News-Herald

Joe Thomas weaved his way through reporters in the locker room, surveying the group before stepping behind a lectern."I'm not sure what all the commotion is about," the 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle said Sept. 14. "I'm just a guy that shows up and does his job every day, hoping I can set a good example for my teammates.

BALTIMORE >> In his NFL debut, Cleveland quarterback DeShone Kizer went up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose reputation for playing rugged defense began long before the Browns rookie was born.Having survived that test, Kizer on Sunday will face the Baltimore Ravens, whose similarly renowned defense opened the season by forcing five turnovers in a 20-0 rout of Cincinnati.

Army (2-0) at No. 8 Ohio State (1-1), Saturday 4:30 p.m. (Fox)Line: Ohio State by 30.Series record: First meeting.WHAT'S AT STAKEOhio State is still stinging from the thumping by Oklahoma at home last week and trying to solve some problems with its passing game and defense.

Kenny Britt was signed by the Browns to be a playmaker and a leader for their young wide receivers.One game into the regular season, his starting spot is in jeopardy.Britt dropped an on-target, downfield throw from DeShone Kizer in the fourth quarter Sept. 10, stalling a critical drive in Cleveland's 21-18 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Big Ten will increase its number of conference football games in the opening weeks of the season in 2020 and 2021.There also is a change in rivalry week in schedules announced Tuesday. Iowa will meet Wisconsin and Nebraska will play Minnesota the last week of the regular season in 2020 and 2021.

Hue Jackson, with conviction, uttered a phrase in his Sept. 11 press conference no Browns head coach has said regarding a quarterback since ... since ... None ever said it before since the days of Bernie Kosar."At the end of the day, this young man gives us hope," Jackson said after watching the tape of DeShone Kizer playing in

Unfortunately, Myles Garrett, a Browns rookie, already as experience rehabbing a sprained ankle.Garrett missed the opener against the Steelers on Sept. 10 and will miss the game Sept. 17 in Baltimore with an injury suffered in practice four days before the opener.

COLUMBUS >> Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said Monday his team still is somewhere between being angry and trying to move on after the loss to Oklahoma revealed glaring fundamental problems with quality of play as well as play-calling.The Ohio State passing game was terrible, and Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield carved up the Buckeyes secondary as the Sooners romped to a 31-16 victory at Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.

NORMAN, Okla. >> Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has apologized for his postgame flag celebration following the Sooners' victory at Ohio State.After Saturday night's 31-16 win, Mayfield ran around the field at Ohio Stadium with a crimson OU flag, then took it to the "O" at midfield and tried to stick it in the ground as his teammates celebrated around him.

The fallout from the weekend's biggest game - the Sooners' stomping of Ohio State in Columbus - was essentially an identity swap for the perennial contenders in the minds of the AP Top 25 voters.

Oklahoma moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll behind Alabama after the Sooners scored the most impressive victory of week two.Three of the top six teams from last week defeated other ranked teams on Saturday, creating an early shake-up near the top of the AP Top 25.

. The NFL schedule-makers must have had a vendetta against the Browns when they were forming the 2017 slate, because the two teams that have dominated them the most since 1999 are their first two opponents.After losing to the Steelers on Sept.

Playing quarterback for the Browns should come with a sack-survival bonus.DeShone Kizer in the season opener against the Steelers became the 27th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999. He quickly learned what happened to the 26 ghosts who took snaps before him.

The good new is, the new-look Browns and rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer showed some promise in the 2017 season opener against Pittsburgh.The bad news is, those flashes of promise notwithstanding, these Browns ended up doing what the old-look Browns did in 32 of 37 previous games against the Steelers since Cleveland's NFL franchise was restored vis expansion in 1999.

So much for whatever concern may still have been lingered about how Browns players would comport themselves on Sept. 10 during ceremonies before the 2017 season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers at First Energy Stadium.