The official start of the college football season is finally here, and all of the offseason storylines will be just that, storylines. The last time we got to see the Buckeyes, it was a shell of itself with a very porous offensive line that could not block Missouri or give either Devin Brown or Lincoln Keinholz any time to do something with the ball. It was that game that most likely left the worst taste in Ryan Day’s mouth, knowing how close his team was to beating the eventual national champions for the second straight year, and the team he fielded was nowhere close to who they were in Ann Arbor.
The Buckeyes responded by not only bringing in 6 immediate impact transfers, highlighted by now starting quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State, All-American safety Caleb Downs from Alabama, and running back Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss, but sign arguably the best class Ryan Day has ever had, including the number 1 overall player in the country in wide receiver Jeremiah “JJ” Smith.
At 3:30pm on Saturday, everything that has been on the minds of the fans of the Scarlet and Gray can be a thing of the past, and the opening kickoff will be their sign to finally move forward with the new season, and a chance to try and win a National Championship in the first year of the 12-team playoff. It will be game one of hopefully a 16 or 17 game season, and the marathon will begin as the Buckeyes try and prove they are the best team in the country, and leaving no doubt on who they are this year.
It’s a bad day to be a Zip on Saturday.
Know The Opponent
Head Coach: Jim Moorhead
2023 Record: 2-10
Location: Akron, OH
Conference: MAC
Ohio State Preview
Before we dive into Ohio State’s preview, it is game week, which means there is a game trailer. Check out the one for this week.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗹.𝟭 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 🍿🔥🎥 pic.twitter.com/ACNLqIEZ32
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 29, 2024
Gone is Kyle McCord and Biletnikoff Award winner Marvin Harrison Jr. The Buckeyes instead will be a team with new faces on both sides of the ball, but the best thing they did was keep a core group of its 2021 class together who are trying to accomplish the goals that has eluded them since becoming a Buckeye, and that is beating Michigan, winning the Big Ten, and competing for a chance to win a National Championship. Ryan Day has been able to take on more of a head coach role this offseason thanks to the addition to the staff of his mentor in Chip Kelly, who left the head coaching job at UCLA to take a step back, and will be coaching the quarterbacks as well.
Akron Preview
The Zips are led by head coach Joe Moorhead, who was the offensive coordinator at Penn State and Oregon previously, but has not had the success on that side of the ball, going 2-10 in both seasons as head coach. Akron’s two wins last year were against FCS opponent Morgan State, with a 24-21 final, and Kent State, with a 31-27 final.
Like Ohio State, the Zips entered the season with a quarterback battle between eventual winner Ben Finley, a NC State transfer and Cal, with 3 years of experience, and Tahj Bullock. Finley has passed for a total of 1484 yards, 7 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in his career.
The defense for Akron has been more productive than the offensive side of the ball under Moorhead. Akron was ranked 81st in points allowed. “A lack of consistency moving the ball left the Zips’ opponents with short fields, as reflected by the fact Akron ranked 32nd in total defense, 22nd in pass defense and 58th against the run.” (Eleven Warriors)
Antavious Fish and Bryan McCoy, who led the team with 95 and 94 tackles respecively, are both back to lead a linebacker corps that is probably the strongest position group on the team. Devonte Golden-Nelson is the top cornerback, and had 2 interceptions last season.
Buckeye Spotlight
Quarterback Will Howard. All eyes will be on the transfer quarterback making his first start as a Buckeye. Ryan Day and Chip Kelly had enough confidence in his progress this offseason to name him the starter over Devin Brown, and he will take command of an offense that should be one of the most lethal in the country.
Zips Spotlight
Quarterback Ben Finley. On the opposite sideline will be another transfer quarterback making their first start for their new team. Finley has some experience as a backup at NC State and Cal, and will be looking to make a name for himself against arguably the best defense in the country.
Water Cooler Stat of the Game
103 Years. Ohio State has not lost to an in-state opponent since Oberlin in 1921.
Prediction
The Buckeyes will be using this game to test out their new $20million car, and the Zips are getting paid $1.8million to be the test dummies. I do feel bad for the instate opponents as well, because they are D1 players as well, who are looking to be stronger competitors in the MAC, but this game will be very much a name your score game for the Buckeyes. Dont get me wrong, there is excitement because this is the first game of the season, and getting to see Archie dot the “i” as the 8th non-band member to do it ever. will be an incredible experience, but if this game is close, then the Buckeyes are not the team we hoped they would be to start the season, but will have plenty of time to work on it before the October 12 showdown with Oregon. I anticipate the Buckeyes will try and get Will Howard and the starters on offense around 8 series to get a comfortable lead, and then let the second string get their chance to play and earn future playing time. Zips get Zipped.
Ohio State 63 – Akron 0
Photo Credit – Gabe Haferman | The Lantern