“Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.”

Suffice it to say, the last month has been quite the soap opera for Ohio State football:

• Quinn Ewers, the top recruit in the country for the Class of 2022, bypasses his senior year of high school to enroll early. This allows him to take advantage of the new name, image and likeness rules for college athletes.
• The Buckeyes trailed in the season opening game to Minnesota in the second half, before rallying for a 45-31 win.
• Several presumed starters were not available for that game, like OL Harry Miller (who still hasn’t returned yet) and CB Cameron Brown.
• CB Sevyn Banks dressed for the game, but did play, and didn’t make his debut until the Tulsa game, even though he was listed as available for the first two contests.
• Loss to Oregon in the home opener (35-28), ending a 23-game winning streak in Ohio Stadium, and the first regular season defeat for the Buckeyes since 2018.
• Safety Josh Proctor suffered a season-ending injury in that loss.
• After two games of struggles on defense, heavy criticism of the players and coaches, especially defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, ensues.
• As a result, Coombs moved to the press box for the Tulsa game, while secondary coach Matt Barnes signals the plays from the sidelines.
• While the defense showed modest improvement at times, OSU’s 41-20 win over Tulsa was lackluster, with the offense struggling at times. The Buckeyes led just 27-20 with four minutes to play.
• All-American candidate on the offensive line, Thayer Munford, left in the first half with an injury and did not return vs. the Golden Hurricane.  
• Starting defensive end, Zach Harrison, was out with an injury and didn’t play at all.
• With C.J. Stroud not having the same performance against Tulsa (at least statistically) as he did in the first two games, some begin to wonder if Ohio State should give another quarterback a chance to play.
• Linebacker Dallas Gant transfers, after seeing the field for 41 plays in the opening game, and then just six more total the next two weeks.
• Head coach Ryan Day reveals offensive line coach Greg Studrawa has been out the past two weeks following back surgery, but was still coaching the linemen remotely.
• Day also revealed on Thursday that Stroud has taken the last couple days off of practice to rest his sore shoulder, and will only play against Akron in an emergency situation.

That’s a lot for any program to go through, especially one that is expected (as is the case every year) to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoffs. Now, add in that this is a young team in search of its own identity and waiting for leaders to emerge.

The Buckeyes have an opportunity to start building some momentum Saturday night when Akron (1-2) visits Ohio Stadium. One major change, outlined above, will be a different quarterback. Either true freshman Kyle McCord or redshirt freshman Jack Miller will be under center, in relief of Stroud. Day has mentioned that Ewers is still not yet ready to take the field in college.

Only Stroud has taken a snap in a game this season, so getting reps for other quarterbacks is extremely valuable. Should Stroud’s injury linger, or another injury occur, any kind of experience would better prepare the next guy up. Another potential benefit is for Stroud to see the game from the sideline, on the headset with the offensive coaching staff, gaining a better understanding of play calling and defensive coverages.

Should McCord or Miller light up the Zips defense, though, and we could see a quarterback debate added to that list of soap opera episodes listed above. However, results should be taken with a grain of salt, as Akron allows nearly 40 points per game on defense.

The Zips will attempt to do something no other Ohio college team has been able to do since 1922 — beat Ohio State in football. Oberlin was the last to accomplish that feat, winning 7-6 on Oct. 8, 1921 at Oho Field. Yes, that predates Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes are 7-1 all-time against the Zips, with the most recent meeting coming in 2011 (OSU won 42-0). Ohio State is 181-51-15 against in-state schools in its history.

--

Join us Saturday night, immediately following the game, where MaryLee Melendez and former Buckeye cornerback Chimdi Chekwa will be tracking the progress of the OSU defense, and how the back-up quarterbacks perform. They’ll also take you live to Ryan Day’s postgame news conference on The Postgame Show on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News App.