Ohio State lost the coin toss to Marshall for the opener of the 2010 season, but one play later the Thundering Herd's fortunes took a permanent turn for the worse, and the Buckeyes cruised to a dominating 45-7 win at Ohio Stadium Thursday night. OSU's Dorian Bell jarred the ball loose from Marshall return man Andre Booker on the opening kickoff, and four plays later it was 7-0 Ohio State. It would not get any closer.

Terrelle Pryor threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in an efficient 17 of 25 passing performance and the Buckeyes piled up 280 yards on the ground, including a 103-yard, two touchdown game from Brandon Saine. OSU receiver Dane Sanzenbacher had 113 yards in receptions highlighted by a 65-yard touchdown catch as Pryor spread the ball around to eight different receivers. Devier Posey added four receptions, including touchdown catches of 6 and 11 yards.

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Marshall University at Ohio State

7:30 p.m. (ET)

TV: Big Ten Network

The Ohio State Buckeyes will host Marshall University Thursday night at Ohio Stadium to kick off the 2010 season, the first step in a journey they hope will land them in Glendale, Arizona in January. College football teams all around the country have the same dream, but this year the Buckeyes are one of a handful of teams that arguably have the dream and the team. And these Buckeyes are not shy about going on record that their goal is the national championship. 

Jim Tressel has 15 starters returning from the 11-2 Big Ten and Rose Bowl champions of last year, a team that finished the season on a six-game winning streak, and ranked No. 5 in the final poll. When the Buckeyes look back at the two close losses (Purdue and USC) that kept them from an appearance in the BCS final a year ago, they see games that the evolving OSU team that beat Oregon in January would have won. A certain determination and seriousness of purpose is the overriding mindset on display these days around Ohio State football. The entire program exudes it.

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At the end of every college football season, 10 teams are invited to play in BCS bowls. Six of those teams automatically qualify by winning their "automatic qualifying" conference championship (meaning the champions of the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac 10, and the SEC receive invites). The other four spots are up for grabs as "at-large" bids. The BCeStimation will be a weekly column that predicts which teams will make it to the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl and the National Championship. Think of this as a "Power Rankings" kind of article, only with more opportunities to make fun of USC for not being able to play in any bowl game.

With the long off-season finally coming to an end, it's time to look across the landscape off college football and separate the weak from the strong, the contenders from the pretenders or whatever cliche you prefer. The only way to do this is on the field, but if I let that be the end of it, then you wouldn't have anything to read while you pretend to work. So, I'll do us all a favor and continue...

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Kent State

Head coach: Doug Martin (Kentucky) 

The past is the past, and that’s exactly where Kent State football coach Doug Martin wants to keep it. 

Martin, in his seventh season at the helm of the Golden Flashes, is not worried about Kent’s almost four decades of incompetence on the gridiron. In fact, he sees the 2010 season as a chance for his players to achieve something very special and put those bad memories to rest. 

Following the 1972 season the Golden Flashes, led by hall of famer Jack Lambert, played in the Tangerine Bowl. Two seasons later Dennis Fitzgerald replaced Don James at the helm of the Flashes’ program and compiled an 18-16 record in three seasons. 

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