By Danielle Daniels
Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls
FIRST AND TEN
· Ohio State, No. 2 in both preseason national polls, opens its 2024 football campaign with a 3:30 p.m. game on CBS against the Akron Zips from the Mid American Conference.
· The game kicks off the 135th season of Ohio State football. The first season: 1890.
· The game will be the ninth meeting on the gridiron between the two schools since first playing in 1891, and it is the fifth meeting this century (2001-07-11-21).
· Ohio State, which plays MAC member Western Michigan next week, is 36-1 all-time vs. MAC schools and has won 33 consecutive since Akron handed Ohio State a 12-6 loss in 1894.
· Ohio State has never lost to an Ohio team in Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes are 48-0-1 vs. Ohio teams at home.
· The Buckeyes have a record of 194-50-1 all-time against the 28 Ohio teams they have played in football and have won 45 consecutive games.
· Ohio State has won 24 consecutive season-opening games. The Buckeyes are 472-112-19 all-time in Ohio Stadium, which is in its 102nd season as home of the Buckeyes.
HISTORY VS. AKRON
· Saturday will be the 10th all-time meeting between Ohio State and Akron; the Buckeyes are 8-1 in the previous nine games.
· The series began in 1891 and continued annually until 1895. The Zips’ lone win in the series came in 1894, a 12-6 decision in Columbus.
· Following the 1895 game – a 14-6 Ohio State win – the two teams did not meet again for 106 years, or until the Buckeyes won 28-7 in 2001.
· Ohio State and Akron also played in 2007, 2011 and 2021.
DAY VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
· Saturday’s season-opener against Akron will be head coach Ryan Day’s 21st game against a non-Big Ten Conference opponent in his tenure as head coach (wins vs. Oregon State and TCU as acting head coach in 2018 included).
· Day’s Buckeyes are 15-5 in the previous 20 games and average 42.7 points per game.
· Included in those 15 wins are three against teams ranked in the Top 10: vs. No. 3 Clemson (2020), No. 5 Notre Dame (2022) and No. 9 Notre Dame (2023).
· The losses: vs. No. 3 Clemson in the 2019 CFP semifinals; vs. No. 1 Alabama in the 2021 CFP championship game; vs. No. 12 Oregon (2021 regular season); vs. No. 1 Georgia in the 2022 CFP semifinals and vs. No. 9 Missouri in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl.
MORE THAN ONE WEEK OF PREP
· Ryan Day-coached teams are 12-4 in regular and postseason games where there has been more than one week to prepare.
· This record includes season openers, College Football Playoff games and New Year’s Six bowl games.
· Day’s Buckeyes are 6-0 in season-opening games with an average margin of victory of 25 points per game.
THE 2024 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
· Eight starters and 19 lettermen from a 2023 Ohio State defense that was No. 3 nationally in total defense return to lead the program in 2024.
· An additional six starters and 17 lettermen return on offense, giving the Buckeyes and coach Ryan Day a considerable amount of experience and hopefully depth for a serious run at another Big Ten championship and a College Football Playoff appearance in the new 12-team format.
THE NFL CAN WAIT
· It all started in December when defensive end Jack Sawyer and linebacker Cody Simon committed to returning to the team for their senior seasons in 2024. Both are now team captains.
· And when the deadline to declare for the NFL draft had passed, as many as 10 more Buckeyes had joined the pair and made the decision to come back to Ohio State for a senior season of competing for championships.
…AND SO, HERE WE ARE
· Returning starters on defense include Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau at the defensive end positions, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton at tackle, and four members of the five-man secondary: cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun and safeties Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles, who has since converted to linebacker.
· Cody Simon has started 14 games at linebacker and will lead there.
· Jordan Hancock has eight starts in the secondary at nickel.
· The transfer portal was good for the Ohio State defense as the clear No. 1 player in the portal post-2023 – Caleb Downs – transferred to Ohio State after a sensational rookie season when he led the Alabama Crimson Tide in tackles and was the national freshman of the year by winning the Shaun Alexander Award presented by the Maxwell Club.
COURTESY OSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
