Heading into Week 1, the Ohio State defense was considered the team’s strength. The offense has all of the shiny new toys but the defense was the reason the Buckeyes succeeded last year. Against Akron, it took a second for the offense to warm up so the defense stepped up.
Ohio State started the season with a 52-6 win over its in-state MAC foe.
Ohio State Defense Zips the Zips, Jeremiah Smith is the Real Deal
Dominating Presence Up Front
The defensive line has a handful of NFL-bound players and each one stepped up for the Buckeyes in this one.
Tyleik Williams had a big game from the interior of the defensive line. He finished the game with seven tackles, a tackle for loss, and one-and-a-half sacks. The defensive tackle was a force up front for the Buckeyes and disrupted the Akron offense left and right. He was a step or two away from several plays that would have made his stat line look Ndamukong Suh-esque.
Jaylahn Tuimoloau also had a strong day that didn’t fully show up on the stat sheet. He only tallied three tackles but he notched one-and-a-half tackles for loss and one-and-a-half sacks. He made a few hustle plays where he chased the ball carrier down from the opposite side of the play.
Jack Sawyer was very close to several plays. His impact was certainly felt but he only ended up with two tackles and a quarterback hit.
A breakout candidate for this season was Kenyatta Jackson, Jr. He made the most of his opportunity both in the rotation and when he got the majority of the snaps late. The junior finished with three tackles half of a tackle for loss and half of a sack. One of the biggest plays of the game was thanks to a hit by Caden Curry. On a play where the defensive line was able to flush out the Akron quarterback, Curry laid a hit-stick and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
For the majority of the game, Akron was in the negatives when it came to rushing yards. The Ohio State defense ended up allowing 47 yards off 35 carries (just over one yard per carry). Another area where the Buckeyes improved as compared to last year was that they finished the sacks. The Ohio State defense only had five sacks across the first four games. The Buckeyes forced five sacks in this game alone.
No Fly Zone
The Akron offensive game plan was to throw quickly to neutralize the Ohio State pass rush. As a result, the Buckeyes’ secondary was rarely tested. However, when they were, they stepped up.
Denzel Burke hauled in an interception in the first quarter after physically ripping the ball from the Akron receiver. He also contributed four tackles on the day.
The star of the secondary was Lathan Ransom, however. From his safety spot, Ransom led the Ohio State defense with nine tackles, added two tackles for loss, and scored a touchdown off that Curry hit. He came downhill and made plays for the defense. Ransom will be able to take pressure off Caleb Downs.
The linebacker position was interesting because captain and Block O recipient Cody Simon was unavailable for the game. CJ Hicks and Sonny Styles stepped up. They both finished with six tackles on the day and Hicks added a sack. The moment was not too big for either player making their first start at linebacker.
The Ohio State defense ended the day with five sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and two touchdowns.
Another Big-Time Receiver?
The defense dominating Akron is not what will make the headlines, it’ll be the offense. All eyes were on the offensive line, the new quarterback, and the playmakers out wide.
Will Howard started rough due to a few drops but settled in and finished 17/28 for 228 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. His favorite receiver was true freshman Jeremiah Smith.
Smith dropped his first target. Then, he settled in. He hauled in six passes from Howard on the night for 92 yards and two touchdowns. The true freshman had two plays for more than 15 yards and his third-quarter catch of 45 yards will be on highlight reels for years to come. Smith looks like he was well worth the hype. He plays like a two-year veteran with an eye looking to the NFL Draft.
The other two starters, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate made plays and made Howard look good. In the fourth quarter, Tate took a simple pass in the second level, turned upfield, and carved through the Akron defense for the final offensive touchdown on the day.
Job’s Not Done
Taking down Akron in Week 1 is the epitome of taking care of business.
In total, despite the gripes about the offensive line, Ohio State did not allow a single sack nor a tackle for loss. The Ohio State defense was able to corral the Akron offense and limited anything positive. They’ll need to get better at defending the quick game and containing the stretch plays. However, now that the dust has settled, it was a successful start to the season. A 46-point win may not cover Vegas’ spread but it results in a win in the scorebook. 11 regular-season games remain.
Western Michigan is up next for the Buckeyes.
