THE PERTINENT INFO

When: Saturday, September 25, 2021
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
TV: 7:30 // BTN
Announcers: Brandon Gaudin, James Laurinaitis and Rick Pizzo

This will be the ninth time Ohio State and Akron have faced off in football. The Buckeyes lead the series with seven wins and one defeat. The first game was battled out in Akron in 1891, with the Scarlet and Gray leaving Buchtel Field with a 6-0 win. 

Tom Arth's team is currently 1–2 after defeating FCS Bryant, 35-14, last week. The victory was Akron's second with Arth as head coach.

Below, you might find some interesting facts about the teams, information on the coaches, and team stats.

THE LAST TIME...

• The Scarlet and Gray played Akron was the 42-0 win in 2011.
• Akron scored on the Buckeyes was 2007.
• Ohio State played on September 25th was against Ohio in 2010. 
• The Buckeyes lost to a current member of the MAC* was 1894. Akron defeated Jack Ryder's Ohio State squad 12-6 at the Ohio State Fair.
• The Scarlet and Gray scored on the first offensive play was when Michael Jenkins caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Steve Bellisari against Penn State in 2001.
• The Buckeyes lost the fourth game of the season when playing in Columbus was to Illinois in 1990.

*Ohio State is 36–1 against current members of the MAC, but is 27–0 when facing MAC opponents.

ON THE HORIZON​​

• C.J. Stroud needs 245 passing yards against Akron to have the Ohio State record for most passing yards after four games to start a season. 
• Chris Olave remains one touchdown catch away from tying Santonio Holmes (25) for fourth on the all-time career touchdown list.
• Olave is 73 yards away from surpassing Dee Miller for ninth on the all-time receiving yardage list.
• Garrett Wilson is eight receptions shy of 100 for his career.
• Olave is five catches way from being in Ohio State's all-time top 10.
• Since losing to Oberlin in 1921, the Scarlet and Gray are 49–0–1 when playing against schools from Ohio.

GET TO KNOW AKRON

• The university was established in 1870. 
• The Zips are in their 125th season of playing football. 
• The school's original name was Buchtel College (1870-1913).
• The original nickname was Zippers (shoes from the 1920s and '30s). Over the years, the nickname was shortened to Zips.
• The mascot, Zippy, is a female kangaroo. She made her debut on May 1, 1953.
• The Zips played their first football game in 1891.
• Notable alumni are Alexis Bliss (WWE wrestler, Hilliard Davidson grad) Charlie Frye (QB, Dolphins' QB coach) Dwight Smith (SB XXXVII champion), Jason Taylor (NFL DPOY, 2x AFC DPOY, 6x Pro Bowl, future HOF?)

STRANGE OHIO LAWS

In Bexley, the installation and usage of slot machines in outhouses is illegal. 
You'd think this was an old law, but it went on the books in September of 2019. Can only imagine the well-to-do people of Bexley playing slots as they take their shits. 

If you're a policeman in Paulding, you're allowed to bite a dog to quiet it.
At some point, a flatfoot became so exasperated with a dog's barking that he resorted to biting the canine to shut it up. At some point, the dog's owner had to call the department and complain about the cop biting the family pet. After the incident, the town decided to make it legal for the police to continue this practice. Unreal. 

Throwing a snake at somebody is against the law in Toledo.  
Imagining people of Toledo pulling a snake out of their back pocket and chucking it at busters they're upset with. Call me that name again, and see what happens...as they reach for the serpent in coiled in their Levis.

It is illegal to drive around the Oxford town square more than 100 times in a single session. 
The college kids at Miami University must be extremely bored if this had to become a law. Also, who is getting paid to keep track of this?

Staying in Oxford, it's against the law for women to appear in public while unshaven. This includes legs and face.
It's a college town, so I understand women not shaving their legs. But how many ladies in that town are walking around with facial hair? And why did that need to make a law banning bearded ladies? 

​TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Since losing to Oberlin in 1921, the Scarlet and Gray are 49–0–1 when playing against schools from Ohio. Who was the tie against?
2. When Akron (Buchtel) defeated Ohio State in 1894, who was Akron's head coach?
3. TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 277 yards against Tulsa. Who was the last Buckeye to gain over 200 yards rushing in consecutive games? 

THE COACHES

Ryan Day

• 25–3 (.893) at Ohio State (3rd year)
• 25–3 (.893) overall

Day's hometown is Manchester, NH. He attended Manchester High School and attended college at New Hampshire. Day has been in coaching for 20 years and is Ohio State's 25th head coach. 

Over his three seasons, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have outscored their B1G opponents 822-297. That is an average victory of 46-17. 

After 28 games with Day as head coach, Ohio State has put up a program record 1,267 points. Urban Meyer's teams had 1,138 points after 28 games.

Tom Arth 

• 2–19 (.095) at Akron (3rd year)
• 51–40 (.560) overall (9th year)

On December 14, 2018, Tom Arth became Akron's 28th head coach. The former NFL quarterback's tenure with the Zips began with 12 consecutive losses. That might be the reason Akron's Media Guide has this:

During his first year at the helm at the University of Akron in 2019, Arth made an immediate impact. He challenged his players to develop and grow not only on the gridiron but in the classroom and in the community.  During the Spring 2019 semester, his first on campus, the Zips showed vast improvement. As a team, the 85 players on the spring roster combined for a 2.954 grade-point average (GPA), up from 2.466 from Fall 2018 (an increase of 0.488). The average semester GPA improvement was 0.619 per student. A total of 73 percent of all grades earned were A’s or B’s.   The number of A’s earned increased by 83 percent. 

I understand this is college athletics, but it's never ideal when a program touts its classroom success over its on-field success. 

Arth's coaching career began at John Carroll, his alma mater. He accumulated a 40–8 record with the Blue Streaks and in 2016, Arth ended Mount Union's OAC title streak at 24 straight. In December of 2019, Chattanooga hired Arth and the Mocs went 9–13 during his two years as head coach.

A graduate of John Carroll, Arth was a member of the Indianapolis Colts as Peyton Manning's backup for three seasons.

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

• 0.....Chris Olave catches against Tulsa.
• 1.....regular season loss for Ryan Day.
• 2.....TreVeyon TDs of 40+ yards.
• 3......B1G Freshman of the Week Awards for Ohio State this season.
• 4......consecutive B1G titles.
• 6......PBU for Denzel Burke.
• 8.......100-yard receiving games for Chris Olave.
• 12.....receptions for Olave against Oregon, a career high.
• 13.....number of true and redshirt freshmen to play in all three games in 2021.
• 15.....the Buckeyes are 15-0 when starting the season against B1G foes.
• 16.....straight conference wins.
• 18.....times Ohio State has finished a season with at least 11 wins.
• 20.....years Ryan Day has been a coach.
• 22.....consecutive season-opening victories.
• 24.....consecutive games Garrett Wilson has had at least one reception.
• 25.....bowl wins for Ohio State.
• 28.....different players to see the field on offense and defense for the Buckeyes.
• 31.....tackles for Ronnie Hickman.
• 32.....Ohio State's average margin of victory with day as head coach (32.5).
• 33.....straight seasons ranked in the AP preseason Top 25.
• 35.....completions for C.J. Stroud against Oregon, second most in school history.
• 40.....the number of Big Ten titles the football team has won.
• 46.....returning letterman are on the 2021 roster. 
• 49.....years Archie Griffin's freshman single-game rushing record stood.
• 70.....yards TreVeyon Henerson blazed for his first touchdown.
• 71.....yards Miyan Williams rumbles to score the Buckeyes' first TD in 2021.
• 85.....Buckeyes selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
• 89.....Consensus All-Americans.
• 100...this is the 100th season the Scarlet and Gray have played in Ohio Stadium.
• 132....number of years for Buckeye football.
• 152...the number of years The Ohio State University has been in the education business.
• 168...number of passing touchdowns since 2017 (Ryan Day's arrival).
• 277...rushing yards for TreVeyon Henderson against Tulsa, a freshman record.
• 454...victories for the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium.
• 462...Ohio Stadium victories for the Buckeyes when including the 2010 season.
• 933...number of official wins for the program (we know it's actually 945).
• 937...times Ohio State has been ranked in the AP poll.
• 963...yards Stroud has thrown for in the first three games of the season – the most ever for a Buckeye to start the season. 

2021 Statistical Comparison

OFFENSE
38.0	36th	POINTS FOR	23.0	99th
217.3	25th	RUSHING OFFENSE	128.7	99th
321.0	17th	PASSING OFFENSE	226.0	74th
538.3	10th	TOTAL OFFENSE	354.7	94th
.471	33rd	3rd DOWNS	.324	112th
.833	75th	RED ZONE	.818	82nd
DEFENSE
28.7	90th	POINTS ALLOWED	39.7	122nd
181.7	100th	RUSH DEFENSE	174.0	96th
289.7	117th	PASS DEFENSE	223.0	74th
129.4	74th	PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE	178.7	126th
471.3	118th	TOTAL DEFENSE	397.0	85th
.532	126th	3rd DOWNS	.483	116th
1.000	104th	RED ZONE	1.000	104th
SPECIAL TEAMS
2.6	107th	PUNT RETURN	6.0	79th
22.0	46th	KICKOFF RETURN	17.2	92nd
42.5	24th	NET PUNTING	40.1	60th
MISCELLANEOUS
+0.0	69th	TURNOVER MARGIN	-0.7	98th
7.0	88th	PENALTIES	5.0	22nd
12		EDGE	7

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS

Since losing to Oberlin in 1921, the Scarlet and Gray are 49–0–1 when playing against schools from Ohio. Who was the tie against?

Answer: Wooster tied the Buckeyes, 7-7 in Ohio Stadium on Nov. 1, 1924.

When Akron (Buchtel) defeated Ohio State in 1894, who was Akron's head coach?

Answer: John Heisman. The Akron (Buchtel) job was the second stop in Heisman's historic career. 

TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 277 yards. Who was the last Buckeye to gain over 200 yards rushing in consecutive games? 

Answer: Ezekiel Elliott ran for 220 against Wisconsin, racked up 230 on Alabama and 246 in the CFP Championship against Oregon (2014-15).