Saturday September 25 -- 7:30 p.m. ET
Ohio Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
BTN
By EVAN MEYER
Saturday’s game is the ninth lifetime meeting between the two schools, with the Buckeyes having a 7-1 edge (6-1 in games played in Columbus). Their last meeting was in 2011 when OSU collected a 42-0 victory.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (2-1, 1-1 BIG TEN):
>> Last Saturday, the Buckeyes rebounded from their first loss of the season (Oregon), with a 41-20 home win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. The game was surprisingly close at halftime, with OSU holding just a 13-6 advantage. However, the Buckeyes depth and scoring touch was too much for the visitors from the American Athletic Conference in the second half.
>> Freshman RB TreVeyon Henderson registered 24 carries for 277 yards and four touchdowns. Fellow frosh C.J. Stroud has completed 15-of-25 passes for 185 yards and a score. Junior WR Garrett Wilson collected six catches for 70 yards.
>> The defense is led by sophomore DB Ronnie Hickman, who had nine total tackles (seven solo) and an interception.
>> The Bucks, perennial playoff candidates began the season with a win at Minnesota before the surprising loss to Oregon that snapped their school record 23-game home winning streak.
>> Head Coach Ryan Day is in his third full season at the helm. He has a 25-3 record since he succeeded Urban Meyer (22-1 in regular season play). Day was offensive coordinator under Meyer, since coming from the San Francisco 49ers. He was the interim head coach for three games during the 2018 season when Meyer was sidelined with health problems (winning them all) then took the job after the 2019 Rose Bowl win over Washington.
>> Through three games this year, the OSU offense has averaged 38 points and 539.9 yards of total offense.
>> Henderson leads the ground attack with 348 yards on 38 carries and four touchdowns. Stroud (the successor to Justin Fields -- now with the Chicago Bears) has completed 63-of-101 passes for 968 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Wilson led the receivers with 19 catches for 267 yards.
>> The Buckeyes defense has allowed 28.7 points and 471.3 yards. Hickman leads with 30 total tackles (18 solo).
>> Henderson’s 277 yard three-touchdown performance against UT broke the school freshman mark for a single game set in 1972 by Archie Griffin (239 yards against North Carolina) and earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors.
>> In their history the Buckeyes are 30-1 against the MAC and have lost to the conference since its beginning in 1946.
>> 2021 is the 100th season of football at Ohio Stadium
NEXT: OSU returns to Big Ten action next Saturday when the the Buckeyes travel to New Jersey to battle the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
AKRON ZIPS (1-2)
>> Last Saturday, the Zips picked up their first win of the season by defeating the Bryant Bulldogs (FCS-Northeast) 35-14 at InfoCision Stadium. UA had all it could handle against Bryant, who was playing its first-ever game against FBS competition. The contest was tied 14-14 going into the fourth quarter before the home team scored 21 points in the final 15 minutes to pick up the victory.
>> The game belonged to DJ Irons. The 6-6, 215-pound made his first collegiate start, completing 19-of-23 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, he ran for 136 yards on 15 carries, including a 20-yard score that put the Zips ahead to stay. Irons provided 433 of UA’s offensive yards and was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week.
>> Freshman WR Konata Mumpfield led the receivers with five catches for 69 yards and a score. Fellow frosh WR Oran Singleton Jr registered his first collegiate score and nine different receivers caught at least one pass.
>> The defense had four sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
>> In its history, UA is 1-26 lifetime against the Big Ten, with the lone win coming in 2018 at Northwestern.
>> LB Bubba Arslanian again led the team in tackles with 12 (four solo), while LB Michael Scott had two of the four quarterback traps.
NEXT: UA begins MAC play next Saturday when the Ohio University Bobcats come to town for homecoming. Ohio is 0-3 on the season under first year head coach Tim Albin and are completing their non-conference schedule this Saturday traveling to Northwestern to battle the Wildcats.