News, notes and leftover tidbits about the Buckeyes.
Tyler Moeller (here tackling Marshall's Chuck Walker) is expected to miss the rest of the 2010 season with a pectoral injury.DOUG’S TOP 25
1. Alabama; 2. Oregon; 3. Ohio State; 4. Boise State; 5. TCU; 6. Oklahoma; 7. Arizona; 8. Auburn; 9. Nebraska; 10. Stanford; 11. Michigan State; 12. Miami; 13. Utah; 14. LSU; 15. Iowa; 16. Arkansas; 17. Michigan; 18. Florida; 19. South Carolina; 20. Nevada; 21. Kansas State; 22. Air Force; 23. Wisconsin; 24. Missouri; 25. Florida State.
EXPLAINING MY BALLOT
• The Buckeyes dropped from No. 1 last week to No. 3, and very nearly to No. 4, behind Boise State. Ohio State’s resume, still with that top win against Miami, was slightly better than Boise State’s two best wins over Oregon State and Virginia Tech, even though Ohio State played a tight game at Illinois.
• Alabama is No. 1 for the first time for me since the preseason ballot, and no other team is close at the moment.
• Oregon moved up from sixth to second after beating Stanford, which had been my No. 4 team. The Ducks have some issues on defense, but their offense has been dominant. What doesn’t matter, to my thinking, is Ohio State’s win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl. That was last year. But evaluating the quality of the defenses that Oregon is facing will continue.
• Michigan State moves up to No. 11, one of the highest rankings for the Spartans, who are 17th in the overall poll. But there isn’t a team below Michigan State on this ballot that has a win better than the Spartans’ victory over Wisconsin.
-- Doug Lesmerises
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- News, notes and leftover tidbits about the Buckeyes.
A team source confirmed that Ohio State believes defensive back Tyler Moeller has a torn pectoral muscle that would cause him to miss the rest of the season.
Ironically, Moeller was injured against Illinois on Saturday as the Big Ten Network trained its camera on him during the introductions of the defense on the opening series.
With the Buckeyes in their nickel defense, Moeller attacked the line of scrimmage and reached out with his left arm to tackle Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure. As Leshoure ran by him, Moeller's left arm got wrapped around Leshoure's waist and Moeller spun to the ground. He immediately jumped up and jogged off the field shaking his left arm.
Ohio State's options to replace Moeller are limited because of the previous injury to safety C.J. Barnett, out for the season after knee surgery. Moeller plays the star position in Ohio State's nickel defense, which the Buckeyes use more than half the time.
Freshman Christian Bryant stepped in Saturday and is No. 2 on the depth chart there. Junior Nate Oliver played the star with the first team in the spring practice and would be No. 3 on the depth chart, but he has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.
Starting senior safety Jermale Hines played the star in the past and could easily shift there. If Barnett was healthy, that might be an option, with Barnett and Orhian Johnson playing the safety spots and Hines at the star. With Johnson already starting, his backup is senior Aaron Gant, who has played primarily special teams in his career.
So the best bet for the Buckeyes certainly seems to be Bryant at star and Hines and Johnson at safety. That's two of Ohio State's top five secondary players apparently gone for the year.