On yet another fine Saturday afternoon to open the football season at Ohio Stadium, the buzz was about a freshman running back with enough name-power to send headline writers into an ink frenzy.

The 18-year-old had inspired all of the preseason hype that one could expect in the pre-television era of sports. Along the banks of the Olentangy River, they expected to see Red Grange, not in the Fighting Illini colors, but wearing the scarlet and gray of Ohio State.

During that opening game of 1952, virtually nothing happened in the first half. The Indiana Hoosiers led the Buckeyes 13-0. Then the low rumble began anew. They saw the 150-pound kid grab his helmet and they watched the odd rhythm of his legs as he sprang toward the Ohio State huddle.

By day's end, everyone inside the Horseshoe that knew they had witnessed something special -- Howard "Hopalong" Cassady coming off the bench, ripping apart the Hoosier defense with three touchdowns as he led the comeback. Ohio State won 33-13. More important, second-year coach Woody Hayes knew his first bonafide star had arrived.

Hop ahead fifty years.

Camera pans a familiar setting. Stadium filled with anxious fans. The drum major struts out to the top of the "i." All eyes focus on. . .another freshman.

Enter Maurice Clarett, who would make history by becoming the first freshman tailback to start a season opener for the Buckeyes. More significantly, his 175 rushing yards and three touchdowns resurrected those grainy images of another time.

Comparisons of Clarett and Cassady could last all day. Back in 1952, the Buckeyes were trying to rekindle a fire that had been lost years earlier with the departure of coach Paul Brown. There was a new sheriff in town, Hayes, and fans were hungry for another national championship. Not since 1942, under Brown, had they wagged the index finger.

Likewise, in the year 2002, Jim Tressel is trying to build toward a shot at the BCS title. This is his second year in football-crazed country and, like Hayes, has many bricks to lay.

Saturday, the eighth ranked Buckeyes will begin to learn just how far they have come. Eleventh ranked Washington State, with quarterback Jason Gesser, one of the Heisman Trophy favorites, represents the first real challenge for a team that demolished Texas Tech and Kent State by the combined 96-38 score in the first two weeks of the season.

The Cougars were one of the larger surprises of the 2001 season, finishing with a 10-2 record, and defeating Purdue in the Sun Bowl. They have perhaps the best defensive line in school history.

How far will Clarett run in the first test of the season? Tressel has reasons to be confident.

"I believe in the guy," he said. "I never thought he would study football like he has. He is passionate about being a great football player."

Clarett averages 7.2 yards per carry and has scored four rushing touchdowns. He was removed twice near the goal against Texas Tech. He carried only 11 times for 66 yards against Kent State, when Tressel emptied the bench before halftime. Otherwise, his numbers might be astonishing for mid-September.

There is every reason to believe that Clarett will hold up during the hard-pounding Big Ten schedule. He stands six-foot, weighs 230 pounds, and runs like a diesel with speed.

This became glaringly evident during the opening drive against Texas Tech when the Buckeyes shifted into the Jumbo Overload -- 1,700 pounds of road-grading hell. Guards Bryce Bishop and Adrien Clarke, tackles Shane Olivea and Ivan Douglas and tight end Ben Hartsock surrounded center Alex Stepanovich and with Clarett carrying the ball behind this mass of humanity, he powered his way 59 yards to the end zone.

He would also score on runs 45 yards and one yard before Tressel began to rotate two others into his spot. Tressel continues to insist that backups Lydell Ross and Mo Hall will continue to receive their fair share of carries. But he's having trouble selling that notion.

More than being a talented, overpowering back, Clarett's attitude is beyond measure. He enrolled at Ohio State during the winter quarter, only a few weeks out of high school so he could participate in spring drills. By the time fall workouts rolled around, he knew Tressel's offense inside and out.

Then, during the week of practice leading to Texas Tech, he yelled at the upperclassmen for not demonstrating a "championship" work ethic.

But no one doubts his words or actions.

"We know that if we give the guy one inch, that he can take it all the way," said Stepanovich. "I'm impressed with everything he does."

In this hip-hop era, Clarett is much like the one they called Hopalong. Cassady received his name from Columbus sportswriters because he often hopped when he carried the ball. In one of Ohio State's most fabled moments, he hopped over the Michigan line for the winning touchdown in 1954.

Clarett should read the rest of the story. It gets quite interesting.

In 1954, Hopalong gained 751 yards, was named All-America and led the Buckeyes to a 10-0 record and Hayes' first national title. Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist John Dietrich called the '54 Buckeyes, "the most inspiring team in Ohio State football history -- a tight-fisted, hard-hitting crew playing the game as it was meant to be played."

In 1955, Hopalong gained 958 yards, scored 15 touchdowns, and wound up on the Ed Sullivan Show. He also took down a piece of hardware known as the Heisman Trophy.

Clarett should turn back the pages. That is where his happy future awaits.

Jim Dent is the author of "Junction Boys" and "The Undefeated" and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. "Junction Boys" will be ESPN Original Entertainment's second original, made-for-television movie. The premiere is scheduled for Saturday, December 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.