After an early Akron touchdown it was all Ohio State, as the Buckeyes piled up the points and the Buckeye defense did what was expected of them against an in-state opponent.
Saturday's most interesting quotes, from Ryan Day opening up on Dallas Gant and K'Vaughan Pope, to Antwuan Jackson discussing Larry Johnson's challenge to the defense.
Ryan Day views the K'Vaughan Pope incident as a “very isolated” situation, Ohio State had nine sacks against Akron, many true freshmen made plays and attendance improved.
Kyle McCord overcame a rough first series to throw for 319 yards in his Ohio State debut, which Ryan Day expects to be a valuable learning experience for the freshman QB.
Ohio State met expectations and delivered a pillar-to-post blowout on Saturday, earning the Buckeyes some breathing room after the mounting criticism of the past few weeks.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day addressed the K'Vaughan Pope controversy, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Haskell Garrett and others discussed Kyle McCord and the Buckeye defense.
Ohio State took care of the business the way it was supposed to against Akron, defeating the Zips 59-7 in the final non-conference game of the regular season.
Senior linebacker K'Vaughan Pope went back to the locker room late in the first half Saturday after what appeared to be a heated exchange on the sideline.
Five-star freshman defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau is making his first career start against Akron with Tyreke Smith, Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Tyler Friday all sidelined.
Zach Harrison, Tony Alford and Ryan Day took the mic at Skull Session Saturday, and admitted that the Buckeye standard has not been met by the 2021 team so far.
J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams are all likely to see a lot of playing time against Akron with Tyreke Smith, Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Taron Vincent unavailable.
Key players on both sides of the ball will be absent for the Buckeyes against Akron, including Thayer Munford, Harry Miller, Cameron Brown, Tyreke Smith and Taron Vincent.
We share our final thoughts, questions and predictions entering Ohio State's non-conference finale against Akron on Saturday night, which will feature a new Buckeye quarterback.
With Kyle McCord or Jack Miller starting at quarterback, the Buckeyes will host Akron in their final non-conference game of the regular season on Saturday night.