Tressel's Thursday comments conflict with his Tuesday comments that Wells would play. Is this gamesmanship from Tressel? Per ESPN: "Tressel said team officials would monitor Wells' condition before deciding whether to rule him out for the game in Los Angeles." So nothing has yet been decided.

Clearly winning without Wells is the best possible outcome for Ohio State, but isn't losing without Wells available to play the next best option? The Buckeyes will be favored in every game for the remainder of their season. If they run the table and finish 11-1 with one road loss at USC without their star tailback, they'll be in a solid position to once more make the BCS Title Game. And America will still hate them.

Buckeyes' Wells now doubtful for Saturday's game [ESPN]
Wells back at practice [Buckeye Grove]

Today's preview is brought to us by Matt from Buckeye Commentary. We're just two days away from kickoff. Is your blood not pounding at the thought of Oregon State-Stanford?

STRENGTHS

Stiff-arm delivering running back? Check. Best cover corner in college football? Check. Sick linebackers and the nation’s top sweater vest. Check, check. Throw in the greatest stadium in the country and the ability to spell while holding musical instruments and you have the nation’s finest overall program. We have won a Heisman or two recently, as well.

STRENGTHS

Stiff-arm delivering running back? Check. Best cover corner in college football? Check. Sick linebackers and the nation’s top sweater vest. Check, check. Throw in the greatest stadium in the country and the ability to spell while holding musical instruments and you have the nation’s finest overall program. We have won a Heisman or two recently, as well.

Beanie Wells: He runs angry. You know that feeling you get when you are embarrassed after falling down steps at a party? You just want to hit the first thing you see. He is more powerful than Big Ten linebackers and faster than SEC safeties (gasp!). He will be the best player on the field in every game (yeah, you heard me Maualuga). His stiff-arm will almost certainly test the applicability of Ohio’s assault statutes to in-game football injuries.

Malcolm Jenkins: The senior from New Jersey was initially notable for his blanket coverage, then known for vomiting at the Playboy All American party, and now seeks to regain singular football recognition. The Buckeyes churn out cornerbacks like Tennessee does criminals and Jenkins is the best of the lot.

The Sweatervest: Some say the shine is off JT, but those people suck. Little known fact, Tressel finished as the I-AA Runner-Up twice while coaching Youngstown State. He won four national titles during the other years. Obviously, Tressel was just interested in getting those second place finishes out of the way so that he can start winning titles again. It starts this season.

WEAKNESSES

Well, in case you have not noticed, we cannot seem to beat an SEC team for a title. We have no problem beating one of the best teams in college football history (Miami, 2002), but a two-loss LSU team proved too much. [Insert plummeting scream] Oh yeah, and we could use some serviceable defensive tackles.

Defensive tackle: The coaches love to talk about the depth and rotation on the interior of the defensive line. That is coachspeak for “we might as well keep ‘em fresh since no one is good enough to play all game.” That is to say nothing of the fact that two Des have been moved inside (Doug Worthington and Robert Rose). Cameron Heyward and Lawrence Wilson are animals on the edges, but teams will just run straight ahead.

Special Teams: “I thought Senator Tressel always has great special teams,” I just heard you say. Well, you’re wrong. Last season, Ohio State ranked 117th in kickoff returns. Granted, they had the few number of returns (34) but an elite program needs to crack the top 25. Punt returns were not much better. And, then there is the field goal unit. [See 2008 BCS Title Game for discussion of crippling, game-altering play.] Ugh.

WHO WE HATE

Dick Rod for starters. Lloyd Carr could not coach his way out of a wet paper bag, but he was half of the classiest coaching rivalry in the business. Now, RR shows up with the shit-eating grin, country swindle, and back room personality, and ruins it for everyone. Let’s see, so far he has faced a multi-million dollar lawsuit, player mutinies, and the wrath and taunting of conference coaches without having coached a game. Nice work. We are not sure what Michigan was thinking, but this is not going to end well