No. 3 Ohio State will face their first in-state contest during their matchup with Toledo on Saturday.
Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Just about 140 miles separate the campuses of Ohio State and Toledo via U.S. Route 23 and Interstate-75.
The No. 3 Buckeyes (2-0) will welcome Toledo (2-0) to Ohio Stadium in Ohio State’s latest clash with an in-state opponent. Ohio State has won 44 consecutive games against in-state opponents, with its most recent loss against Oberlin in 1921, and head coach Ryan Day said he takes pride in performances on the gridiron in Ohio.
“There’s a lot of great football in the state of Ohio, and we all take a lot of great pride in that, so when you play somebody from your own state, it’s a strange feeling,” Day said. “Toledo is a very proud program and so does so many in the state of Ohio. Luke [Fickell] does such a great job at Cincinnati. So, I think we’re all proud of being from Ohio.”
The Rockets enter the matchup after outscoring their previous two opponents 92-10 behind sophomore quarterback Dequan Finn, who has 388 passing and 138 rushing yards this season.
Toledo junior linebacker Dallas Gant graduated from Ohio State and transferred to the Rockets program last season, and he leads them with 20 tackles so far.
Rockets head coach Jason Candle said playing in-state at the ‘Shoe will be a “great environment” for his team and fans across Ohio, but they still must compete to win.
“It’ll be cool to be there, but once that bus parks — and we go into the locker room — it’ll be go time just like it is any other time,” Candle said. “We aren’t going to go to the stadium and take a thousand pictures and post on social media how we’re excited to be in Ohio Stadium. We’re going to go play football and compete for 60 minutes like I expect our team to do each and every weekend.”
Third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud said game-week preparation is about the same against an opponent from Ohio when the Buckeyes approach their next game.
“At the end of the day, we’re just going to go out there, compete, try to have fun and win the game,” Stroud said. “We’ll go out there and maybe try to beat them more because they’re in-state, I’m not sure. I just want to win. I don’t really care.”
Ohio State defeated Akron 59-7 last season, the Bearcats 42-0 and Miami (Ohio) 76-5 in 2019 all under Day’s guidance as head coach.
The Rockets came just short of defeating the Buckeyes in their previous meeting in 2011, failing to convert on fourth down inside the red zone and falling 27-22.
Hailing from his hometown of Salem, Ohio, Candle said he watched former Ohio State running back Eddie George and wide receiver Joey Galloway growing up “in a household of Buckeyes fans.” Despite the proximity and close ties to the Buckeye program, Candle said he hopes fans in Toledo can “be where your feet are.”
“You live in the city of Toledo. You go to work here every day. You pay taxes here, like, root for the home team, and that would be my message,” Candle said. “I’d like to see the camaraderie, the local crowd, rally around this football team each and every weekend. If Ohio State needs to be your second favorite team, I’m good with that, too.”
Ohio State enters its next contest displaying familiar offensive prowess behind 351 passing yards and four touchdowns from Stroud, while Toledo recorded 55 points and 411 total yards of offense.
Come kickoff at 7 p.m. on FOX Saturday, the Buckeyes look to defend their home field, their unblemished record this season and their upper-hand against in-state opponents.
“One of the things that we’ve talked about is that it really doesn’t have anything to do with the team we’re playing. It doesn’t. It has everything to do with Ohio State,” Day said. “It doesn’t matter what the stage is, it doesn’t matter what’s going on. We only have 12 regular-season games, and in football the rest of the stuff that goes on doesn’t mean anything. What matters is when you play that game.”
