MY THOUGHTS.....Akron

 

                As expected, the Ohio State Buckeyes, after a shaky start, made quick work of the Akron Zips, winning 59-7.  The level of competition wasn’t much in the way of a progress marker for the Ohio State defense, but they did limit the Zips to a mere 229 total yards and only 76 yards on the ground.  The defense also came away with nine sacks, including three by Haskell Garrett, just one shy of the school record in a game.  We also saw a defensive touchdown, the second one of the season, this time by an interception return by Ronnie Hickman.  After the first two Akron drives, in which the defense looked lost, they tightened up the rest of the way.  The closest Akron got to scoring after their touchdown was a drive inside the ten-yard line at the end of the game, but a couple of sacks ended that scoring threat.  I thought the defense adjusted well to the dual-threat Akron QB D.J. Irons, who will cause trouble for a lot of MAC defensive coordinators this season.  Tyleik Williams continued his fine play with a team-high six tackles and a pair of sacks.  Playing well in the secondary was Teradja Mitchell with four stops and Demario McCall, who transferred to defense this year.  McCall came up with four tackles and broke up a pass inside the 20-yard line. 

                On offense, Kyle McCord was definitely feeling the jitters of being thrust into his first playing time in college.  But, after the first couple of series, it seemed like he settled down nicely.  The game plan was designed to build confidence in him; he hit on a couple of impressive throws to Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.  McCord had one bad interception on a ball he never should’ve thrown, but he managed to throw for 319 yards.  All’s well that ends well, as he should be ready for future game situations.  Jack Miller played much of the second half and had some impressive throws to Cade Stover and to speedster Emeka Egbuka, who turned a short crossing route into an 85-yard gain, nearly scoring on the play.  As expected, TreVeyon Henderson got the start, but it was clear the coaching staff wanted others to share the load.  Henderson was the leading rusher with 93 yards and two scores, but we also saw hard running from Master Teague, Miyan Williams, and Evan Pryor, who got his first collegiate touchdown to conclude the scoring. 

                Even though the competition wasn’t what they will face from here on out now that B1G conference play has arrived, the defense made some progress here and if they can build on it, Ohio State will win the rest of their regular season games.

                Next up is a trip to Piscataway, NJ to face an improved Rutgers squad that almost, and should have, taken down Michigan last week.  The real tests for this team lie ahead.