The best part about the beginning of the college football season is the return of the pageantry. Cheerleaders, marching bands, tailgates, traditions, TFGD, all the goodies. Saturday felt especially special because of the whole Big 12 thing. And so the marching band’s formation before the team took to the field was indeed good.

As for the other good and bad elements to WVU’s  69-34 win…

All videos are broadcast footage from Fox Sports.

Good: Opening kickoff

Always a fun, ribbon-cutting moment and this year it was amplified a little because of the new rules. Dana Holgorsen’s concern with the changes is that players will loaf and assume the ball is going deep and the return man isn’t coming out with it. Well, Josh Francis obliterated a two-man wedge early in the return and then Demonstrably Awesome Cecil Level was in the neighborhood and grilling brats in the backyard when Marshall fielded the kickoff and accepted the touchback.

Bad: Delay of game after a TV timeout

I’m not sure how that’s possible, but for one day, I’ll credit it to the nuances of the first game.

Bad: What’s the score? How much time is left?

I went through the game more expediently than you, if you watched at home, but I had no trouble with Justin Kutcher and Eric Crouch. But perhaps I need to ask Kutcher “Where in the world is the television scoreboard?” That was not pleasant. I’m trying to flip through to certain points, based on my notes, and I can’t go to a spot I dog eared with a score or how much time was left in the second quarter. The thing was either gone or broken for much of the game. Had to have been much, much more frustrating for people watching live.

Good: Andrew Buie

Kept saying this, but the players raved about the sophomore throughout preseason practice. He certainly lived up to it: 10 touches, 111 yards and a touchdown (6-80-1 rushing, 4-31-0 receiving.)

“Buie’s a guy that’s been playing really well. He did some good things tonight. I probably should have given him ball more. He averaged 13 yards per carry,” Holgorsen said.

FX’s intro showed Buie getting clocked in last year’s game. Twice. Buie was the windshield Saturday. He’s is 5-9, 190 pounds. The victim here is two inches taller and 35 pounds heavier.

Good: Geno one the move, Part I

How about that touchdown run? Long strides and just a little wiggle in the open field. “That was a designed quarterback run we put in that you can tell everybody about,” Holgorsen said.

Good: That

Pretty funny, mostly because of the nonchalance.

Good: Geno Smith on the move, Part II

The TD run and the above scramble are pretty good looks at how cool Geno is in the pocket now, and I have to believe that’s enhanced by the confidence he has in his offensive line and how comfortable he is with the offense and, as a result, with the defense. Really good quarterbacks will make plays like the above ones. They’ll move around and turn nothing into something, sometimes something big, and they won’t hurry and throw the ball away. They know they can make something happen based on what they know about how the defense should treat the offense. Geno is there.

That said, I thought his most impressive feat of feet was this throw on the move. It’s really, really hard to do this accurately, but Geno is pretty damn good on the go.

Bad: Goal line situation needed some work

All of that said, Geno shouldn’t have been running a QB sneak on that fourth-and-goal from the Marshall 3 on the third drive of the game. Given another run at it, Holgorsen said he wouldn’t have done it.

“Terrible call,” Holgorsen said. “That was me being stupid and stubborn. It was (third-and-goal) and we tempoed them because they subbed and we caught them and we tried to punch it in, which is what we’re always going to do. We lost a yard and I got mad and became stubborn and took three points away from the team, which was not very smart.”

Bad: “Terrible call.”

I guess I should label this “good” because, if nothing else, he’s being honest with us. Or he’s covering up the quarterback’s mistake. Either way, that’s admirable. Nevertheless, it can’t happen. Three points doesn’t matter much when you score 69 and win by 35, but it’s not going to be like that every Saturday and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to fall out of love with the offensive and it’s indisputable effectiveness.

There’s nothing wrong with a field goal there and I guarantee you there will be nothing wrong with a field goal in Austin, Texas. Coaches learn on the go, too, but then again, you saw Millard chucking it late in the game. His pass was intercepted to set up another touchdown and WVU’s two questionable decisions led to 14 points. I know WVU can score, but points remain at a premium and you really can’t have situations like these where you give the other team the ball and some momentum. Not when three points or three runs and a punt are easy options.

Bad: … but in a good way.

K.J. Dillon is a bad dude. I thought this whole thing was great, but, really, bad dude. He pressured the punter and was pushed back at about the 5-yard line. He erases a Marshall player 60 yards from there.

Good: Shawne Alston and 16 carries

That’s a really good number for Alston. He did a lot with those carries and he was fresh for all of them — Dana said Alston had 65 yards after contact. Any more, especially this early, might yank this running back situation off the tracks. I like that he didn’t catch a pass, either. Use his touches for what he does best, which is find his holes and barrel through them. Alston had great balance Saturday. Guys took big swings and a few landed, but he stayed square mostly and was able to even hand out some shots of his own.

Also, he works really well with Ryan Clarke, who was also good. Clarke’s not a terribly fast guy, but that works well for the blocking. Alston doesn’t have to slow down to follow his blockers, which means he doesn’t have to do any stop-and-go running. They looked smooth together and worked well behind the line, especially on outside plays.

Good: Eleven yards!

Alston gets this carry at the 37. He isn’t hit until the 48. Look at the line’s push. Those five were very good Saturday, especially Jeff Braun, and WVU did a lot of damage on the left side behind Spain and Jenkins.

Bad: The other rush was lacking

One sack and two hurries for the day for the defense. I don’t think WVU blitzed much, and WVU didn’t need to, but there wasn’t much pressure. The sack was Garvin’s strip. No one else really harried Cato and WVU did try.

“They did some things protection wise, but we had some one-on-one blocks and you have to win one-on-one blocks,” defensive coordinator Joe DeForest said. “We’d bring a five-man pressure and they’ve got five linemen, so they can pick it up, but that means we’ve got five one-on-ones across the line. Somebody’s got to win.”

Good: A little edge

Tyler Anderson got stonewalled a lot off the edge, but Josh Francis was pretty effective in his spots, which were mostly situational and on third down. He had two tackles for a loss and made this noisy play. Watch him drop back, read the play, identify the route and pounce.

Best: 52!

Once upon a time, 52 used to be a pretty funny number at WVU. Slaton had 52-yard touchdown runs against Georgia. WVU hung up 52 on Pitt. On and on it went.

I can’t make a big enough deal of this, but after Tavon’s 70-yard run, he stayed on the field, caught the next two passes — both that required some work — and scored on the second. From the end of the run to the touchdown signal, 52 seconds passed. That’s 52 real time seconds, not game seconds.

Good: Stick draw!

The linebackers drop back before the snap, but watch them react to the routes the two inside receiver run at the top of the screen. Thompson drops back for a screen and draws a defender. Austin runs a stick and draws defenders, including the safety who vacates the middle. Two defenders rush the play’s right side, which leaves the left open because the safety jumped Tavon. Geno looks, Buie feigns, Geno hands to Buie and Buie bolts. That’s how it works.

Good: Outside receivers

J.D. Woods matched his 2011 total with seven receptions for 75 yards and blocked very well throughout the game, especially on the stick/draw touchdown. Ivan McCartney had two iffy moments, but he did his job on the, ahem, 52-yard reception and blocked perfectly when Tavon scored on the screen pass above. Good day for him and the coaches didn’t bail. Oh, and the starter at the other outside spot, Stedman Bailey, was pretty good, yes? And his backup, K.J.Myers, caught a touchdown on his first career reception.

Good: A return to Bolivia

WVU was 2-for-2 on fade routes which is big news because it was a big problem last year. And did you notice both of the touchdown passes Geno and Millard threw came on snaps from under center? It’s just a tick quicker that way, which makes a difference.

Bad: Pass defense

Marshall seemed to get and take what it wanted on third down and WVU’s corners allowed receivers a lot of space. I know the game got out of hand and the attack changed and Marshall had to pass and you’re going to give up yards when the other team throws 52 times, but there were moments early when the secondary looked like it was going to have some very long days this season. Not entirely sure what to think because Aaron Dobson is a pro and Cato can play, but Marshall also succeeded more than WVU must have liked.

Bad: Oh, snap

Give Michael Molinaro some credit. The holder had a good day despite some bad snaps. I think one reason Corey Smith had a punt blocked was because the snap went right and required an adjustment. WVU is looking for a new snapper and now you begin to realize why Cody Nutter was so damn valuable. Jerry Cooper and John DePalma both played Saturday and both need to get better.

Bad: Oh, boy

I guess the moral to the story is WVU just shouldn’t punt. Interesting to note that Marshall’s 11th man — the guy who sprinted from the sideline to the line of scrimmage — is the one who blocked the punt.

Good: It’s back!

Play my song. Play it now!