AROUND THE NATION

Streaking: Ohio State was the only undefeated team in the country last season, and the second-ranked Buckeyes enter the season with a nation-best 12-game winning streak. Thirteen in a row seems like a safe bet with Urban Meyer's team opening against Buffalo at the Horseshoe on Saturday.

In uniform or not?: Many teams have players suspended for one or two games and the stock answer from coaches is "find out at game time."

Welcome to the neighborhood: Pittsburgh will play its first game as a member of the ACC, and it'll be quite a welcome to the league. Defending ACC champion Florida State visits Pitt, which was 6-7 in its first season under coach Paul Chryst and last as a member of the Big East.

WORDS WITH … DABO SWINNEY

The Clemson coach answers questions in advance of his No. 8 Tigers playing host to No. 5 Georgia at 8 p.m.

Q: How ready is Tajh Boyd for the challenges Georgia presents?

A: Well, I'm really glad we got Tajh Boyd back for another year. He's a very experienced player. He's been in a lot of big games, and he's going to have to draw on that experience and play very well for us to have a chance. … I definitely think that he's more than prepared and mentally ready to accept the challenge.

Q: Does playing an SEC team give any extra flavor to this game?

A: Regardless what conference they are from, you've got the No. 5 team in the country coming to your stadium, that's all that really matters. As far as the SEC goes and all that, we've been playing SEC teams every year and been in a lot of battles with that league, and our guys have a good understanding of what it takes to be able to beat a very good team regardless of what conference they come from. It's about being good on that night and executing your plan to win and playing with great effort and toughness.

Q: What has you more concerned, the Georgia passing game or the Georgia running game?

A: All of it … because they have the ability to throw it 50 times or run it 50 times. … So they are capable of beating you either way. Obviously you've got to take something away. You can't just let them have their way all night, but that's easier said than done.

DEBUT … SOONER NOT LATER

After a disastrous finish to the 2012 season, Oklahoma coaches knew they needed to rebuild and revamp their defense. Nowhere is that more apparent than on the line.

When No. 16 Oklahoma hosts Louisiana-Monroe in the season opener, it’s likely that each of the four starters on the line will be making his first major-college start. Of the top eight players listed on the depth chart, only one, tackle Chuka Ndulue, has started a game for the Sooners, and he will be serving a one-game suspension after an off-season arrest.

There seem to be plenty of promising pieces, but coach Bob Stoops acknowledges that he won’t fully know what he has until games begin.

To say the Sooners struggled on defense down the stretch in 2012 would be gracious. West Virginia rolled up 778 yards against the Sooners, and Oklahoma State followed with a 618-yard outing. Then Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel keyed a 663-yard performance by Texas A&M as the Aggies routed the Sooners 41-13 in the Cotton Bowl.

The Sooners will use multiple defensive fronts this season, sometimes going with three down linemen instead of four, in an effort to confuse offenses. Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who took considerable heat for the way the Sooners finished last season, said it’s important that the line be vastly improved.

”We’re trying to become more productive up front, give them more opportunities to be productive,” he said.

HOME SWEET HOME FOR HUSKIES

The finest piece of real estate in college football now has a facility worthy of its waterfront location in Seattle.

Husky Stadium is no longer crumbling and dilapidated. Rebar is no longer exposed, concrete is no longer cracked and seats don’t feel miles away from the field.

In the span of 21 months, Washington went from having an outdated football stadium to a palatial estate on the shores of Lake Washington.

Washington will christen its $280 million renovation Saturday night when the Huskies face No. 19 Boise State. The public has been kept behind chain-link fences with security guards standing watch to turn away anyone trying to slip inside for a sneak peak.

“The stadium is awesome. The stadium is great. The new Jumbotron and the lights and the wrapping and everything that is going to be with it,” Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said this week. “What is going to make the place special is the way we play and the product that we put on the field, and our guys understand that.”

NO. 2 WITH A BULLET

There was a time not so long ago when Ohio State’s defense was one of the more feared, effective and efficient units in the country.

For this season’s second-ranked Buckeyes to contend for a Big Ten, let alone a national title, coach Urban Meyer knows his defenders have to harken back to the not-so-distant past.

“One thing about Ohio State defense, for a decade they were about as good a defense as there was in America,” Meyer said. “The last two years, it hasn’t been that way. So I’m anxious to get it back there to the Ohio State level.”

The defense was just good enough to get it through an undefeated season in 2012.

“Right now we still have a chip on our shoulder,” said All-Big Ten linebacker Ryan Shazier, one of only three holdover starters. “Some people don’t feel like we are worthy to be where we are right now (in the rankings). We’re fighting for championships in November right now.”

The new first-teamers include four sophomores and several juniors who have little experience in a big-game spotlight. So there’s a lot to prove — even to the coach.

“The jury is certainly out,” Meyer said. “I’m very comfortable with who they are as people and the way they practice.”

One sidelight to pay attention to: the Big Ten is allowing an unlimited number of replays to be shown on video boards in football stadiums. Previously, stadiums were allowed to show one replay at no less than 75 percent of real-time speed. The new policy allows for multiple replays at any speed.

EARLY HEISMAN TROPHY LIST

Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M. The first freshman to win the Heisman, Johnny Football may still have something to prove this year.

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina. The most disruptive force in college football could become the second full-time defensive player to win the Heisman (Michigan's Charles Woodson was first).

A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama. He has as many national titles (two) as losses; can team results overcome individual stats?

Marqise Lee, WR, USC. One of those threat-to-score-on-every-touch guys.

Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona. Nation's leading rusher in a fast-paced offense.

De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon. Possibly the most dynamic player in the country.

Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia. Despite presence of Heisman winner Manziel and two-time national champ McCarron, the coaches voted him the preseason top SEC QB.