Hawai'i @ Ohio State preview

Top-ranked Ohio State opened the season with a dominating performance and figures to have a leisurely time on Saturday when it hosts Hawaii. The defending champion Buckeyes used a strong second half to post a 42-24 victory over Virginia Tech in Monday's opener as junior Cardale Jones opened at quarterback ahead of sophomore T.J. Barrett.

While most of the chatter has centered on the quarterback debate over who should start between Jones and Barrett, former quarterback Braxton Miller reminded people in the opener that he might be the top overall player on the team. The two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year as a quarterback missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and shifted to receiver in the off-season and scored two touchdowns (one on a 54-yard pass, the other on a 53-yard run) against the Hokies. Miller had 140 all-purpose yards on eight touches (two receptions, six rushes) and has been responsible (scored and thrown) for 86 career touchdowns to break the school mark set by Art Schlichter (85 in 1978-81). The Warriors face long odds of beating the Buckeyes and it becomes more unlikely when you factor in they have lost 18 of their past 19 road games.

TV: 3:42 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Ohio State -40.

ABOUT HAWAII (1-0): Senior quarterback Max Wittek, a transfer from USC, became the first Hawaii signal caller in 30 years to throw three touchdown passes in his debut. Wittek passed for 202 yards against Colorado and clicked well with junior wideout Marcus Kemp, who fell one yard short of matching his career high in yardage as he caught six passes for 116 yards and one touchdown. Senior defensive end Luke Shawley had a mammoth outing in his first career start with 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks while sophomore cornerback Nick Nelson is an emerging force in the secondary.

ABOUT OHIO STATE (1-0): Jones made his fourth career start and followed up his strong postseason showing from a year ago by passing for 186 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a career-high 99 and one score against the Hokies. "Cardale finished the season as the starter and that kind of started the thinking that he had to get beat out and he wasn't beat out," Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer told reporters. "It was very close. We've got two good players and they're going to play." Ohio State regains the services of 2014 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Joey Bosa (a junior end who had 13.5 sacks in 2014), who missed the opener due to a suspension, while sophomore middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan flashed signs of potential with a career-best eight tackles in his first career start.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Ohio State junior RB Ezekiel Elliott topped 100 yards for the sixth straight time by accumulating 122 on 11 carries in the opener.

2. The highest-ranked team Hawaii has defeated was fourth-ranked Brigham Young 59-28 in 1990.

3. The Buckeyes have thrown for at least one touchdown in 24 consecutive games, tying for the best streak in school history (1994-96).

PREDICTION: Ohio State 58, Hawaii 20