Five Bold predictions for the Ohio State Football team vs. Akron
By Alex Austin
The defense is going to look better, but big holes will remain – Buckeyes give up 20 points.
In years past, this would have been a game the Buckeyes could feasibly go into shooting for a shutout and feeling good about anything in single digits. This year, if Ohio State can hold Akron to under 20 points, I think most people would take that as a slight improvement and walk away. However, with so much to improve on defense, I think the Buckeyes give up a few too many drives and allow the Zips to break 20 points.
Ohio State is experimenting with different looks at safety, mixing up their blitz combinations, and seeing who their best combination of defensive linemen is before their Big Ten schedule starts. That is too much change going on to expect a flawless defensive performance.
With so many players rotating in and out (there is no reason to believe that will stop this week) there is a higher chance for a blown coverage or missed assignment with Akron able to capitalize.
Look for improvement, tenacity, and play recognition to see if the defense is on the right track, rather than just on the score. I think the Buckeyes view this more like a scrimmage to get things right on defense, than a game where they have to try and stop every score from occurring.