Ohio State football looks to "leave no doubt" vs. Akron

We have made it through the offseason wilderness, Ohio State fans, and now is the time for actual, honest-to-goodness football. Savor these next few months, because they always fly by so fast.

Ohio State kicks off the 2024 season at 3:30 pm ET in Ohio Stadium versus the Akron Zips, in a game that will be televised nationally by CBS. Akron last visited Ohio State in 2021 and is coming off a 2-10 season in 2023. Ohio State is a prohibitive favorite by the oddsmakers, with the betting line (as of this writing) with Ohio State at -48.5.

Even Akron head coach Joe Moorhead recognizes what kind of challenge awaits the Zips when they play against the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium, as he was quoted as saying, "I mean, they're going to kick our butts. But all that being said, I know it's something that the kids will be excited about...You've got one of the prohibitive favorites to win the national championship. We'll go up and compete one play at a time and see what happens".

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has stated what his goals are for his 2024 team at the recent Big Ten Media Days. Day's thoughts about what Ohio State needs to do in 2024 were abundantly clear when he stated, "What we need to do is leave no doubt. No doubt. Don't leave it to one play, don't leave it to one call, don't leave it to one stop. Leave no doubt when you're on the field.".

With the respective coaching staffs, as well as the oddsmakers, knowing how this game should turn out, there should be little to write about or look for, right? Actually, there are three specific areas that Ohio State fans should pay attention to as this game unfolds during the course of Saturday afternoon into early evening ~

1. The Quarterback Run Game - The addition of transfer quarterback Will Howard during the offseason, and the subsequent naming of Howard as the starting quarterback, signal a return of incorporating quarterback runs into the Ohio State offense.

Do I anticipate an overreliance on using Will Howard? Not at all, but I do believe that Howard will have his designed plays, as well as the encouragement to scramble for positive yardage whenever situations present themselves in a game situation.

2. "Put Me In, Coach" - Ryan Day has acknowledged the importance of playing the backups leading up to the season opener, with the likelihood that Ohio State will be in The College Football Playoff at the conclusion of the regular season in December.

Throw in the realities of players possibly leaving via the transfer portal due to a lack of playing time, and it will be truly incumbent upon Day and his coaching staff to get as many players as much game experience as possible. Regardless of whether the player is on offense or defense, look for rotation and substitution throughout this game, as well as other games this season, to try to keep the players healthy and ready to go for what should be a College Football Playoff run into January.

3. The new (and improved?) special teams units - Before I go too much further, I always wondered how something could be new, and improved. How do you improve upon something that is supposedly new? But I am digressing, so let me get back to my point on this topic, and that is the Ohio State special teams units.

Ryan Day removed Parker Fleming as Ohio State's special teams coach this offseason, and decided to incorporate an idea from former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel for special teams. In Tressel's storied Ohio State tenure, each position group coach was involved in the special teams units.

Day has copied this approach, tapping Ohio State safeties coach Matt Guerrieri and Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis to lead punt and kickoff units, with Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey and Ohio State wide receivers coach/co-offensive coordinator Brian Hartline to coach the punt and kickoff returners. Ohio State analyst Rob Keys oversees the entire special teams group.

This sort of ties into the second point from up above, with the rotation and substitution of players into the games. Here is where freshmen traditionally would make their mark in the Jim Tressel years, by stellar special teams play, and thus, earn more playing time in actual game situations. Keep an eye and ear out for any number of freshmen or redshirt freshmen making tackles or big plays on the special teams units.

Speaking of special teams, I want to give my best wishes to a fellow resident of Avon Lake who will be participating in this game for the Akron Zips, and that is Owen Wiley. Owen is a placekicker for Akron who went to school with my sons, and I certainly hope that Owen does well in Ohio Stadium, when and if the opportunities present themselves.

For Ohio State to "leave no doubt", as their head coach desires, the Buckeyes will need to come out fast and focused from the start. Look for new Ohio State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly to work on establishing the Ohio State ground game, while Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles should be able to freely substitute by the end of the second quarter.

It will be surprising if Ohio State does not have their starters resting after the first series of the third quarter if things go as expected. I have it Ohio State 56, Akron 3.