Ohio State defeats Buffalo 42-20

The Ohio State marching band performs before the game against Buffalo on Saturday. The Buckeyes beat the Bulls 40-20 and now get ready for San Diego State.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Good morning to all, especially to anyone who's off for Labor Day. Actually, especially to anyone who still has to work. Enjoy your day and read a lot of football stories.

Off a 40-20 win over Buffalo on Saturday, the Ohio State Buckeyes now prepare for San Diego State, a team shocked by FCS school Eastern Illinois 40-19. Kickoff is 3:30 Saturday, Sept. 7 on ABC, with Sean McDonough and Chris Spielman on the call.



OSU junior cornerback Bradley Roby, junior running back Rod Smith and freshman tight end Marcus Baugh should return from one-game suspensions this week for the Buckeyes.

With Florida State playing tonight, the polls won't be out until Tuesday. Don't be surprised if Ohio State drops a couple spots from No. 2. Both Clemson and LSU had top 25 wins, and teams like Oregon looked better in week one.

The defense had better be ready to roll the next two weeks. As pointed out by Lori Schmidt of 97.1 The Fan in Columbus, both San Diego State and Cal like to get up and go.

Georgia dealt with that against Clemson on Saturday, and one video clip from the game seemed to show a Georgia player faking an injury. But Bulldogs' coach Mark Richt explained it another way.

So, there's always that strategy.

The OSU players we are scheduled to talk to this week, and things can always change, are running back Jordan Hall, receiver Chris Fields, corner Doran Grant and safety Christian Bryant today, and quarterback Braxton Miller, nickelback Tyvis Powell, linebacker Curtis Grant and one additional Buckeye on Wednesday.

And don't forget, Zack Meisel and Ari Wasserman debut today as part of the cleveland.com Ohio State coverage team. We're meeting at the McDonald's by campus to plan our stories for the week, so stop by and say hello.

And now the recap portion of Buckeye Breakfast:

One more look at all our coverage from

Zach Boren went on one last walk as a Buckeye before Saturday's win, and Boren and Urban Meyer talked to me about it. The 2012 captain had a good take on what it's like when you can no longer play for Ohio State.



Several Buckeyes made NFL rosters and others didn't. I tried to round them up the best I could. A late change last night – J.B. Shugarts did make the New York Jets practice squad.

Heisman time – I put Braxton Miller in my top five. But I made my list before the Louisville game on Sunday, and then Teddy Bridgewater, the man I think the Browns should keep an eye on this year, went pretty crazy in an easy win over Ohio, going 23 of 28 for 355 yards and five touchdowns.