The Ohio State football team beat the University of Akron 52-6 on Saturday, August 31, 2024. Ohio State Football did just enough to stay ranked #2, leaving fans with the promise of more. This game was a chance for returning players to warm up and a few new players to get in a game. Their first real test will be against Oregon.
Great Expectations
Ohio State football was only leading 7-3 after the first quarter and the game was much closer than the final score shows. Apart from the slow start, Ohio State football fell short of the lofty expectations of them in this game. For instance, elevenwarriors.com picked Ohio State to win 63-10, and SB Nation’s Land Grant Holy Land had predictions from four experts: Josh Dooley picked Ohio State 63-3, Dan Hessler picked Ohio State 63-7, Justin Golba picked Ohio State 56-3, and Brett Lundwiczak picked Ohio State 48-6. All, almost certainly, expected a faster start.
Celebrating a Legend
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Archie Griffen was celebrated for the fiftieth anniversary of his first Heisman Trophy and dotted the I in Script Ohio in the Marching Band’s halftime show. Sitting in Ohio Stadium and looking at eight national championships commemorated on the façade of the southern upper deck (1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, and 2014), it was justified to wonder if Ohio State football will be strong enough to win a National Championship this year. One thing is for certain: Ohio State’s defense is good enough, Will Howard and the offense may not be.
Numbers
As mentioned earlier, Ohio State football led the game 7-3 after the first quarter and led 17-3 at halftime. Ohio State football outscored the Zips 21-3 in the third quarter for a 38-6 lead and outscored Akron 14-0 in the fourth quarter for a 52-6 win. The Ohio State football defense scored two touchdowns, one by accomplished defensive back Lathon Ransom and the other by Gabe Powers, a little used junior linebacker from Marysville, Ohio, in what was surely the highlight of his twenty years, he will likely play more.
Ohio State Football rushed Akron’s 170 to 47 yards and threw for 234 yards to Akron’s 130 yards. Will Howard was only 17 for 28, throwing for 228 yards. Devon Brown, Ohio State’s backup quarterback, got in the game and was a paltry 1 for 3 for 6 yards. Both Ohio State football quarterbacks missed wide-open wide receivers.
Speaking of the receivers, freshman Jeremiah Smith caught six passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Returning to the overall team statistics, Ohio State football outgained Akron by 404 yards to 177. That was a far cry from the expected six or seven hundred yards of offense. That is what happens when your defense scores two touchdowns and your offense underperforms.
Scoring
Let’s look at the scoring blow-by-blow. In the first quarter, Akron kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Jeremiah Smith scored one of his two touchdowns to give Ohio State football its 7-3 lead. Jayden Fielding kicked a 40-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Jeremiah Smith scored his second touchdown. Ohio State football was leading 17-3 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Quinshon Judkins scored his first touchdown for Ohio State football and then came the interception for a touchdown by Lathan Ransom. Akron kicked a 49-yard field goal, and then James Peoples, a freshman running back for Ohio State football, scored a touchdown, increasing Ohio State’s lead to 38-6 after three quarters.
Ohio State scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Carnell Tate, wide receiver number three for Ohio State, caught a touchdown pass from Will Howard, a 34-yarder. And finally came the Gabe Powers interception for a touchdown in garbage time, giving Ohio State football a 52-6 win over Akron to start the season.
Ohio State will host Western Michigan on September 7 on Alumni Band Day.
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