01/01/2010 - SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Jim Tressel believes his offense's most important job is to make sure it doesn't put the defense in bad situations. How's that for conservative? Ohio State won the Big Ten despite QB Terrelle Pryor's progression as a passer coming to a screeching halt. Pryor has thrown 10 interceptions this season after throwing four as a freshman, but he also leads the team in rushing with 707 yards. Despite not having a 1,000-yard rusher, Pryor, Dan Herron and Brandon Saine have combined for more than 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns. Tressel wins by running the ball and playing defense, and it has worked well: He has won Big Ten titles in seven of his nine years. PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Brandon Saine - Averaged 8.1 yards per carry over the final two games. Next to Pryor, Saine is the fastest player on offense.

11/25/2009 - 2009 ALL-BIG TEN CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM (MEDIA): RB Brandon Saine, Ohio State, has been selected Second Team All-Big Ten for the 2009 college football season as voted on by the Big Ten media. - Ohio State/Big Ten football

11/25/2009 - 2009 ALL-BIG TEN CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM (COACHES): RB Brandon Saine, Ohio State, has been selected Second Team All-Big Ten for the 2009 college football season as voted on by the Big Ten coaches. - Ohio State/Big Ten football

11/14/2009 - Back-up kicker Devin Barclay kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime to give No. 10 Ohio State a 27-24 victory over No. 15 Iowa and send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 13 years. The Buckeyes (9-2, 6-1) clinched at least a share of their fifth consecutive Big Ten title and the conference's automatic BCS bid. Iowa (9-2, 5-2), which overcame a 24-10 deficit with just over 11 minutes left, lost its second in a row. Redshirt freshman quarterback James Vandenberg was solid for the Hawkeyes in his first college start. But filling in for the injured Ricky Stanzi, Vandenberg was intercepted three times, the final time to end Iowa's only possession in overtime. Brandon Saine rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Dan Herron added another score for the Buckeyes. - AP Sports

10/10/2009 - THIS WEEK'S GAME: Ohio State at Wisconsin, Oct. 10 - Only three unbeaten teams remain in Big Ten play. After this game, there will only be two. Iowa, which hosts Michigan at night on Oct. 10, is the third. KEYS TO THE GAME: The Bucks have squashed the run most of this year, but they haven't been tested by anyone like John Clay. Wisconsin's bruising tailback leads the Big Ten in rushing at 116.4 yards per game, while first-year starting QB Scott Tolzien leads the league in passing efficiency. Ohio State is second in the league in points allowed, giving up 11.8 per game, while Wisconsin leads the league in scoring at 35 points per game. PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Brandon Saine - Dan Herron is back this week, but this is Saine's chance to build off last week's impressive 113-yard performance. Saine's speed is a difference-maker.

09/02/2009 - SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: "Boom and Zoom" are ready to run again at Ohio State. And that doesn't even account for Terrelle Pryor. Ohio State's revamped offense begins and ends with Pryor, but the Buckeyes' revamped run-oriented attack extends even deeper. Sophomore Dan Herron and junior Brandon Saine are expected to provide a power-and-speed combination that can make the Bucks difficult to defend.

08/18/2009 - With all the debate over the rocket-like 4.33 second time in the 40 yard dash Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor supposedly ran during summer drills in Columbus ??? and only ONE player ran faster at the NFL Combine earlier this year ??? who better to ask about it than backfield teammate Brandon Saine? After all, the Bucks' junior running back from Piqua High is a true track phenom. He won four state track titles and a national championship in the 60-yard dash when he was in high school. He still holds the Ohio Division I record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.38 seconds. While officially timed at 4.40 seconds in the 40, he's been unofficially clocked at 4.25 seconds. With a little tongue-in-cheek needling the other day, Saine was asked: "So, if they lined you and Pryor up next to each other in the blocks, you'd smoke the guy, right?"A bit taken back, Saine suddenly turned from a sprinter into a dancer and tried waltzing right around the question. "Aaaah...I don't know," he said with a smile. "C'mon," he was prodded. "You've probably run hundreds of races." Saine grinned and shrugged: "Yeah, I've run a few more track meets so maybe I'd have an advantage because I know my way around. But he's a really fast guy. It'd be a real good, fun race." He said he was there the day Pryor supposedly shattered the stop watches: "I wasn't surprised. He has incredibly long strides He's a quick guy for as big as he is." Asked what he ran that day, Saine said "a high 4.3." - Tom Archdeacon, The Dayton Daily News

08/18/2009 - With all the debate over the rocket-like 4.33 second time in the 40 yard dash Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor supposedly ran during summer drills in Columbus ??? and only ONE player ran faster at the NFL Combine earlier this year ??? who better to ask about it than backfield teammate Brandon Saine? After all, the Bucks' junior running back from Piqua High is a true track phenom. He won four state track titles and a national championship in the 60-yard dash when he was in high school. He still holds the Ohio Division I record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.38 seconds. While officially timed at 4.40 seconds in the 40, he's been unofficially clocked at 4.25 seconds. With a little tongue-in-cheek needling the other day, Saine was asked: "So, if they lined you and Pryor up next to each other in the blocks, you'd smoke the guy, right?"A bit taken back, Saine suddenly turned from a sprinter into a dancer and tried waltzing right around the question. "Aaaah...I don't know," he said with a smile. "C'mon," he was prodded. "You've probably run hundreds of races." Saine grinned and shrugged: "Yeah, I've run a few more track meets so maybe I'd have an advantage because I know my way around. But he's a really fast guy. It'd be a real good, fun race." He said he was there the day Pryor supposedly shattered the stop watches: "I wasn't surprised. He has incredibly long strides He's a quick guy for as big as he is." Asked what he ran that day, Saine said "a high 4.3." - Tom Archdeacon, The Dayton Daily News

05/18/2009 - The Buckeyes are evolving toward a spread option under Pryor, which requires agile backs who can quickly get to the corner. Junior-to-be Brandon Saine has blazing speed and would seem to be perfect for a role, but his first two seasons have been littered with injuries and he has never displayed the necessary vision or timing of a starting tailback. Sophomore-to-be Boom Herron averaged 4.9 yards per carry as Wells' primary backup. He will be given the first chance at winning the starting job, but will be pushed by incoming freshman Jaamal Berry. Tressel has endured harsh criticism for his bland offensive play-calling over the years, but in truth, he has been one of the more flexible coaches willing to tailor his offense to fit his players' talent. In that regard, 2009 could be his most difficult challenge yet.