ESPN College Football

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Few folks outside the Marshall locker room actually think Ohio State is in danger of losing tonight's season opener.

The Buckeyes are one of the nation's most complete teams, and their debut at The Shoe is viewed as the first step toward a potential national championship push.

So why should you pay attention to the game? Terrelle Pryor, of course.

Regardless of the final score, Pryor's performance against the Thundering Herd will be heavily scrutinized. Can he build off of his masterful performance in Pasadena against Oregon? How are his decision-making skills? Has he fully earned coach Jim Tressel's trust to operate in an expanded offensive system? Is he a legit Heisman Trophy candidate or just a byproduct of the college football hype machine?

Pryor is always the story at Ohio State, good or bad. He doesn't particularly like it, but he accepts it. He's used to being the center of attention.

"Everyone just praises you and holds you on a pedestal all the time," Pryor recently told ESPN.com. "Sometimes, it’s hard when you're getting more recognition than some of your teammates. I don't like that individually because I feel like everyone really should get the same recognition. But at the same time, that's the life we live in, the game that we play, and people love the quarterbacks and they put some people on different pedestals.

"You have to humble yourself."

Pryor sounds more humble these days, admitting that Ohio State's dominant defense has "bailed me out in a lot of games." The Buckeyes junior certainly has his share of critics, who harp on his passing mechanics and decision-making.

Many view him as overhyped and scoff at his 19-3 record as Ohio State's starting quarterback. Most agree that he has a lot more to prove this season.

"It comes with it," Pryor said of the criticism. "I watch a lot of Vince Young and Michael Vick and guys like that, they’re scrutinized guys and [critics] try to jump on people. I'm in the learning process, and whatever people have to say about me, that's what they've got to say.

"It's not going to bother me, it's not going to stop me from doing what my goals are and what I want to accomplish."

His short-term goals are simple: don't turn the ball over, make his throws in the right place and take checkdowns when necessary. Time will tell if Pryor is a better quarterback, but he sounds like a smarter one after two full years in the program.

"He's made light years [improvement] in his accuracy," wide receivers coach Darrell Hazell told reporters this week. "Understanding coverages, he's light years [ahead]. He'll be fun to watch this year."

Asked about the Heisman race, Pryor delivers the first of many stiff-arms this season.

"To tell you the truth, I just go out and ball, that's it," he said. "Lead the offense, put points on the board. It doesn't matter who we're playing. We do our thing, and we'll go into every game and execute, execute, execute.

"We do that, we'll be fine."

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

One day closer to the weekend.

• Terrelle Pryor speaks, which is newsworthy in and of itself, and the Ohio State quarterback talks about his Michael Vick tribute and his own development this season. Check out Pryor's full interview here (registration required).
• Michigan State cornerback Chris L. Rucker redeemed himself last week and hopes he has turned a corner, Steve Grinczel writes in The Grand Rapids Press. The Spartans don't have total clarity at quarterback or running back, but the picture at offensive line is starting to clear up, Shannon Shelton writes in the Detroit Free Press.
• Michigan running back Brandon Minor should play a greater role in the offense at Iowa, Mark Snyder writes in the Detroit Free Press.
• Injuries to Iowa's offense have resulted in "total chaos" for the first five games, Andy Hamilton writes in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. A good breakdown of the Iowa-Michigan game from The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette's Marc Morehouse.
• Former walk-on Josh Hull isn't surprised by what he's accomplished as a linebacker at Penn State, Joe Juliano writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Northwestern's new president is fully on board with football, Teddy Greenstein writes in the Chicago Tribune.
• Despite a 1-4 start, Purdue head coach Danny Hope hasn't lost any, er, hope, Myron Medcalf writes in the Star Tribune. Purdue provides a great litmus test for Minnesota's seemingly improved defense, Marcus Fuller writes in the (St. Paul) Pioneer Press.
• Wisconsin players get a pep talk from Barry Alvarez, Jeff Potrykus writes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Badgers cornerback Aaron Henry will reunite with good friend Brian Rolle this weekend in Columbus, Jim Polzin writes in The Capital Times.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

In honor of the dude working the register at my local UPS store, who bears an eerily close resemblance to The Dude, I give you this:

Maude Lebowski: What do you do for recreation?

The Dude: Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.

• Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock didn't actually say it, but expect Jermale Hines to replace Anderson Russell at safety against USC, Ken Gordon writes in The Columbus Dispatch. High-profile players like Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor will always attract attention, even from the NCAA, Doug Lesmerises writes in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. The criticism of Pryor's Michael Vick tribute is misguided and hypocritical, Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel writes. USC boasts an endless supply of running backs, but junior Joe McKnight has risen to the top, colleague Ted Miller writes.
• Arrelious Benn should be back for Illinois this week, but several other wide receivers are being shuffled, Bob Asmussen writes in The (Champaign) News-Gazette.
• The Big Ten's national reputation is on the line this week, Rivals.com's experts agree.
• Tandon Doss hopes to become Indiana's No. 1 wide receiver this fall, Terry Hutchens writes in The Indianapolis Star.
• A fascinating piece from annarbor.com's Michael Rothstein on how Sept. 11 hits home for Michigan offensive lineman John Ferrara and his family. The Michigan-Notre Dame game actually carries some bragging rights this year, Bob Wojnowski writes in The Detroit News. It looks like Michigan should have Brandon Minor back on the field Saturday, Mark Synder writes in the Detroit Free Press.
• Redshirt freshman Caulton Ray once again will lead the way for Michigan State's running backs on Saturday, Shannon Shelton writes in the Detroit Free Press.
• Wisconsin players are taking extra precautions against the spread of the flu, though the team's core contributors should be ready for Fresno State, Jeff Potrykus writes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Talented Minnesota quarterback MarQueis Gray accepts his role in the offense behind Adam Weber, Kent Youngblood writes in the Star Tribune.
• Penn State young wide receivers have waited their turn, Jeff Rice writes in the Centre Daily Times.
• Despite Iowa's recent struggles against Iowa State, Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz sees no reason to drop the series, The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette's Mike Hlas writes in his Hlog. Iowa's offensive line should look whole again in Ames, Marc Morehouse writes in The Gazette.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

A lot on your plate today.

• Safety Jermale Hines could supplant Anderson Russell in Ohio State's starting secondary, Doug Lesmerises writes in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Terrelle Pryor's tribute to Michael Vick isn't going over well, Bill Livingston and David Jones write. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and his players aren't focused on the big picture, just beating USC, Bob Hunter writes in The Columbus Dispatch.
• A ruling on suspended Wisconsin players Shane Carter and Aubrey Pleasant is expected soon, the Wisconsin State Journal's Tom Mulhern writes in his blog. More on the flu bug working its way through the Badgers' locker room from The Capital Times' Jim Polzin.
• The Michigan-Notre Dame game means something again, annarbor.com's Michael Rothstein writes. All bets are off for Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady this year.
• Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio doesn't seem interested in publicly naming his starting quarterback, Eric Lacy writes in The Detroit News.
• The Big Ten's national reputation hinges heavily on what happens Saturday, Dustin Dopirak writes in The (Bloomington) Herald Times (subscription required).
• Purdue knows it needs to tackle a lot better Saturday against Oregon, Mike Carmin writes in The (Lafayette) Journal and Courier.
• Penn State running back Evan Royster will remain a primary punt returner for the team, Bob Flounders writes in The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News.
• ESPN college hoops analyst Jay Bilas weighs in on the situation at Michigan and how the NCAA rules on voluntary and nonvoluntary participation leave way too much room for interpretation. The enforcement of the rule has also been a question since its inception, Mike Wilkinson writes in The Detroit News.
• Minnesota's new offensive scheme likely will keep quarterback Adam Weber healthier, but it could hurt his overall game, Jim Souhan writes in the Star Tribune.
• Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz knows what to expect Saturday in Ames, Andrew Logue writes in the Des Moines Register.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Terrelle Pryor's right arm and legs will go a long way toward determining Ohio State's success or failure against USC on Saturday (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET), but the space under the quarterback's left eye continues to draw more attention.

Pryor displayed his support for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick by wearing "Vick" on one of his eyeblack stickers during the season opener against Navy. The sophomore explained later that he has always looked up to Vick and looks past Vick's shortcomings off the field.

"Not everybody is the perfect person in the world," Pryor said of Vick. "Everyone does -- kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel that people need to give him a chance."

The tribute and Pryor's comments have drawn some mixed reviews. Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel, who said he wasn't aware of the Vick sticker until told about it after the game, doesn't have a strict policy on eyeblack displays.

"It's a little bit tough in this country to have too much of a policy on personal expression, but it's unfortunate when that distracts from situations that were so extraordinary as the weekend we had," Tressel said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. "And I guess you'd have to know Terrelle like I know Terrelle. There's probably not a more compassionate human being in the world than Terrelle."

Tressel recalled how Pryor sent him a text message Monday night saying the team needed to provide a boost for junior wide receiver Taurian Washington, who dropped two passes against Navy. Pryor also sent Tressel a text after Ohio State's loss to LSU in the BCS title game, which read, "Don't worry about it, Coach. We're going to get it done in the future."

Though Pryor's tribute to Vick caused a stir, Tressel is confident the quarterback didn't intend to cause any harm.

"He's one of those guys that he feels terrible about anything that's not just right," Tressel said. "And I know he doesn't feel good that [the tribute] disappointed someone. And his intention would never be to make anyone disappointed about something.

"We all sometimes miss the mark, but as I say, teachable, learnable moment."

A few other notes from Buckeye land:

• Tressel said wide receiver/punt returner Ray Small looked better after a nasty bout with illness kept him off the field against Navy. An update on Small's status for the USC game will be provided Thursday. Wide receiver DeVier Posey is expected to return to practice in the next day or two after missing the second half of the Navy game with an ankle injury.
• USC safety Taylor Mays last month referred to Pryor as "the little deuce" and himself as "the big deuce." Both players wear No. 2. Tressel's response? "They're both big deuces if you ask me, man."
• Tressel called USC's return men "frightening."

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

It's Big Ten teleconference day, so be sure to follow my updates on Twitter. While I chat with well-paid gym teachers, check out these links.

• Ohio State needs to improve its red zone efficiency, Tim May writes in The Columbus Dispatch. Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor reminds USC coach Pete Carroll of VY10, Michael Lev writes in the Orange County Register. Ohio State beat writers Tim May and Ken Gordon debate Pryor's tribute to Michael Vick and the ups and downs of Ohio State's offensive line.
• Michigan cornerback Donovan Warren has a past with Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, Mark Snyder writes in the Detroit Free Press. The Wolverines will employ more or less the same plan with their quarterbacks against the Irish, Angelique Chengelis writes in The Detroit News. Annarbor.com's Dave Birkett has Michigan's injury report.
• Former Minnesota players are extremely pleased with TCF Bank Stadium, Kent Youngblood writes in the Star Tribune.
• Navorro Bowman's groin injury could be a lingering issue for the Penn State star linebacker, The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News' Bob Flounders writes in his blog.
• After his huge performance in Purdue's opener, running back Ralph Bolden checks in with Sporting News' Dave Curtis.
• Redshirt freshman running back Adam Robinson pulls ahead of Paki O'Meara on Iowa's latest depth chart, Andrew Logue writes in the Des Moines Register.
• Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald wants to see more passion from his players, even when the game is out of reach, Teddy Greenstein writes in the Chicago Tribune.
• Offensive line play could be a concern for Michigan State, Eric Lacy writes in The Detroit News.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

A lot of weekend leftovers after the first set of Big Ten games.

• TCF Bank Stadium will be in the spotlight this week in Minneapolis, Kent Youngblood writes in the Star Tribune. Some of Minnesota's old problems on offense resurfaced at Syracuse, Marcus Fuller writes in the (St. Paul) Pioneer Press.
• Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor still looks up to Michael Vick, Tim May writes in The Columbus Dispatch.
• Purdue's offensive line finally showed what it can do when healthy, Mike Carmin writes in The (Lafayette) Journal and Courier.
• The Big Ten didn't do much to help itself in Week 1, Howie Beardsley writes in The Grand Rapids Press.
• Scott Tolzien could be Wisconsin's long-term answer at quarterback, though Curt Phillips still deserves playing time, Tom Mulhern writes in the Wisconsin State Journal. Badgers center John Moffitt (strained pectoral) should be back on the practice field Tuesday, Jeff Potrykus writes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Last week's adversity made Michigan a tougher team, Bob Wojnowski writes in The Detroit News. A detailed breakdown of Michigan's performance against Western Michigan, courtesy of annarbor.com's Michael Rothstein.
• Penn State grades from Week 1, handed out by The Patriot-News' Bob Flounders. Joe Paterno is off and running again, Joe Juliano writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Michigan State's depth at tight end showed in the season opener, Joe Rexrode writes in the Lansing State Journal.