While we still have to wait another whole week before the Browns season officially kicks off, those of us who follow college football can celebrate the beginning of a new season this weekend. Unlike recent years, when Ohio State opened up the season with Youngstown State or Miami (OH), this year the Buckeyes will face a team that can potentially be a nuisance to OSU.

While Navy isn’t exactly a modern powerhouse of a football program, they are a team that has had a lot of modest success lately. They have had 6 straight winning seasons and 6 straight bowl appearances. Over those 6 years, they have gone 51-25. And while they only went 2-4 in those 6 bowl games, they certainly hung around with far superior teams, losing by 1 to Boston College in 2006, losing by 3 to Utah in 2007, and losing by 10 to Wake Forest last year.

There’s no question Ohio State has more talent than those previously mentioned teams, but OSU faces a lot of turnover in their starting lineup, and their first game will ensure that they can’t afford to not get it put together quickly. For their part, Navy has lost a lot of players at the skilled positions, and so they too will be learning on the fly as a team, but Navy plays a style of football that can harass almost anyone.    [Read more...]