Carlos Hyde, Bradley Roby Among Several Recent Ohio State Suspensions

It's been an unpleasant day in Ohio today. Well, more unpleasant than usual. The Buckeyes announced several suspensions, ranging in length from a single game to indefinite.

RB Carlos Hyde was involved in an altercation, reportedly an assault against a woman. Although it was his first disciplinary issue, the incident was severe enough for Hyde to be dismissed from the team.

After nearly 48 hours of rumors, innuendo, idle speculation, and first- (and second-) hand accounts of varying plausibility, the sad reality of the end of Carlos Hyde's tenure with the Ohio State has come to fruition. Following a reported incident at a downtown Columbus dance club/lounge, the Buckeyes' expected starter (and principal ball carrier outside of Braxton Miller) at halfback is expected to be dismissed from the OSU football team following a team meeting this morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Hyde ran for 970 yards and 16 TDs last season, although he missed two games due to injury (including the game against Cal). Next in line is at running back Rod Smith, who ran for only 215 yards last season.

Cornerback Bradley Roby awaits punishment from the university following a misdemeanor battery charge. His loss is a major blow to the Buckeyes' defense.

Roby will be a lot tougher to overcome, though. He is the top cornerback in the Big Ten, and assuming his career trajectory was to continue, a top 10 or 15 NFL draft prospect.Armani Reeves, Tyvis Powell , Adam Griffin (who somewhat ironically was Hyde's roommate), and Eli Apple will probably be the names you hear the most, and although they're talented, the drop off from Roby to any one of the backups is substantial.

If Klinedergoff quickly picks up the Bear Raid, Cal's passing game could exploit this hole in the secondary.

Incoming offensive tackle Tim Gardner has also been dismissed from the team after an obstruction of official business charge. The three-star lineman was not expected to be a major contributor this fall.

That's not all, though. Four-star tight end Marcus Baugh was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol and possession of fake identification. He will sit out the season opener and may miss more time as he earns his playing time.

Following in the tradition of similar punishment handed down to former wide receiver/tight end Jake Stoneburner and left tackle Jack Mewhort, Baugh also lost his summer student aid as a result of the incident. Multiple outlets had been reporting in the past week that Baugh had been locked out of the facilities until he returned to good standing with the program.

Of course, he will return to action in time to have a breakout game against the Cal defense.

While the football team may be down several members when the Buckeyes visit Memorial Stadium, the Ohio State marching band will be in full force. The university increased the band's funding from $220,000 to $1 million, which enables the band to travel to four games this season. Previously the full band attended only one game.

The $1 million will cover all operating costs for the band, which also will continue to raise money privately.The athletic department is funding the California trip, which will cost about $450,000, compared with $30,000 to $40,000 for the Big Ten trips, Waters said.

"That’s sort of an outlier," Waters said of the trip that will take 254 people to California, including 225 band members. "I don’t anticipate going to early-season, non-conference games in the future."

I am expecting all these players, including Carlos Hyde, to be reinstated on the morning of September 14th.