Ohio State football is the heavy favorite to open the season against the Akron Zips. When you look at the rosters of both teams, it makes sense. Ohio State is the second-ranked team in the country and Akron is nowhere to be found in any of the polls.
Ohio State last played this team in 2021. In that game, the Buckeyes didn’t really have too many problems en route to a 59-7 loss. The Buckeyes will be hoping for a similar result in 2024. Most people would think there isn’t much to learn from a game like that.
That’s not necessarily true. Even if the Ohio State Buckeyes end up beating the Zips, they can still learn a lot from the game. In fact, one could argue that they can learn more about their team from a win than from a close game.
The Buckeyes can still learn how Will Howard runs the offense. Although they saw it in practice and briefly during the Spring Game, the Buckeyes should be able to move the ball at will against Akron. So anything less could mean changes need to be made on offense.
Ohio State can also learn what some players look like at their new positions. They’ll get a good look at what Sonny Styles looks like at linebacker and how Caleb Downs fits in with the Buckeyes after a year at Alabama. How much action Quinshon Judkins will get compared to TreVeyon Henderson will also be interesting.
Even if Ohio State football beats the Zips on Saturday, there will still be something to learn. Every game is valuable for one reason or another.
