Coach Urban Meyer is even considering taking things one step further than simply publicly denying the report. He told Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors that the university is "certainly looking into legal action" against McMurphy.

'Shapiro’s rhetoric has the potential to threaten the emotional and mental safety of much of the campus community.'

That decision gave Ohio State a 9-6 lead but wasn't enough to flip the field position.

The playoff picture is clearing up.

'This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You’ve got a team that has a chance to win a championship. Your brother’s got one. You don’t want to compete to go win a championship like your brother?'

Trent was honored in a ceremony before the game. He also received a very special call prior to kickoff from Vice President Mike Pence,

'I was hopeful that Nick would be able to return to play again for us,' Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said of departing defensive lineman Nick Bosa.

Instead of cannibalizing each other, SEC teams are propping each other up, buttressed by the league's quality nonconference performance.

Franklin called about the least likely play to gain five yards that he could have called, an inside run that got stuffed in the backfield. The result was a turnover on downs and the game was essentially over.

Meyer acknowledged that the Ohio State program's reputation has suffered and said he hopes more clarity about what happened will help mitigate the damage.