It goes without saying that today should basically be a national holiday. It’s the first Saturday of the college football season! The field is pretty wide open this year and there are a host of major storylines entering the year.
How will Penn State turn the page and begin this new era of football after the scandal to end all scandals? Will USC return to prominence now that they are bowl eligible once again? What can we expect from LSU now that that they’re officially without their defensive leader Tyrann Mathieu? Will the SEC continue their Ken Jennings-like dominance over every other conference in the United States of America? Can Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide make it two consecutive National Championships and three in the last four years?
Even with all that, there is still another major story brewing in the Big 10. Urban Meyer made a victorious return to coaching this afternoon as The Ohio State University Buckeyes blew out Miami of Ohio 56-10 in Columbus. While Ohio State will not be bowl eligible this season and must sacrifice nine scholarships over the next three years due to NCAA infractions during the Jim Tressel era, Meyer (a two-time BCS National Championship head coach) looks to soon return the Buckeyes to Championship contention.
Ohio State last won a National Championship back in the 2002-03 season. In a game at Purdue late in the season, the undefeated Buckeyes championship aspirations were riding on one play. Largely maligned quarterback Craig Krenzel made the play of his life and saved the season on 4th and 1.
To borrow a phrase from college basketball commentator Bill Raftery…