SCARLET & GRAY MATTER
Observations on Saturday's Ohio State-akron game by Joey Kaufman:
The game at hand
• Short-attention span synopsis: A beatdown. Or a pick-me-up. The first true rout by the Buckeyes in 2021. Mid-game drama on the sideline and Twitter might have spoiled some of the feel-good vibes. But on the field, Ohio State looked in its more usual form.
• Pregame buzz: Lots of quarterback curiosity. Who would take the first snap: Kyle Mccord or Jack Miller? Could either outperform C.J. Stroud as he rested his shoulder and spark a controversy? With a blowout expected, Ohio State was to dig deep into the depth chart at other positions and give younger players some looks. Intrigue wasn't with the result, but which underclassmen might turn heads.
• Spread the wealth?: The Buckeyes were 49-point favorites, their heaviest since visiting Rutgers in 2019, and they covered the point spread for the first time this season. But anyone who laid the points must have been a little unsettled in the final seconds as Akron stood only 14 yards away from the end zone before consecutive sacks ended the possibility of a backdoor cover by the Zips.
• Strategically speaking: Mccord appeared nervous on the opening series. All of his passes fell incomplete. Then on the second drive, Ryan Day made it easy for him, dialing up a couple of shovel passes that allowed the true freshman to get the ball out quickly to the Buckeyes' playmakers, the latter of which Chris Olave turned into a touchdown. Mccord went through a stretch in which he completed 12 of 14 passes.
The View
• How the team sees it: About time we get some rest in the fourth quarter.
• How Buckeye Nation will see it: These are the wins we've grown accustomed to.
Hey, what did Day say?
• What he said: “If we keep building, then we'll have a chance to get where we want to be by the end of the season."
• What it means: "Teams like Akron make for good building blocks."
They said it
• Talking heads: Big Ten Network color analyst James Laurinaitis, a former OSU star linebacker, is the latest to express discomfort with the Buckeyes' frequent substituting on defense.
"I would have struggled with how much they rotate. They rotate guys in and out over and over at linebacker. I would have tried to have my words with Coach (Luke) Fickell . ... You see a certain pull the first time, ... you've got to be able to see plays two, three times to be able to diagnose it faster."
• Pregame chatter: Oberlin's annual day in the spotlight came again, as the Big Ten Network mentioned that the Yeomen's 7-6 victory in 1921 was the last time an in-state team defeated Ohio State. But, during the game broadcast play-by-play man Brandon Gaudin erred and said it was Akron who beat the Buckeyes in 1921. Oops. Sorry, Oberlin. ... BTN'S Gary Dinardo, when asked what he wants to see from the Buckeyes against Akron: "I'd like to see them defend some of the things Oregon and Tulsa did against them."
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Numbers for dummies
319: Passing yards by Mccord, the most ever by an Ohio State quarterback in his first start.
4: Number of true freshmen to start at quarterback for the Buckeyes as Mccord follows Braxton Miller, Terrelle Pryor and Art Schlichter.
11.6: Yards per carry by Treveyon Henderson who totaled 93 yards on his eight rush attempts.
10: Wide receivers to catch a pass. 2: Receptions by Olave, who was held without one against Tulsa.
9: Sacks by the Buckeyes, tied for the fourth-most in a game in school history. 12: Tackles for loss by Ohio State, doubling its season-high.
222: Total yards of offense by Akron, the fewest against the Buckeyes since Maryland amassed just 139 in 2019. 14: Points in the first quarter from Ohio
State after it had scored only a combined 10 points in the first three games. 57-43: The Buckeyes' run-pass percentage, the most balanced they have been on offense during the last three games.
On tap
Rutgers has never been much threat to Ohio State since joining the Big Ten in 2014. All seven of the teams' meetings have been lopsided. The Buckeyes have won by at least three touchdowns in each one. But the Scarlet Knights are as formidable as they've been during their time in the conference. In their second season of Greg Schiano's second stint at the school, they started 3-0 before losing at Michigan by only a touchdown on Saturday.
— Joey Kaufman
OHIO STATE 59, AKRON 7
Akron 7 0 0 0 — 7
Ohio St. 14 24 14 7 — 59
First Quarter - AKR: Mumpfield 4 pass from Irons (Smigel kick), 7:27. OSU: Olave 5 pass from Mccord (Ruggles kick), 5:27. OSU: Henderson 3 run (Ruggles kick), :11.
Second Quarter - OSU: Smith-njigba 34 pass from Mccord (Ruggles kick), 10:23. OSU: Henderson 14 run (Ruggles kick), 7:16. OSU: Hickman 46 interception return (Ruggles kick), 4:43. OSU: FG Ruggles 32, :02.
Third Quarter - OSU: Teague 2 run (Ruggles kick), 10:56. OSU: Teague 15 run (Ruggles kick), 4:14.
Fourth Quarter - OSU: Pryor 12 run (Dimaccio kick), 2:47.
A: 95,178.
AKR OSU
First downs 17 26
Total Yards 229 622
Rush-yards 40-76 35-237
Passing yds 153 385
Punt Returns 1-9 2-(-1)
Kick Returns 0-0 0-0
Intercep.-yds. 1-11 2-70
Comp-att-int 18-34-2 8-26-1
Sacked-yds 9-47 2-15
Punts-avg. 8-38.9 3-46.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yds 4-18 8-95
Time of pos. 36:40 23:20
RUSHING: Akron, Hester 12-47, Irons 15-17, Norrils 9-15, Gibson 3-0, (Team) 1-(-3). Ohio St., Henderson 8-93, Teague 8-71, M.williams 9-47, Pryor 5-35, J.miller 1-8, Mccord 4-(-17).
PASSING: Akron, Irons 14-29-2-115, Gibson 4-5-0-38. Ohio St., Mccord 13-18-1-319, J.miller 5-8-0-66.
RECEIVING: Akron, Mumpfield 7-67, Hester 3-22, Mathison 3-17, Brank 2-23, Grimes 2-22, Norrils 1-2. Ohio St., Smith-njigba 5-93, G.wilson 4-124, Olave 2-12, Egbuka 1-85, Stover 1-25, Booker 1-16, Scott 1-12, M.harrison 1-9, Teague 1-5, Ballard 1-4. MISSED FIELD GOAL: Akron, Smigel 42.