By Danielle Daniels

FIRST AND TEN

• Ohio State, coming off a seventh consecutive season-opening win under Ryan Day, takes on Western Michigan Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. game at Ohio Stadium that the BTN will televise.
• Ohio State is the No. 2 team in the nation. Western Michigan comes into the game 0-1 after losing its opener on Friday at Wisconsin, 28-14.
• Ohio State and Western Michigan have met on the gridiron just once: in 2015 at Ohio Stadium when Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and was the defending CFP national champion. The Buckeyes prevailed, 38-12.
• That 2015 game against Western Michigan came one week after a game against Mid American Conference foe Northern Illinois. Until this year, that was the last time Ohio State had played back-to-back games against MAC schools.
• Ohio State is 37-1 all-time vs. MAC schools and has won 34 consecutive since an 1894 Akron loss.
• The Buckeyes are off next week before hosting Marshall Sept. 21. The off week after the second game of the season is the earliest off week for Ohio State since 1999, when the team played Miami, Fla., Aug. 29 in the Kickoff Classic, had Week 2 off and then played UCLA on Sept. 11.

BY THE NUMBERS
126: There will be 126 Big Ten Conference regular season football game broadcasts this coming season: 43 on FOX/FS1; 24 on NBC/Peacock; 15 on CBS; and 44 on the Big Ten Network.
75: Ohio State had 75 punt return yards total in 2023. Saturday against Akron, WR/PR Brandon Inniss had 60 punt return yards, including a long return of 36 yards, while averaging 15.0 yards per return.
10.0: Ohio State’s defense had its first 10-or-more tackle-for-loss game in the last 17 games with 10 TFLs on Saturday vs. Akron. The most recent double figure TFL game had been in 2022 vs. Indiana.
8>8: TreVeyon Henderson averaged 8.1 yards per carry off his eight carries vs. Akron, the eighth time in his career he has averaged over 8.0 yards per carry in games when he has five or more carries.

26TH CONSECUTIVE OPENING WIN

• Ohio State shook off a slow start to outscore Akron, 35-7, in the second half on its way to a 52-6 season opening win in front of 102,011 fans at Ohio Stadium
• New starting QB Will Howard threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns and a defense that returns eight starters from a unit rated No. 3 nationally last year was solid, limiting the Zips to 177 offensive yards, including just 47 rushing.
• Players of the game were Howard, SAF Lathan Ransom (team-high nine tackles and a catch-and-score fumble recovery) and wide receiver/punt returner Brandon Inniss (60 punt returns yds. with a long of 36).

TRE/QUINSHON LEAD GROUND GAME

• The running back tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for 120 yards rushing, a 5.7 yards per carry average and one score – by Judkins – vs. Akron.
• Henderson led with 65 yards off eight carries, an 8.1 yards per carry average while, Judkins netted 55 yards off 13 carries.
• Henderson now has 2,810 career rushing yards and 37 touchdowns while Judkins is just 30 yards and two touchdowns behind Henderson with 2,780 rush yards and 35 touchdowns.
• Henderson ranks 15th nationally in rushing among active career leaders and Judkins is right behind him in 16th.

DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS

• Two defensive touchdowns in the first game of the season – one a Lathan Ransom, 27-yard fumble return set up by a wallop from Caden Curry, and the other a Gabe Powers 29-yard Pick-6 off a pass deflected by Eddrick Houston – has the Buckeyes just one defensive score away from school single season Top 5 status.
• Those two TDs, and a Jayden Fielding field goal after a Denzel Burke interception, led to a dominant 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers for the game.

EMEKA NOW 14TH AND 14TH

• Four receptions for 51 yards vs. Akron sent Emeka Egbuka past Brian Robiskie and into 14th place in school history with 128 career receptions.
• In terms of yardage, Egbuka moved past Robiskie, Dane Sanzenbacher and Joey Galloway and into 14th place for career yards with 1,908.
• Egbuka is 15 receptions from Top 10 status at Ohio State, and he needs 36 yards to pass Ted Ginn Jr., and move into 13th in career yards.

COLUMN NOTES…

• Ohio State sixth-year head coach Ryan Day has the best winning percentage of all head coaches nationally this century (since 2000!) with a winning percentage of .876 and an overall record of 57-8.
• How about LB Arvelle Reese, CB Jermaine Matthews and DE Kenyatta Jackson all coming off the bench to record at least three tackles apiece vs. Akron.
• Reese had four stops, including one TFL; Matthews had three solo tackles, including one TFL; and Jackson had three tackles, including one-half of a sack.
• JT Tuimoloau has a TFL in three consecutive games dating to last season. His 1.5 sacks vs. Akron raised his team-leading career total to 23.5 TFLs (and 12.5 sacks) for 122 yards.
• Ohio State’s 12 regular season opponents closed their first weekend of games with a 10-2 record.
• Big Ten Conference teams are 17-1 with Minnesota (to North Carolina from the ACC) the only team not to emerge victorious through Week 0 and Week 1.
• The three turnovers forced vs. Akron was the eighth multi-turnover game under DC Jim Knowles and the second in the past nine games dating back to midseason 2023.
• Carnell Tate has now caught a pass in 12 of his 14 games played with two touchdowns, including an explosive five-defender-evading, catch-and-run 34-yard TD vs. Akron. His four receptions vs. the Zips is a career high.
• This was the first two-TD game by Ohio State’s defense since doing so against Western Kentucky in 2023.
• DT Tyleik Williams (7) and LB CJ Hicks (6) each recorded career highs in tackles vs. Akron. Williams also had 1.5 TFLs.
• True freshman RB James Peoples scored a touchdown from the 4 yard line on his first career carry and finished with 30 yards off six carries.
• Drive charts: Ohio State had 10 vs. Akron; Akron had 12.
• Not counting 2020 because how can you count 2020 … Ohio State is working on a streak of 11 consecutive seasons with 11 or more victories.

COURTESY OHIO STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS