It was Iowa State in Kent State's opener last year. Now comes Boston College.

If nothing else, the Golden Flashes know how to kick off the season with a bang.

Kent State looks to come home winners again by following their surprising 23-14 win over the Cyclones in Ames, Iowa, last year with another big-time victory today over a BCS conference opponent.

This time, the Flashes won't have to travel as far. They open the season at 7:30 tonight against the Eagles at Cleveland Browns Stadium in the FirstMerit Patriot Bowl — a home game of sorts for Kent State.

It wil be the first meeting for Kent State and Boston College, which finished 10th in the final AP poll last season. The game also features a reunion for several coaches on each staff.

Second-year Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who guided the Eagles to an 11-3 record last season, served with Kent State coach Doug Martin several years ago at East Carolina.

''There's a lot of familiarity here,'' said Martin, in his fifth year with the Flashes. ''Jagodzinski worked with me as the offensive line coach, and [current Boston College] offensive line coach Steve Logan was our head coach at East Carolina. We were all together for 10 years.''

This time they will meet as opponents, even if they are ones who know each other's tendencies well.

''What I see [about Kent State on tape] is very similar to what it looked like at East Carolina in the mid-'90s when I was there with Doug,'' Jagodzinski said. ''And [current KSU assistants] Terry Tilghman and Jason Nichols, all those guys are still running the same stuff. The terminology is the same and I'm sure the formations are the same. . . . They're going to be very multiple in their formations and motions, just like we are.''

Boston College is looking to make its way with freshman running back Josh Haden, who enrolled in the spring, and new quarterback Chris Crane.

Former quarterback Matt Ryan became the highest draft pick in school history, going to the Atlanta Falcons with the third overall selection.

The Flashes, on the other hand, boast seven returning offensive starters.

Chief among them is senior quarterback Julian Edelman, who is making his way back from a broken arm suffered Oct. 20 against Bowling Green. He hopes to regain the form he showed in leading the Flashes to a 6-6 record in his first season at KSU in 2006 that included a 5-3 second-place finish in the Mid-American Conference East Division.

Despite missing the final month of the season, Edelman racked up 1,318 passing and 455 rushing yards last year.

''We think [Edelman's] a good player,'' Jagodzinski said. ''And with another year under Doug's system, I think he's going to be pretty effective.''

Complementing Edelman in the backfield is junior running back Eugene Jarvis, whose 1,669 yards last season make him the nation's leading returning rusher. On Friday, Jarvis was named to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation's top back.

''[Jarvis] is a very talented player,'' Jagodzinski said. ''You watch him playing against Iowa State and Ohio State [early last season] and he gets yardage against those high-caliber teams.''

The Flashes went 3-9 last year with a disastrous seven-game losing streak after a 3-2 start. They lost four quarterbacks to injury along the way.