Eleven Warriors

More shameless self promotion.  (Linked to www.buckeyecommentary.com).

Miami fans think OhioStatestole their title thanks to a bogus PI by a renegade referee.  OhioStatefans, on the other hand, have had their hands full cheering for their team on the way to other National Championship appearances and BCSbowl wins.  Will this game finally give Miami fans closure? Will the Buckeyes go 3-1 in the all time series versus ‘Da U’?

Miami Fans: Which call would you prefer to lose on: 1) defensive holding on a Chris Gamble incompletion and thus a first down, 2) a reception for a first down by Chris Gamble which was incorrectly called incomplete, 3) defensive holding against Chris Gamble on the same play as the infamous pass interference, or 4) the pass interference itself?

You don’t need ESPN to tell you that the 2001 and 2002 Hurricanes were among the top 10 teams of the BCSera.  But they will.  Then a funny thing happened to Miami: They became irrelevant. 

A turnover might not hurt against middling ACC opponents, but there are few teams that are better at capitalizing on mistakes than the Buckeyes.  Not only has OhioStatebeen close to the top in turnover margin, the Buckeye offense also performs best when coming off of a turnover. 

Ohio State - Marshall Season Opener Preview is up at Buckeye Commentary (Click here to continue)

On Thursday night, the Ohio State Buckeyes will embark on the journey that is the 2010 season.  The Buckeyes take on Marshallout of Conference USA, a team most remembered for a plane crash, a broken shin, and a Mike-Nugent-field-goal shy of upsetting the Buckeyes in 2004.  Things are a little different this time, as the Buckeyes return a majority of starters from last season and will hope to be playing for the MNCin January.  But before the Scarlet and Gray start thinking about bowls played next year, they’ll have to get past a new look Marshall team lead by first year head coach Doc Holliday.

A couple excerpts below...

Thursday Nights Are For Contenders

 As Jim Tressel likes to say, “September is for pretenders, and November is for contenders”.  For OhioState, they’ll hope Thursdays are for contenders, as the Buckeyes open their season at home, under the lights, on a Thursday night for the first time in recent memory.  This will mark the first time since 1997 that the Buckeyes played a Thursday night game, a slot typically reserved for Big East and lower division teams.

Been Herd Before

The Buckeyes haven’t lost a season opener since 1978 (PennState, 19-0) and don’t typically lose to non-BCS opponents, but there have been some close calls.  One close call was courtesy of the Marshall Thundering Herd in 2004, when a Mike Nugent field goal put a W in the win column of what would become a disappointing 2004 season for OhioState. 

West Virginia Buffaloes

For those complaining about opening against 1-AA (FCS) and MAC teams, they will be happy to hear that Marshall has made the jump…or drop…to Conference USA since their last visit to Columbus.  They’ve also seen Bob Pruett retire, Mark Snyder get fired, and the hiring of John “Doc” Holliday. 

The All Americans

"For us to mimic OhioStateis very hard. They've got All-Americans at every position," Holliday said. "The speed is a little different."  While not entirely true (Doc may not have a real Ph.D) but he is on to something.  It would be hard for Marshall to replicate the speed of Terrelle Pryor and the power of Cameron Heyward. 

Buckeye Newcomers

It wouldn’t be college football without the addition of impact freshman (true or redshirt).  If they’re going to bite, they’re going to bite as a pup. 

Sure, Sure, Unsure

There are things that OSU does well, there are things that OSU does not so well, and then there is scoring touchdowns in red zone. 

Poe’s Prediction