COLUMBUS – The 128th Ohio State football season kicks off a little earlier than usual, on a Thursday night.
Against a conference opponent.
Away from home.
(2) Ohio St. at Indiana; Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind. (8:00 p.m./ESPN)
The last time the Buckeyes began their season on the road against a Big Ten opponent was 1975, a 21-0 win at Michigan State.
Head coach Urban Meyer – winner of all 15 of his season openers as a head coach – brings a team that boasts 15 returning starters, a stark contrast to the 2016 season, when Ohio State was the youngest team in the FBS.
“I feel very comfortable with the progress made. To say I’m confident…you know, I’m just kind of a worrier,” Meyer told reporters Monday.
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Ohio State, 11-2 last season, is led by Heisman Trophy-candidate quarterback J.T. Barrett, poised to eclipse Drew Brees’s Big Ten record of 106 touchdowns responsible for.
Barrett has been steering an offense that sputtered at times last year but now is hoping to improve under two new coordinators. One is Kevin Wilson, who led the Hoosiers to back-to-back bowl bids before he departed over differences with the athletic director. His co-coordinator is Ryan Day, who is also the quarterbacks coach, coming to Columbus with 15 years of experience with the 49ers and Eagles, as well as in the college ranks.
College football owns Labor Day weekend and has turned it into five-day football holiday.
In addition to the Ohio State opener Thursday night, Week 1 features an unprecedented opener between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Florida State and No. 17 Florida putting a 27-game winning streak on the line against No. 11 Michigan.