By Sam Merendino
The 2024 college football season is off and running. After getting a taste of the sport’s return in Week 0, including a shocking Florida State loss to unranked Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, college football roared back yesterday with a slate that did not disappoint.
On Saturday, Ohio State started the 2024 season with a dominant win over an overmatch Akron team. We saw a new-look Buckeye offense with Chip Kelly featuring transfer QB Will Howard and freshman WR Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeye defense also had a dominant showing as they appear to have reloaded an already excellent unit from a season ago.
Ohio State Offense:
The Buckeyes got off to a sluggish start offensively, scoring only 17 points in six first-half possessions. Whether it was first-game jitters, the pressure of their lofty preseason expectations, or something else entirely, OSU looked out of sync on that side of the ball in the first two quarters. After halftime, though, the Bucks looked like a different animal.
Ohio State scored on each of their first three drives of the second half, going for 60-, 75-, and 47-yard touchdown drives while averaging 12.1 yards per play. After a 2023 season in which the offense appeared to be stuck in mud (by Ohio State standards), it was refreshing to see the Buckeyes violently eviscerate the Zips’ defense in the second half.
The running game took a while to get going, but eventually found its footing. The much-heralded duo of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for 21 carries, 120 yards, and one TD, while true freshman James Peoples added 30 yards and a score of his own.
Howard shook off a shaky start to finish 17-28 for 228 yards and three touchdowns, including a couple of beautiful deep balls to stud freshman wideout Smith (more on him in a minute). While Howard was not spectacular, he was relatively safe with the ball and made the smart play consistently. With as much talent as the Buckeyes have on offense this year, that’s all he needs to do.
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Jeremiah Smith:
Folks, WRU has another one. Jeremiah Smith lit up the scoreboard and the internet in his Ohio State debut, posting six catches for 92 yards and two scores. After an offseason of the hype train barreling down the tracks, Smith delivered. He made a contested catch over an Akron defensive back to score the Buckeyes’ first touchdown of the season. In the third quarter, he only needed one hand to secure a bomb from Howard to set up another OSU touchdown.
Smith looked like a man among boys yesterday afternoon, and he looks as legit as any Ohio State receiver before him. He’s going to be a menace to any and all defenders that line up across from him, both during this season and in the next couple.
The NFL having to wait three years for Jeremiah Smith will feel like a long time. pic.twitter.com/TMydYkBknx
— Brandon Little (@BrandonLittleBL) August 31, 2024
Will Howard ➡️ Jeremiah Smith@OhioStateFB scores its first TD of the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/50FjJX7nBZ
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024
Ohio State Defense:
The Buckeye defense has been widely expected to be among the best in the country this season, and they got off to an excellent start against the Zips. They looked fast and aggressive, forcing three turnovers and generating pressure on the Akron quarterbacks consistently, ending the game with five sacks. They also scored twice, once off of a Lathan Ransom scoop-and-score in the third quarter to blow the game wide open, and again in the fourth quarter as linebacker Gabe Powers plucked a wild carom out of the air and housed it.
The Buckeye pass defense was stifling the whole game, as new transfer Caleb Downs combined with incumbents Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun to ensure that Akron never got anything going through the air. In the run game, 10 different defensive linemen registered a statistic against the Zips, showcasing Ohio State’s wealth of talent.
Overall, Ohio State showed on Saturday that there are still a few kinks to work out, but all the pieces are there for a championship run this season. Next, the Buckeyes will take on Western Michigan on Saturday, September 7, in Columbus.
