Ohio State hosts an Ohio-based peer for the 50th time in school history when Akron takes the field.
The Akron Zips have one of the toughest games of the 2024 calendar year for any program in the country in front of them for Week 1, driving down to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the ever-present Ohio State Buckeyes in Saturday afternoon battle.
It’s a hard assignment, but the Zips will do their best to try and show off their collective talents in front of a national television audience which is set to mark the debut of Big Ten football on CBS, a seismic— if somehow underrated— shift in the cultural landscape.
Let’s take a look at what to know ahead of the game:
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
- TV options: The game will air on CBS. No cable network subscription is required, as it is a national broadcast network. Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Gary Danielson (analyst) will provide commentary.
- Streaming options: The game will be available for streaming via the Paramount+ App. A valid subscription is required for viewing. Other applicable cable/satellite streaming options are also available with a valid subscription.
- Radio options: Dave Skoczen (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (color) will provide the Akron call for WHLO-AM 640.
- Gambling considerations: Ohio State is favored by 48.5 points, with an over/under of 57, per DraftKings.
- Last meeting: Ohio State snuffed out Akron by a final of 59-7 on Sept. 25, 2021.
- All-time series: Ohio State leads 8-1 over nine meetings. The last time Akron won was in 1894 under coach John Heisman. The then-Butchel College won 12-6 over the Buckeyes.
Getting to know the Buckeyes
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The Buckeyes are the unanimous #2 team in the land in the initial 2024 polls coming off a Cotton Bowl loss to the Missouri Tigers to end last season’s campaign.
Ohio State brought in two key new pieces to the offense in the offseason, with former Kansas State QB Will Howard (2,643 yards on 61.3 percent completion, 24 touchdowns, 10 interceptions) and new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly set to try and turn the page for a OSU offense which has struggled to live up to reputation in recent years.
Joining Howard will be six returning starters on offense, including three offensive linemen, running back TreyVeon Henderson and receiver Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka is the latest Buckeye receiver to have pro eyes on him, as he looks to add to his already-impressive numbers, hauling in 124 catches for 1,857 yards and 14 touchdowns thus far in his career. Henderson (2,745 rushing yards, 37 TDs in three seasons) and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins (2,725 yards, 34 TDs in two seasons) will haul the mail in the ground game.
Defensively, this is a Buckeyes squad which returns eight starters to a defense which was Top 5 in the country in 2023.
Caleb Downs will make his OSU debut at defensive back after a stellar freshman campaign at Alabama in 2023, where he led the team in tackles (107) and had five pass break-ups. Three all-Big Ten first teamers also make returns, with Davison Igbinosun (59 tackles, five pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries) and Denzel Burke (24 tackles, nine passes defensed, one interception) back at the corners, while J.T. Tuimoloau (38 tackles, seven TFLs, five sacks in 2023) occupies one of the linebacker roles.
Ohio State has never lost to a peer institution also based in Ohio on home grounds, with a 48-0-1 record in the last 49 contests. Ohio State has also won 24 consecutive season-opening games at Ohio Stadium, so they certainly won’t be caught off-guard going into this game.
Getting to know the Zips
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Unlike Ohio State, the Akron Zips will be unveiling a near-complete turnover of the offense and a reload of defensive talent when they take the field against the Buckeyes on Saturday.
Akron will be breaking in one or two new quarterbacks, at least two or three new offensive lineman, three new receivers, an entirely new running backs room and two new tight ends on offense, while the defense will introduce a new safety pair and a new starting cornerback.
There are conflicting reports on who the starting QB will be on Saturday afternoon, with ESPN’s Pete Thamel reporting last week Cal transfer Ben Finley would be the starter for the Zips while the official Akron two-deep lists incumbent Tahj Bullock as the starter. Finley does carry some starting experience from stops at Cal and NC State and is more of a pocket passer, while Bullock started three games last season before being reduced to a package role.
Running back too is up in the air, with Charles Kellom listed as a starter after logging four yards in 2023. Two Big Ten transfers came in during the offseason in Jordon Simmons and Marquese Williams. Receiver is a similar story, with newcomers Adrian Newell, Israel Polk and Jarvis Rush are all expected to get their first starts for the Zips this week.
All the uncertainty on offense makes them hard to project, but one thing to say about the Akron defense is that it is loaded with experience and potential.
CJ Nunnally IV is the X-factor player on the defensive line after collecting 65 tackles, 15.5 tackles-for-loss and 7.5 sacks in his debut season and will look to prove his talents against a top-end program. Joining him as returnees on the line of scrimmage will be defensive tackle Lama Lavea (25 tackles) and Bennett Adler (26 tackles, five TFLs, 2.5 sacks), while New Hampshire transfer Nathan Kapongo will be brought in as a nose tackle.
Antavious Fish and Bryan McCoy return as starting linebackers after finishing first and second on the total tackles chart in 2023. McCoy was a third-team linebacker in 2023 with 94 tackles, six TFLs, one sack, a fumble forced and a fumble recovered.
Transfer defensive backs Aman Greenwood and Paul Lewis III join incumbent starters Devontae Golden-Nelson (joint interceptions leader in 2023) and Darrian Lewis (third-leading tackler in 2023) to form up a strong secondary as well.
Special teams will also be refreshed, with a new kicker in Garrison Smith Jr., a new punter in Avery Book and two new returners in Bobby Golden and Jordan Castleberry.
It’s hard to know how much fight this version of the Zips will have in them with as many questions as they have on the roster, but we also felt the same way last year going into their game against Indiana and they nearly won that one. Ohio State is no Indiana, certainly, but an amount of mystery is sometimes not a bad thing.