Buckeyes, ’Canes set for rematch

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

A lot has happened in the eight years since Miami and Ohio State met under a panoramic desert sky in an unforgettable national championship game.

So the teams have a lot of catching up to do when the 12th-ranked Hurricanes travel to meet No. 2 Ohio State today.

Some of the ’Canes, including most of their alumni, have never really gotten over the 31-24 loss in double overtime on Jan. 3, 2003, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

After all this time, and after different paths over those eight years, both teams still feel they have a lot to prove.

Miami wants to return to its perch near the top as the most intimidating and feared team in the land. And Ohio State feels there are many who don’t give the Buckeyes their due.

Penn State-Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.

Storied programs, iconic coaches and the kind of rich history normally reserved for longer-running rivalries.

If only No. 1 Alabama and No. 18 Penn State — Joe Paterno vs. Nick Saban — could toss a Heisman Trophy winner into this tasty football stew tonight. But Crimson Tide tailback Mark Ingram seemed less likely to return for the game from a knee injury as the week went along.

Nevermind that, though. It’s the first meeting in two decades between onetime rivals who forged a tradition of classic games in the late 1970s and through the 1980s.

It’s also the first chance for Alabama to offer hard evidence it’s worthy of top billing. And for JoePa and Penn State to make their own statement.

MICHIGAN-NOTRE DAME

SOUTH BEND, Ind.

Rich Rodriguez and Brian Kelly started their head coaching careers at small schools, worked their way up the ladder and had major success at Big East schools before landing at two of the nation’s marquee programs.

Rodriguez will lead Michigan onto the field at Notre Dame Stadium today against Kelly and the Irish. It’s a game that has plenty of meaning this season, with Rodriguez trying to shed the stigma of two disappointing years and Kelly trying to rebuild the program in his first year.

OKLAHOMA-FLORIDA STATE

NORMAN, Okla.

Florida State started its season with a blowout win that didn’t provide much perspective on how good the 17th-ranked Seminoles might be in Jimbo Fisher’s first year as coach.

No. 10 Oklahoma knows exactly where it stands after a closer-than-expected victory against Utah State in Week 1. The Sooners (1-0) need to get better — and fast — if they want to return to the national championship picture.

Today’s schedule/B2