MY THOUGHTS.....Akron

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes opened the 2024 campaign with a 52-6 win over in-state foe Akron.  On the offensive side of the ball, freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith showed the hype surrounding him is fully justified.  After a drop on the first pass thrown to him, Smith recovered to lead the team with six receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns.  He also added a beautiful 45-yard reception in tight coverage to set up another score.  After a couple of off-target early throws, Will Howard settled down and ended up 17 of 28 for 228 yards and three scores.  Howard delt the ball effectively to a number of different receivers.  Smith grabbed the most attention, however, Carnell Tate was also effective, hauling in four catches for 58 yards and a score.  Emeka Egbuka also contributed with four catches and TreVeyon Henderson added two, including a 12-yarder on third down to keep a scoring drive going.  The offensive line, with three new starters, had growing pains as I expected.  At times, they had trouble with the Zips’ front four, as Howard had to scramble a few times to avoid getting sacked.  Henderson led the way on the ground with 65 yards, including a 21-yarder which was the longest gain on the ground.  Newcomer Quinshon Judkins got some work, but was held to 55 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.  He did, however, score the first touchdown on the ground for this season and James Peoples came off the bench to add another score on the ground at the end of the third quarter. 

After Akron was able to move the ball on their first drive, getting a field goal, the Ohio State defense settled in.  The Zips only got 2.8 yards per play and were held to just 47 yards on the ground.  Lathan Ransom led the way with nine tackles, including a “scoop and score”.  In fact, the defense recorded two touchdowns, as the other accounted for the final points of the day when Gabe Powers had a pick-six.  The defense also collected five sacks, four in the first half.  DE J.T. Tuimoloau accounted for two sacks and new safety Caleb Downs got into the action, recording a sack of his own. 

Ohio State will look to carry that over into the next game against Western Michigan on Saturday.