College Football Notebook

Associated Press

The college notebook. ...

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Ohio State and Miami no longer need to pretend otherwise. Marshall and Florida A&M, they were merely warmup acts.

The true early test for the Buckeyes and Hurricanes comes next Saturday — against one another.

Both No. 2 Ohio State and No. 13 Miami opened their season with eerily similar wins Thursday night. Both offenses racked up exactly 45 points, and neither defense allowed a point. Marshall’s lone touchdown came on a blocked field goal return, while Florida A&M fell victim to the Hurricanes’ first shutout since 2006.

So now, the hype can begin building.

The Hurricanes (1-0) and Buckeyes (1-0) meet Sept. 11 at Columbus, Ohio, the first time they’ve played since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl where Ohio State denied Miami its second straight national title. And the current sides, although some players were in elementary school when that title game was held, started buzzing about it moments after their respective opening-night routs were in the books.

MASOLI CAN PLAY

OXFORD, Miss. — In another surprising twist to a month-long saga, Mississippi quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has been cleared to play football just one day before the start of the season.

Three days ago, the NCAA ruled that the former Oregon quarterback had to sit out a season after enrolling at Mississippi. But the university appealed that decision and announced Friday that the NCAA Division I Subcommittee for Legislative Relief had overturned the first ruling.

NEBRASKA

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska fans haven’t forgotten that one-point loss to Texas in the Big 12 championship game and they’re still celebrating next year’s move to the Big Ten.

But the biggest topic of conversation in Big Red country has been about who will start at quarterback when the No. 8 Cornhuskers open the season against Western Kentucky on Saturday night.

Coach Bo Pelini hasn’t said whether he’ll go with Zac Lee, the senior incumbent, Cody Green, the top backup in 2009, or redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez.