OSU Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- If a visit to the school president was needed to impress a recruit, Gordon Gee was there.

Endless support, boundless enthusiasm for athletics? No problem.

Fundraising skills, entertaining personality and trademark fashion? Sure, the Ohio State president had that as well.

He also had a penchant for stirring up some trouble with his mouth, and ultimately that helped nudge him into the retirement he announced on Tuesday that will take effect July 1. But even for all those positives that earned him rave reviews from coaches and endeared him to some players before they were even enrolled, it's safe to assume the Buckeyes and their athletic department will be just fine without him calling the shots.

The leadership is already in place when it comes to the most visible parts of the university. And while that's not to diminish Ohio State's reputation as an academic institution, football and men's basketball will always generate more attention and keep alumni engaged better than anything else on campus. And when it comes to those two sports and the boss those coaches report to, it's hard at this point to envision a change in president shaking the foundations already firmly in place.

Gene Smith has faced his share of criticism as athletic director, but particularly with the NCAA sanctions and scandal from the end of Jim Tressel's tenure in his rearview mirror, it's difficult to imagine his job as anything less than secure.

And the résumés of Urban Meyer and Thad Matta speak for themselves.

That stability in leadership alone should keep the athletic department from having any difficulty navigating the water while the waves rock in the president's office, but that's certainly not the only reason the Buckeyes are likely to continue with business as usual on the field and the hardwood.

The money is pouring in for the Big Ten, and Ohio State isn't suddenly going to turn its back on one of the proudest, largest athletic departments in the nation. Regardless of how skilled Gee was at raising funds, donors aren't likely to slow down their giving when the high-profile teams are winning at such an elite level, particularly if a segment of that population was starting to tire of the stream of apologies that Gee had to issue after offending rival coaches or entire religious denominations.

And perhaps most important, the entire saga with Tressel, and even Gee's jokes about his job status then, helped establish a basic principle for the school that is more applicable now than ever. Nobody is bigger than Ohio State, and it is more than willing to move on and more than capable of finding somebody else to continue its traditions.

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin running back Montee Ball's highlight tape of touchdowns might as well be a full-length feature. He entered Saturday with 77, one shy of the FBS all-time record.

Unfortunately for Ball, Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier watched most of the movie in the week leading up to Saturday's game.

"He scores plenty of touchdowns," Shazier said. "I watched film on him, and I saw when he gets around the [1- or 2-yard line], he likes to jump. So once he jumped, I jumped, and I punched the ball out."

Shazier's forced fumble against Ball late in the fourth quarter -- just the second lost fumble in Ball's record-setting career -- ended up not meaning much. Wisconsin scored on its next possession to tie the game before Ohio State went on to win 21-14 in overtime.

But Shazier's play epitomized Ohio State's victory, one fueled by defense with a sprinkle of special teams, thanks to Corey "Philly" Brown.

Braxton Miller won't be on "SportsCenter" tonight, but Shazier should be. So should defensive end John Simon, who tied a career high with four sacks. So should cornerback Bradley Roby, who had to cover two players after a teammate blew an assignment and batted down a sure-fire touchdown catch by Derek Watt.

The silver bullets stood tall at Camp Randall Stadium, helping Ohio State secure a Leaders Division title, maintain a perfect 11-0 record and set up a chance for perfection in The Game next week against Michigan.

"Our offense kind of struggled a little bit, but at the same time, it's a team sport, so the defense, we needed to go out and do our thing," said Roby, who wore a Leaders Division championship T-shirt. "Defense wins championships. We thrive on that."

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Growing up in Naples, Fla., Carlos Hyde didn't need a tutorial on Urban Meyer's offense.

He knew plenty about Meyer and the spread from Meyer's time as Florida's coach. Hyde also knew he wanted no part of it, even though he said Florida offered him a scholarship to play in Gainesville.

"When I saw this offense, it was little running backs," Hyde told ESPN.com. "Little scat backs running around, Percy Harvin-type dudes, Jeff Demps-type people. I wasn't sure I'd be able to fit in."

At 6-foot and 232 pounds, Hyde can be described as a lot of things. Little isn't one of them. He's a power back in the truest sense, so he chose to go where power backs go: Ohio State.

There was only one problem: Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel, who had featured power backs like Chris Wells and Maurice Clarett in his offense, resigned in the spring after Hyde's freshman season. Although Ohio State kept a similar offense in 2011, the school changed coaches and brought in Meyer.

"I was excited," Hyde said. "I knew Coach Meyer, his track record. He's won big games. He's won some national championships. I knew when he was coming here, I was like, 'I'm going to have a huge chance to get to play in the national championship before I leave college.'"

But his excitement was tempered by the same anxiety about whether he could fit into the spread as a bigger back.

"I never played in a spread offense, so I really didn't have a feel," Hyde said. "I wasn't sure. I never really saw a big back in the spread."

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Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel paid the heaviest price in the tattoos-for-memorabilia scandal, but the school's compliance department took a beating as well.

The details that emerged about Ohio State's compliance structure -- or lack thereof -- didn't paint the athletic department in a good light. Ohio State in February approved a new university compliance office, and the school appears to be taking the right steps to prevent similar violations from happening again.

As The Toledo Blade first reported this week, Ohio State sent the NCAA a 805-page report that, among other things, details new policies in place that increase athlete education about violations, prevent memorabilia sales and track car ownership (a major issue with former quarterback Terrelle Pryor). Ohio State is directly addressing the issues that surfaced in the scandal.

Check out the full report.

From The Blade:

An athletics compliance staff bolstered from five workers to a dozen is leaving little to chance. According to the report reviewed by The Blade, the school nearly tripled its number of rules education sessions, charged a former NCAA investigator with monitoring its highest-profile players, and reached out to 2,000 area businesses -- then employs exhaustive measures to verify the lessons take hold.

Among the safeguards include random audits to ensure current players have not sold or exchanged gear or awards, and license-plate software that allows school officials to determine car ownership.

One of the most publicized elements of the old compliance structure was the lack of a staff member in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Ohio State's football headquarters. Ohio State added former Tennessee compliance director Brad Bertani to its staff to deal specifically with football. Bertani has his office in the WHAC and travels with the football team.

Ohio State is also focused on ensuring no school-issued memorabilia is sold while athletes are still playing.

Players used to be able to purchase and take home gear and apparel like bowl-game jerseys or the alternate Nike helmets worn against Michigan in 2009 and 2010. Now, the uniforms will be kept in a secure container at the football facility until the player leaves the school.

As for awards like Big Ten championship rings or the gold pants trinket the Buckeyes receive for beating Michigan, players can still take those home. But they must be able to produce the goods in "random audits." Athletes sign a form acknowledging the school can make them "prove that I have not sold these items."

These are encouraging steps for a department that justifiably took a beating after the scandal. While time will tell how effective these measures will be, Ohio State deserves credit for directly addressing some major problems.

One of the tangential figures in the downfall of Jim Tressel and NCAA sanctions died this weekend.

Jeannette, Pa., businessman Ted Sarniak III, died on Friday at a Pittsburgh-area hospital, according to the funeral home handling the arrangements. He was 68.

Read more from the Associated Press.