By BLAIR KERKHOFF (The Kansas City Star) —
The “Deal With it America Tour” begins today.

Ohio State opens the season against Youngstown State, and the Buckeyes are loaded. Twenty starters return — nine on both sides of the ball plus kickers — and they have added dynamic freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

There’s a Heisman Trophy front-runner on offense in running back Chris “Beanie” Wells, and another on defense in linebacker James Laurinaitis.

They’ve won three straight Big Ten titles, and a few seniors passed up an opportunity to enter the NFL draft to make it four. All signs point to another terrific season for the No. 1 team in The Kansas City Star’s preseason top 25, even a national championship favorite.

The Buckeyes seem to have everything except an exit strategy. They’ve so badly flubbed the previous two BCS championship games that the “getting there” credit is giving way to Buffalo Bills comparisons.

You remember the Bills, losers of four straight Super Bowls.

“There’s a sense of unfinished business,” said senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. “We want to try to win ’em all.”

That happened two years ago, right up until the end when the 12-0 Buckeyes were slammed by Florida.

Last season, Ohio State caught a break after losing late in the season to Illinois and falling to seventh in the polls. As other contenders dropped, the Buckeyes climbed back up the BCS standings and gained a spot in the title game against LSU. Another thrashing.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has given this season a simple theme — “Now.”

“We have a fierce urgency for ‘Now’ because we have an older group,” Tressel said. “Your urgency is demonstrated in your performance.”

The Buckeyes may be the nation’s most experienced team, but a promising newcomer also contributes to the optimism. Pryor accounted for nearly 9,000 yards and 125 touchdowns in high school. He shows remarkable quickness for a player who stands 6 feet 6 and weighs 235 pounds.

Starting quarterback Todd Boeckman led the Big Ten is passing efficiency, but the versatility and speed of Pryor could give the Buckeyes the quality it has lacked facing faster defenses.

“I would think from day one he’ll be a guy you take notice of,” Tressel said.

Even more vital to Ohio State’s success will be a defensive stand when it counts most. The Buckeyes led the nation in fewest points and yards allowed last season. Then LSU bled them for 38 points in the title game. The year before, Florida scored 41 on Ohio State.

An early indication of the Buckeyes’ place in the national scene comes in two weeks when they visit Southern California, another program with designs on the national championship. Ohio State proved last year it can lose a game, even late, and play for the crown. But even two weeks is too far in the future for the Buckeyes, who also want to avoid the pain of the past.

In Columbus, it’s all about now.

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