell, while their team was beating up the visitors.

Not all the fans left. By the end, the North stands were silver bleachers dotted with parkas. But some stayed. They deserve better more than anyone.

The Big Ten at the moment loves to sell the product. More night games. More expansion.

They aren't very good at providing the product, not after a slew of bad nonconference results in September helped keep the league on the outside of the first playoff poll released last week.

The top of the league may not be good enough. The rest is worse. Illinois coach Tim Beckman, hired out of the MAC, has been overmatched from the get-go. He drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on Saturday - presumably for now being 2-19 in the Big Ten in his career.

And consider what the newest members of the Big Ten have contributed to the conference this season.

Maryland beat Penn State on Saturday to move to 6-3 on the season and 3-2 in the Big Ten. On last check, that record wasn't good enough to allow you to turn down the pregame handshake, which the Terrapins' captains so punkishly did to the Nittany Lions.

Maryland's coach and athletic director apologized after the game. So take it as a lesson learned. But here's a future suggestion for coin toss etiquette for the Terrapins – get down on your knees and thank every Big Ten member you play for letting you in the conference.

Then go back home, check your athletic department's budget, and say thanks again.

Rutgers, the other newbie, has lost its last three games by a combined score of 135-41 to Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin after a 5-1 start. And remember, the head coach got a contract extension during that start.

Meanwhile, ESPN's College GameDay was in West Virginia on Saturday for a Big 12 battle between West Virginia and TCU. That led West Virginia president E. Gordon Gee to tweet an apology to TCU for the silly things he said about that school and the Little Sisters of the Poor while he was Ohio State's president.

Working on some signs for @CollegeGameDay! Here is one for my friends at @TCU_Athletics. pic.twitter.com/IVJw0wm3wY

— E. Gordon Gee (@gordongee) October 31, 2014

Gee still knows how to take the stage.

The Big Ten does not.

The Wisconsin-Rutgers game was so boring, the ESPN broadcast crew had moved on to incomprehensible banter about the SEC and the playoff by the middle of the third quarter. The Big Ten has only itself to blame.

Everything will be riding on next week when the Buckeyes go to East Lansing. You could put that game at 2 a.m. at the North Pole and backers of the Spartans and Buckeyes would gladly turn out.

The following week, Michigan State will play Maryland in primetime, the third November night game for the conference this year.

The Big Ten is proving to love primetime. And still showing that far too many of its teams aren't ready for it.

Stay warm.

Barrett completed 15-of-24 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns and added 38 yards rushing before being replaced by backup Cardale Jones. Inside is a breakdown of Barrett's performance, even if it only lasted for two quarters.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The poor passing performance at Penn State, the knee injury and whether he'd be limited because of it. 

For the first time in more than a month, there was some uncertainty around Ohio State freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett as the team prepared for Saturday night's game vs. Illinois. 

Though Barrett came out rusty, he put up big enough numbers in the first half of Ohio State's 55-14 win over Illinois that he didn't have to play the final two quarters. 

Barrett completed 15-of-24 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns and added 38 yards rushing before being replaced by backup Cardale Jones.

Following is a breakdown of Barrett's performance, even if it only lasted for two quarters. 

• Barrett missed his first three pass attempts that would have been big plays. The first came on Ohio State's opening drive when his pass to a wide open Jeff Heuerman – who would have been able to walk into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown – sailed. The Buckeyes ended up scoring the next play on a touchdown run from Curtis Samuel. 

On the second drive, Barrett had Nick Vannett open down the seam and he threw a touch pass instead of a bullet. The ball hit Vannett in the hands, but he was clobbered by an Illinois defender. Vannett should have caught it, but it would have been easier to hold onto had Barrett made the right type of pass. 

Then a few plays later, Barrett had another ball sail on him on an out pattern to Dontre Wilson. 

• Urban Meyer said that the biggest thing that would be impacted by Barrett's MCL sprain in his left knee was the running game, but here's a theory for why he was high on a handful of his passes at the beginning of the game. Barrett's left leg is his plant leg, so he may not have been able to get completely comfortable as a passer. 

• Not all of Barrett's passes were poor, quite the contrary. Barrett's 32-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith was the perfect pass, one that was right over the defender and right into the wide receiver's arms. Barrett couldn't have put that pass in a better spot. 

• Ohio State didn't call a ton of designed runs, but Barrett didn't look gunshy at all when it came to putting his shoulder down and moving the sticks. Never did he grab his knee, hesitate or do anything that would indicate he was hurt. 

• Even after Barrett was replaced, he held onto his helmet on the sideline as if he hoped he'd be able to get back into the game. 

• We don't have to wait much longer now – a week exactly – to really get a sense of what Barrett is. The only two times the Buckeyes have faced competent defenses – Virginia Tech and Penn State – Barrett looked shaky in a loss and a close overtime win. Now that Michigan State looms, we're about to get answers. 

Is Barrett really one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten? Is he as special as his big numbers indicate? The Buckeyes cannot go get a win in East Lansing over the Spartans without Barrett playing a sharp, effective game. 

Everything Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after the Buckeyes beat Illinois 55-14 on Saturday night in Ohio Stadium

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A complete transcript of Ohio State coach Urban Meyer after the Buckeyes beat Illinois 55-14 on Saturday night in Ohio Stadium.

Urban Meyer: Thanks for coming. I told our players to whenever we grab a hand at the end of the game, say be extremely grateful for the blessings to play this great game at the level they can play it, where they play it at, because I just made a point that our student body once again was out there in full force. Even stuck around. I even looked up there during the ending of the game they were still there. We're very grateful for that. The final part is who they played with. I think we have a good bunch of players that care about each other and get ready for a big week. So I thought our defense came out and played really well. A little disappointed in the red zone, offense, couple of field goals we could have probably kicked or we could have went for, but I still want to put a lot of pressure on our offensive line and quarterback in those kinds of situations because we know they're coming down the road. With that, I'll answer any questions for you.

Q. Not to discount what J.T. did, but you put Cardale in and he got some meaningful minutes, and he contributed big time. The tackle, the two TD passes, he hurdled a guy and what you're doing with Jalin Marshall, took a direct snap?

Meyer: We've been working on Jalin playing quarterback first because he's very talented. Second of all, whenever you start getting you hear these stories I've never been down to our third and fourth string quarterback, but you always try to be ready in case something happens. And he's a gifted guy. So we're going to expand his package each week. But J.T. missed a couple of wide open guys early in that game. But I was really impressed by the way he came back and he made some very good plays in the second quarter. So and Cardale, I think that was the first time we let him play. Usually gets in there, we just kind of mush around. And he was in there with some really young linemen and still moved the ball. So I thought did he very well.

Q. How hard really was it to focus on this knowing what you've got next week and how quickly have you turned the page already?

Meyer: Well, it depends what kind of team you had. I didn't feel it was hard at all. Partially because we didn't play very well the week before on offense. And defense is still a work in progress. They're playing pretty good. But offensively a week ago, we had hard practices. We expect much more out of our offensive line than we got in State College. So I didn't feel it one bit. But now I'll focus obviously on this week.

Q. Why did Curtis Samuel start the game instead of Ezekiel Elliott. And what did you see out of Curtis Samuel that caught your eye?

Meyer: The week in practice. There's nothing quite like competition. And those two guys, I don't micromanage that position. I certainly listen and give my opinions. But Stan Drayton came to me in the middle of the week and said "I'd like to start Curtis Samuel this week, he's doing everything right, and practices at an extremely high level," and we still have great confidence in Zeke but we have two guys that can play.

Q. Seemed like not just J.T. but a lot of starters were out very early in the second half, maybe earlier than you have done, is that next week?

Meyer: This time of year you're getting a little thin, with the tailback situation and Bri'onte Dunn's not back yet and I started that was that position. And the same thing at offensive line, you're getting very thin in some spots. So we usually let you go in the middle of the third quarter, we'll pull you out. But we made a decision to get guys out a little earlier.

Q. J.T. (indiscernible)?

Meyer: We just and that we wanted Cardale to play. I was going to go right before we went out at halftime we were going to let him go one more series. And then I just got a feeling I said get him out of the game. A little bit of the knee because obviously time away from that injury heals it. He's fine and ready to go but just the smart thing to do, I think.

Q. Last two weeks J.T. hasn't been real sharp throwing a ball. Are you comfortable with where your throw game is going into East Lansing?

Meyer: Not yet. I liked the way he finished the two minute drill. He had two good passes, one a corner route to Dontre Wilson and then the touchdown pass to the tight end. So, no, we're not 100 percent there. And we're going to work real hard at it at practice. And I thought we had opportunities early in the game to hit some wide open guys and we just misfired. Whenever a quarterback throws high it means he was juiced up and Tom Herman, I just listen to the way he coaches them and we have a lot of confidence, but that's one reason we tried to keep putting him in those positions and he left the game at halftime feeling very confident.

Q. (Indiscernible) is he 100 percent?

Meyer: I think he's pretty close.

Q. Now that this game with Michigan State is here, with the way things went down last year, what was at stake when you lost that game, do you feel that has stuck with your guys now that you get another shot at Michigan State?

Meyer: We've not talked about it much. In the offseason, our strength coach, Coach Mick, does a little bit of motivational stuff about how that was obviously the dream was ripped away from us, ripped away by a very good team, and we're going to face a very good team that we have a lot of respect for. So it's all about the most prepared team. That's what's going to win this game. And I don't think there will be a whole lot of necessary we'll do our part about motivation, but this is a motivated team. And I think the most prepared team will win it.

 

Football Saturday for the Ohio State University Marching Band began in mid-afternoon, even though kickoff against Illinois wasn't until 8 p.m. The day closed with a post-game show just before midnight in a stadium left nearly empty as fans left the cold behind and headed for home.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Football Saturday for the Ohio State University Marching Band began in mid-afternoon, even though kickoff against Illinois wasn't until 8 p.m.

The long day's scheduled included rehearsal of the day's show and a skull session performance in St. John Arena before the game.

The halftime featured music from outer space favorites, including "Star Trek: Into Darkness," "Independence Day" and "2001, A Space Odyssey."

The day closed with a post-game show just before midnight in a stadium left nearly empty as fans left the cold behind and headed for home.

Barrett wasn't too pleased with the way he threw the ball in Ohio State's 55-14 win over Illinois, but the Buckeyes are happy to get a win and to keep their quarterback healthy heading into Michigan State week.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – J.T. Barrett threw two touchdowns and led an offense that was so successful that he didn't have to play in the second half of Ohio State's 55-14 win over Illinois on Saturday night. 

And though it was his first game since spraining his left MCL, Barrett said he didn't have any lingering issues with his knee. 

So considering all that, it couldn't have been a much better night for Barrett.

Too bad he doesn't feel that way. 

"It was pretty poor," Barrett said when asked to assess his performance after the game. "Just missing open guys. I feel like I knew where to go with the football, it's more just completing it. That's on myself and I can correct that."

There's this theory that Barrett's passing was off because his knee sprain was in his planting leg, thus impacting his throwing motion.

On Ohio State's first drive, Barrett missed a wide open Jeff Heuerman on what would have been an easy touchdown. On the next drive, Barrett missed a wide open Dontre Wilson on an out pattern. Both passes were overthrown. 

But Barrett said his knee had nothing to do with any of the plays he didn't make. 

"It wasn't my knee," Barrett said. "I was confident in my knee. It wasn't the wind or cold, it was just me not getting it to them. Plain and simple." 

As a runner, Barrett carried it a lot more than the Buckeyes anticipated because Illinois defended the zone read differently than the coaches anticipated. 

On film, Illinois defended zone read plays by making the quarterback give the ball to the running back, which was perfect for Ohio State considering they wanted Barrett to avoid running. Against the Buckeyes, however, the Illini defense bit on the running back and made Barrett make plays. 

"I thought he physically played well," offensive coordinator Tom Herman said. "He just missed some open throws."

So while Barrett is displeased with his performance as a passer and Urban Meyer mentioned some of his miscues, the Buckeyes have to feel good that their freshman quarterback can now head into Michigan State week fully healthy. 

Meyer said he initially thought about playing Barrett a drive into the third quarter with Ohio State clinging to a 31-0 lead, but then thought better of it. 

"I just got a feeling and I said 'get him out of the game,' Meyer said. "A little bit of the knee because obviously time away from that injury heals it. He's fine and ready to go but just the smart thing to do, I think." 

Asked later if Barrett is 100 percent, Meyer said "I think he's pretty close." 

A win and a new bill of health for Barrett. 

Ohio State will take it. 

Ohio State beat Illinois 55-14 on Saturday night in Ohio Stadium, here's the six most important things the Buckeyes said after the win. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes took care of business on Saturday night, beating an overmatched Illinois 55-14 in Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) can now officially look ahead to next weekend, when they travel to East Lansing for a primetime showdown with No. 8 Michigan State.

Not surprisingly, most of the conversation postgame centered on that game against the Spartans.

Here are some of the best soundbites from Ohio State players and coaches after the Buckeyes' win:

• Freshman Curtis Samuel started at running back for the Buckeyes. Here's what Urban Meyer said about the decision to start Samuel over Ezekile Elliott:

"The week in practice. There's nothing quite like competition. And those two guys, I don't micromanage that position. I certainly listen and give my opinions. But Stan Drayton came to me in the middle of the week and said, 'I'd like to start Curtis Samuel this week, he's doing everything right, and practices at an extremely high level,' and we still have great confidence in Zeke, but we have two guys that can play."

• Ohio State linebacker Curtis Grant, who had three tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery:

"It was a special moment for me. It was one of my last games in The Shoe and I wanted to give it all I got. I felt like I was complacent at times, but tonight I wanted to come out and play for my guys."

• Linebacker Darron Lee on the four turnovers Ohio State forced on Saturday:

"It feels great to get the turnovers and the energy it brings our team. We've been working so hard and it's a lot of fun."

• Meyer on facing Michigan State:

"It's all about the most prepared team. That's what's going to win this game. And I don't think there will be a whole lot of necessary — we'll do our part about motivation, but this is a motivated team. And I think the most prepared team will win it."

• Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett, who didn't play in last year's Big Ten championship game, on playing Michigan State next week:

"Last year when I redshirted during the Big Ten championship game, I was just taking it all in and learning as much as I could. We're a different team this year, and so are they. They're going to get after us defensively, and we need to be prepared."

• Ohio State safety Vonn Bell on Michigan State:

"Last year hurt how things happened. It's all about executing. We're going to challenge each other this week, push each other and hold each other accountable going forward."

Here's a complete listing of the 43 area football teams projected to make the playoffs per unofficial ratings compiled by Joe Eitel, along with the projected seeds and pairings.

Here's a complete listing of the 43 area football teams projected to make the playoffs per unofficial ratings compiled by Joe Eitel, along with the projected seeds and pairings.

Watch an archived version of Sunday's high school football show that features dozens of players and teams from area.

Watch an archived version of Sunday's high school football show that features dozens of players and teams from area.

See a statewide preview of the Division IV football playoffs.

See a statewide preview of the Division IV football playoffs.

See a selection of Plain Dealer game photos in under a minute in this fast-paced audio slideshow with music. And see all photos in the gallery below!  

See a selection of Plain Dealer game photos in under a minute in this fast-paced audio slideshow with music. And see all photos in the gallery below!

 

Check out this statewide preview of the Division V football playoffs after pairings were announced Sunday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Check out this statewide preview of the Division V football playoffs after pairings were announced Sunday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Brian Hoyer is the team's best chance to win and make the postseason this year. Repeat that the next time he throws and interception and don't worry about next season until we see how this one ends.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – We have pretty much reached the point of absurdity in the Brian Hoyer Story.

On the same day Hoyer threw for 300 yards, won his fifth game of the season and thanked Tampa Bay's All-Pro tackle Gerald McCoy for a flattering review shared during the week, he also heard boos.

At home. While helping the Browns become relevant in November for the first time in seven years.

The craziest part? The Browns have set an incredibly low standard over the years. Yet Hoyer's team is disappointing because it doesn't put the dregs of the league away with complete dispatch?

As recently as last year, the Browns were Tampa Bay, Oakland and Jacksonville.

A year ago, Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell couldn't make the plays Hoyer is making at big moments. And still, some otherwise sane people are leapfrogging the moment winning is finally happening at the lakefront to gripe that Hoyer isn't the long-range answer.

Who cares?

The Browns often give you reason to greet November by saying wait 'till next year. But this surely can't be one of those times, can it?

"Fans are fans," Joe Haden was saying after the Browns' 22-17 win over Tampa. "I can only say we believe in Hoyer. He's done a great job. He's what – 8-3 as a starter? On offense we have some injuries and he's doing the best he can do."

Haden plays on the side of the ball that wasn't missing three All-Pros, the side that was being gashed by former Browns running back Bobby Rainey for 80 yards in the first half.

There was less reason to believe the Browns would shut down the run in the second half than there was to imagine Hoyer directing a turnaround (it's his thing, after all). Both happened.

Hoyer, who has a track record of hot streaks dating to Minnesota last year, hit a stretch late in the first half through the initial drive of the second half where he connected on 11 consecutive passes.

He finished with 300 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Other NFL starters go through equally inaccurate periods during games. Hoyer might be the only one whose three-and-outs routinely prompt TV cutaways to the backup QB. In this case, Johnny Manziel, the Browns' Cat in the Hat.

"We're doing a good job of finding ways to win," said Joe Thomas, who didn't mention they're playing without Alex Mack, Jordan Cameron and Josh Gordon. "Part of that is having a quarterback who's making the clutch throws."

One of those was the 34-yarder to Taylor Gabriel that became the game-winner. Hoyer ignored his intended target, prompting offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to bark into his headset, "Why didn't he throw it?"

Mike Pettine remembered it as one of those "no, no, yes, yes" moments. Hoyer waited, got a great cut block from Terrance West on a blitzing Buccaneers linebacker and found Gabriel wide open. This time he hit him in stride.

"I tell our receivers, "If you see me looking around, just go deep," Hoyer said. "It wasn't always pretty the way our offense was playing. But if you look in the box score, we're 5-3.

"You never want to hear (boos) but, hey, we expect more from ourselves than our fans do. We thought we should be playing better."

What we know about Hoyer after eight starts this season and three a year ago is that he can look every bit like the undrafted free agent he was coming out Michigan State.

Then he's dropping a soft pass into Jim Dray's hands for 26 yards on third-and-one in a game the Browns trail, 10-9.

He can throw three passes in the shadow of his own goal line – two incompletions, a total of minus-2 yards -- then connect with Miles Austin for 25 yards on third-and-16. Is that all the benefit of playing poor defenses? 

Perhaps no team or quarterback could use a game to give their season context as much as the Browns and Hoyer need Thursday night's prime time matchup in Cincinnati. At least that's what it feels like after playing three teams with a combined record of 1-and-a-trillion.

"We knew if we did well (the last three games) that we'd be playing a meaningful game in Cincinnati," said Hoyer.

They went 2-1, which beats two other possibilities.

No guarantee his play won't be boo worthy against the Bengals. But if Hoyer has proven anything in his career over two seasons it's that it's premature to count him down and out.

The Browns will go with him until they're not playoff contenders. For now, he's the starting quarterback for a 5-3 team in his hometown. It's a pretty cool story.

Let's not skip to the epilogue when the story is half over.