COLUMBUS: Facing third-and-4 at the 38-yard line, Julian Edelman looked to gain the four yards for a first down to keep Kent State's third drive alive at No. 3 Ohio State.

For Edelman, arguably the Mid-American Conference's most effective running quarterback, the keeper is usually an easily accomplished feat.

Not Saturday.

As soon as he took off to his left, there was nowhere to go. Edelman, a junior, was dropped for a 3-yard loss that forced a punt on fourth down.

Frustrated, Edelman got up near the Ohio State sideline and was hemmed in by four scarlet and gray players with whom he got into a mini shoving match.

This, just three minutes into the second quarter.

''That doesn't surprise me, knowing him,'' Golden Flashes coach Doug Martin said. ''We had not had a football tradition at Kent State when we recruited Julian here (last season). He doesn't care about the past, but he's determined to change the future of this team. His mentality has changed our football team. He's like a linebacker playing quarterback.''

The scuffle came early in the Buckeyes' 48-3 thrashing of the Flashes, but Edelman's show of frustration was indicative of the kind of day that it was for the Flashes (3-4) against the Buckeyes (7-0).

''We played hard, but we got overwhelmed at times and made crucial mistakes we couldn't afford to make,'' Martin said.

The mistakes included a 90-yard punt return by former GlenOak standout Brian Hartline in the first quarter followed by a second-quarter Edelman interception that was returned by OSU's Donald Washington 70 yards for a touchdown.

KSU did run the ball against OSU's vaunted defense, with sophomore running back Eugene Jarvis totaling 84 yards on 16 carries in limited duty. Backups Andre Flowers and Christen Haywood also saw action.

Jarvis is ''a good back, and it was a great challenge for our defense,'' Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ''We were whacking them good and getting them down a lot of the time but occasionally he was bouncing off.''

That the visitors outrushed OSU 161 yards to 138 left Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Heacock sending a stern message to his group.

''It's probably a good eye-opener and wake-up call because the next five weeks we're going to see the five best running backs in the Big Ten,'' he said.

Edelman finished 4-of-10 for 49 yards and the interception, rotating much of the game with backup Anthony Magazu. Sophomore Jon Brown even made his first appearance since the 2005 season.

The loss dropped Kent State to 0-2 all-time versus Ohio State and 0-9 against Big Ten opponents. Yet, facing a shutout in the final two minutes of play, kicker Nate Reed booted a 34-yard field goal to at least put the Flashes on the board.

Although there wasn't an upset victory for KSU to take home, there will be memories of playing in a historic football stadium in front of 105,051 (mostly red-clad) fans.

''This (environment) is what college football is all about,'' senior defensive lineman Colin Ferrell said. ''I don't know how many thousands were here, but it's every kid's dream to play in an environment like this.''

Ohio State sets its sights on Michigan State next week, and Kent State resumes it MAC schedule in hosting Bowling Green and Central Michigan over the next two weeks.

''Our season starts this week,'' Martin said. ''We've got five games coming up that will dictate whether we're successful this season or not.''

Russell sidelined

Ohio State safety Anderson Russell had to be helped off the field in the first quarter. Tressel said the sophomore, who earned a starting job last season but suffered a season-ending knee injury against Iowa, ''kind of rolled the same (right) ankle that he'd been nursing.''