The 2023 Buckeyes taking the field. This Saturday, the Buckeyes will face the Akron Zips at home. Credit: Caleb Blake | Lantern File Photo
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes will kick off their season against the Akron Zips at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
The game will mark the first time Ohio State opens its season against a non-Power Five team since 2019, as the Zips belong to the Mid-American Conference. If history is any indication, the Buckeyes may have an edge; on Aug. 31, 2019, Ohio State thumped Florida Atlantic University 45-21.
When it comes to Akron, the Buckeyes hold an 8-1 record all-time against their in-state competition.
Their last loss against Akron occurred in 1894, when the Zips marched into Columbus and beat Ohio State 12-6.
A whopping 130 years later, this year’s rendition of the game isn’t expected to be nearly as close.
The point spread for Saturday’s game in Columbus favors Ohio State by 50.5 points, meaning sports bettors would need the Buckeyes’ margin of victory to be greater than 50 to win the bet.
Head coach Ryan Day said he isn’t focused on Akron’s roster, but rather the players on his own team.
“For us, it’s always been about us,” Day said. “You hear me say that a lot, but you have to really focus on the process of it and, like, what are we doing, and our opponent shouldn’t matter. If it does, then we’re setting ourselves up for failure.”
Day said one of his goals for Saturday is having as many players grade out over 80% as possible. Player grades are a way to hold position coaches and players accountable for their performances on a game-by-game basis.
In order to grade out over 80% and be considered a “Champion,” a player needs to play over 15 snaps, according to a 2021 article from Buckeyes Wire. Day said 80% or higher is the routine standard for Ohio State football.
“Grade over 80% and be the hardest-playing team in the country,” Day said. “And that shouldn’t matter who you’re playing because they all matter, they all count and we’re trying to create a standard for ourselves. Whatever team we play, we play. And then we go from there. Like I tell the guys every day in practice, you’re not allowed to have a bad day around here; it’s just not allowed.”
The Zips are coming off a 2-10 (1-7 MAC) record in 2023, where they finished second to last in the conference.
The starting quarterback for Akron will be redshirt junior Ben Finley.
Finley played his first three collegiate seasons for North Carolina State, before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley for one year.
Prior to Akron, Finley played in 13 total college football games with four starts, according to Akron Athletics’ website. During those 13 games, Finley completed 137 of 245 total passes and threw for 1,484 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Defensively, the Zips will showcase many new faces.
Akron brought in four defensive back transfers from the portal, all of whom came from Power Five conferences, according to SB Nation. The room will now be headlined by former four-star safety Daymon David, who transferred from the University of Oregon in February.
Graduate quarterback Will Howard’s first career start for the Buckeyes will be one of the biggest headlines heading into Saturday.
Though Day typically has high expectations for whoever his starting quarterback is, he said he has tempered expectations for the first week and just wants to see consistency out of Howard.
“It’s getting into the game, getting a feel for it and playing clean, that’s what we’re looking for,” Day said.
Howard said he grew up watching the Big Ten and has played in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, but doesn’t think it’ll compare to playing at Ohio Stadium.
“The Shoe and the atmosphere here, it’s different, man. And the traditions — I’m really excited to just experience all of it,” Howard said. “ We’ve walked through, like, what’s it gonna be like on a game day, but just getting out there and doing it for the first time. And I think the thing I’m most excited for is running out in front of 110,000 at the Shoe and just taking that in.”
