On August 31st ,2024, the Ohio State Buckeyes launched their 2024 season by hosting the Akron Zips. According to the Associated Press the Ohio State Buckeyes are the second ranked team in the country. They are only behind the top ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The Akron Zips are unranked and a heavy underdog in this game. Akron was getting 48.5 points on the betting markets. And the game did meet expectations for competitiveness.

After a sluggish start Ohio State did pull ahead of Akron to a17-3 lead at halftime. In the second half the more talented Ohio State Buckeyes pulled away from the Akron Zips. Akron’s starting quarterback Ben Finley had to leave the game early in the third quarter due to an injury. Most encouraging for Ohio State was the play of quarterback Will Howard. He had 17 completions in 28 pass attempts, for 228 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Howard had no interceptions either. By the end of game, Ohio State defeated Akron by the score of 52-6.

The outcome for this game was expected to be a blowout win for Ohio State. And next week they will host another MAC team. The Western Michigan Broncos will be visiting Columbus Ohio on Saturday September 7th for the second game of the 2024 season. A similar outcome could be expected for the Buckeyes. In all honesty Ohio State doesn’t play a ranked opponent until October 5th when they host the 25th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. The following week on October 12th, Ohio State will travel to the third ranked Oregon Ducks. These two games can be a better measurement of the championship level that Ohio State has. It is a shame that Buckeye fans must wait over a month to see competitive football. But they will wait patiently, and in the meantime, they will represent the state of Ohio on Saturday afternoons.