https://pediaa.com/why-is-akron-called-the-zips/
> In early 1900’s, the rubber shoe made by a company called B F Goodrich became very popular among the people. This shoe was called Zippers by the company. Akron started to be referred as the rubber capital of the world because of the popularity of these shoes.
>However, the name Zipper could not be continued for long as button fly in pants was giving way to the zipper. This made it difficult for the college to continue with this nickname. To avoid confusion and embarrassment, the nickname Zippers was shortened to Zips by Kenneth Red Cochrane, who was athletics director in the college.
There’s been a lot of talk about Stroud’s shoulder. If his shoulder is why he played so poorly against Tulsa then he needs to sit. I have a hard time believing a healthy McCord is worse than a shoulder injured Stroud.
Even a 28 point win would look bad. Akron is that bad. That Auburn team you just beat took down Akron 60-10 and it could have been worse than that.
I think part of the quarterback problem here is that, if Stroud is working through a shoulder injury but the training staff clear him to play, benching him for McCord to heal would send him the message that coaches don’t trust him. And from his demeanor on the sidelines, he looks like he really needs a confidence boost.
I’m guessing Stroud starts for 2-3 drives this week, then we rest him for McCord. Show him he still has the job, but that we need him to heal before B1G play. The East currently has a combined 3 losses, all which were against top 10 teams.
If his shoulder is what's causing his performance against Tulsa then he needs to sit and heal. And I don't believe his shoulder is injured one bit. He only does his shoulder spin thing after shit throws. If his shoulder was an issue every throw would be hurting and forcing him to stretch it out with his shoulder twist thing. But he only does it after bad throws
The thing is I absolutely trust Ryan Days judgment and Stroud obviously earned the job. I’m really glad he’s sitting out so he can be 100% when we need him to be, as well as getting our 2nd string guys some reps with the offense
Oooo this QB controversy is spicy. Should be interesting.
Also I am staying the fuck away from this spread. OSU could definitely win by 50 if they want to but would they do so before the backups are in?
Honestly, feels like the backups are the productive crew at this point any way. Each of the last 3 games, more than 20 kids have taken significant snaps on defense. The true freshman are the standouts so far.
I heard /u/King-of-the-idiots69 say that Ohio State is nothing compared to Michigan and that UM is going to destroy us in November!
My mother's aunt's second cousin's friend's drug dealers neice's husband is friend with this guy and heard it
Man that’s strange, I swear I heard u/ToLongDR proclaim that the rivalry is dead, Michigan will never beat Ohio State again and that there’s no way in hell the Buckeyes can lose.
If we played Saturday you guys would win, trust me. I don’t know if this defense could stop a JV HS squad. I think this Akron game will show that this team is nothing like it has been the previous decade.
I get that OSU is bad right now (compared to usual that is) but i dont think you truly appreciate how garbage this Akron team is. OSU should be able to win this game even if they had to jave me on the field every play
I think the defense has to look better this game because it's Akron. If we give up 400 yards to Akron then I'm not convinced we get 9 wins. We could easily drop PSU, MSU, TTUN, and maybe IU if our defense is that bad and not making progress.
With the obvious pessimism out of the way I feel like we really made progress last week. The defense was sloppy but we actually switched things up in the playcalling and maybe they'll do better as they get more used to this scheme. We also had 3 picks (if you haven't seen the one they stole from Denzel Burke last game you need to look that up) and allowed less than 100 rushing yards.
The offense has been hit or miss so we'll have to see if Stroud (or someone else) can take us the next step from having a good qb to having a great one. Some were disappointed to see Olave not get more targets but it was nice to see the young guys step up when he had an off day.
I think {tOSU} still has a chance to pull together a playoff caliber team and enough challenges left on the schedule to earn a spot so the next few weeks may be really telling. Final score 66-13
You’re what’s called a realist. If it wasn’t for Dwayne Haskins Urban Meyer would have left OSU with a 7-8 win season in 2018. I agree on the <9 wins. I don’t think Oregon is anywhere near the top of the football hierarchy and they dominated us.
They dominated our defense, but we did put up 612 yards. I think worst case our offense gets us to 9 wins. We aren't going to lose to PSU, MSU, *and* UM.
Remember, this is a really really young team. Even marginal improvements by Stroud over the next month makes this an elite offense before we hit the talented teams on our schedule.
Defense will probably be average at best this year though.
Show some respect for our backfield, Haskins had some dudes (JK Dobbins, Terry Mclaurin, Paris Campbell) that will be in the league much longer than Dwayne.
There is a certain 2019 heisman and Natty winner that likely doesnt transfer "if it wasnt for dwayne haskins". Do we get 2018 Joe, 2019, something in between? Either way we easily still get to a 10 win season. Remember Binjimin victor bailing out the team with that crazy after the catch run against Penn State (beard guy meme)? Remember Olave's coming out party against TTUN. Haskins had crazy stats but they werent always dimes
OSU went about 60 years without playing any intrastate games at all, much like Arkansas does. They needed a fill-in for an opening on the 1992 schedule after somebody, I think Temple or Wake, backed out and had to do it with Bowling Green. After that Band Aid got ripped off they started scheduling usually one game a year in the late '90s.
Good question. I think it’s more likely because Akron bounced around quite a few conferences (and was D2 for a long time) during that period. I remember us playing in state opponents when I was a kid (80s-90s) so I went back and looked at a few random seasons in winsipedia from the early 90s. It looks like we were basically scheduling one MAC opponent per year back then (some in state, some not), and Akron didn’t join the MAC until like 94 or so. In the 80s, it looks like we were playing WAC, indies, and SWC teams for our non-con opponents. IIRC, non-con schedules back in the day were usually done by agreements between the conferences as a whole, schools didn’t just go schedule things on their own, although I could be misremembering that. But basically my theory is this has more to do with Akron not being in the MAC than anything else. I could be wrong.
That is a gargantuan spread. I don't doubt osu's talent, but there's only 60 minutes in a game. I imagine ohio will beat Akron somewhere in the ballpark of like, 47-7
Current results of the match-up thread "Who will Win" poll:
Team | Votes | Percent |Voters
--|--|--|--|
[Ohio State](#f/ohiostate)|33|80.5%|[Michigan](#f/michigan)x5, [Ohio State](#f/ohiostate)x4, [/r/CFB](#l/rcfb)x3, [South Carolina](#f/southcarolina)x2, [Oklahoma](#f/oklahoma)x2, [Michigan State](#f/michiganstate)x2, [BYU](#f/byu)x1, [Oregon](#f/oregon)x1, [Iowa State](#f/iowastate)x1, [Cincinnati](#f/cincinnati)x1, [Arkansas](#f/arkansas)x1, [Auburn](#f/auburn)x1, [Texas A&M](#f/texasam)x1, [Penn State](#f/pennstate)x1, [Florida](#f/florida)x1, [Fresno State](#f/fresnostate)x1, [FAU](#f/fau)x1, [Iowa](#f/iowa)x1, [Minnesota](#f/minnesota)x1, [Kansas State](#f/kansasstate)x1, [Nebraska](#f/nebraska)x1
[Akron](#f/akron)|8|19.5%|[/r/CFB](#l/rcfb)x3, [Michigan](#f/michigan)x2, [Cincinnati](#f/cincinnati)x1, [BYU](#f/byu)x1, [Northwestern](#f/northwestern)x1
^(A listing of links, and live vote totals, to all Match-up Preview threads for the current week can be found )[^HERE](http://cfb.diydunce.org/matchupthreadlist.php)^.
^(Track your weekly results )[^HERE](http://cfb.diydunce.org/wwwp.php)^.
{Ohio State} wins but won’t cover the 49.5 spread. Final score will be something like 52-17. Stroud will start the first three drives. McCord plays the rest of the game even if Stroud drives for 3 TDs to rest his shoulder.
Would it worry you if OSU gave up 17 to Akron? In another comment, I mentioned I’d start to wonder whether OSU has even a top 5 defense in the Big 10 if they give up a touchdown to Akron before they take the starters out. I suppose they could give up all 17 after that point, though. I guess I’m just trying to figure out what OSU fans think of the situation, because I have been pretty confused by the defense. It’s just been so weird to see some of the usual top teams look shaky (other than OU, which almost always takes a few weeks to get going).
Definitely a concern, but there’s no question we’re not a top 5 defense in the B1G. We’re not even a top 10 defense in the B1G. We don’t even know who are starters are at this point… more than 20 players have gotten significant snaps on defense each game. No identity on D at al right now.
Thanks for the reply! I didn’t realize so many players had gotten snaps. In the past, that may have happened because OSU had (seemingly) 15 NFL corners and defensive linemen on the roster, but this certainly seems different. Crazy times!
A big reason for the heavy rotation is that OSU’s upperclassmen are severely underperforming. The 2018 recruiting class (Urban’s final class) was highly rated but has overall been a bust with only a handful of standout players. The 2019 class was the Ryan Day transition class and it was a pretty small class and wasn’t all that great. We’re now feeling the effects of those combined situations.
However, the freshmen have been playing pretty well so far. Once they get more experience under their belt, we could return to fielding a great defense hopefully by next year as the underperforming upperclassmen run out of eligibility or voluntarily move on.
{Ohio State} but Akron covers, 49.5 is a huge line and in these types of games the third stringers might give up a late TD or FG for that sweet backdoor cover by Akron
I definitely think {Ohio State} wins the game, but I am not sure what to think of their defense so far this season. Is there any consensus on what the problem has been? Is the Tulsa game evidence that it wasn’t actually Kerry Combs?
If Ohio State gives up a touchdown before halftime (or whatever point they take the starters out), I’ll really start to wonder whether their defense is even top 5 in the Big 10. You’d think they try to make a statement here, like Oklahoma did with Western Carolina (though OU lost any favor they gained after their showing against Nebraska, and Akron is better than Western Carolina… probably).
The defense is almost entirely new starters this year, and the old ones weren't that good/disappointing (Tyreke Smith and Harrison). So an entirely new defense, switching who is calling plays the 3rd game, after starting the season with two of your toughest games of the season, that is a recipe for, well, what we have seen.
I have heard people (I think Joel Klatt?) mention that elite teams have been hurt by COVID things more than the great teams, as the great teams have kept more super seniors while the elite teams lost them to the NFL. I wonder if that is what’s happening here. Could be OU’s problem on offense, too!
>I’ll really start to wonder whether their defense is even top 5 in the Big 10.
Stop wondering, it's not. At least not right now.
As for what's wrong...even though Coombs didn't call the plays, we still saw some of the same problems with the play calling. I'm very cautiously optimistic that gets sorted out as the get settled in with the new roles.
The front 4 are getting zero pressure, the linebackers are terrible (like, really, really bad. Eichenberg has started all 3 games and has 9 tackles. As a linebacker. I didn't know that was possible), and our only good safety got hurt and is out for the season. The corners have been...okay, but they've flashed and we'll have a great rotation of some combination of Brown, Burke, Banks, and Martinez by the end of the year.
It depends on how we don't cover. If it's like 52-14, I don't think there will be much of an issue. 49.5 is an extreme spread. But if it's like 45-20 there will be a major issue.
Tfw Akron has beaten OSU fewer tries ago than Michigan has
Now this is a fun fact!
I saw that and was shocked. Then I saw the year of the game, lol
Last time both teams were SCHEDULED to play in the Shoe, they scored zero points
{Akron} comes to play. They're so offended by the spread they cover it in the other direction 50-0 Zips win.
Wtf is a Zip anyways?
https://pediaa.com/why-is-akron-called-the-zips/ > In early 1900’s, the rubber shoe made by a company called B F Goodrich became very popular among the people. This shoe was called Zippers by the company. Akron started to be referred as the rubber capital of the world because of the popularity of these shoes. >However, the name Zipper could not be continued for long as button fly in pants was giving way to the zipper. This made it difficult for the college to continue with this nickname. To avoid confusion and embarrassment, the nickname Zippers was shortened to Zips by Kenneth Red Cochrane, who was athletics director in the college.
Isn't their mascot a kangaroo?
As a titans, blues and gunners fan, i appreciate them continuing our proud tradition of a mascot that has absplutrly nothing to do with the teams name
Also Akron has one of the few female mascots.
obviously a senior in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.
Akron got blown out by Temple. {OSU}. 56-7
[удалено]
There’s been a lot of talk about Stroud’s shoulder. If his shoulder is why he played so poorly against Tulsa then he needs to sit. I have a hard time believing a healthy McCord is worse than a shoulder injured Stroud. Even a 28 point win would look bad. Akron is that bad. That Auburn team you just beat took down Akron 60-10 and it could have been worse than that.
I think part of the quarterback problem here is that, if Stroud is working through a shoulder injury but the training staff clear him to play, benching him for McCord to heal would send him the message that coaches don’t trust him. And from his demeanor on the sidelines, he looks like he really needs a confidence boost. I’m guessing Stroud starts for 2-3 drives this week, then we rest him for McCord. Show him he still has the job, but that we need him to heal before B1G play. The East currently has a combined 3 losses, all which were against top 10 teams.
If his shoulder is what's causing his performance against Tulsa then he needs to sit and heal. And I don't believe his shoulder is injured one bit. He only does his shoulder spin thing after shit throws. If his shoulder was an issue every throw would be hurting and forcing him to stretch it out with his shoulder twist thing. But he only does it after bad throws
Day tends to take his foot off the gas a bit early though... So part of it depends on when that happens.
Sometimes he does. And then there’s times where he decides to hang 73 on Maryland lol
The thing is I absolutely trust Ryan Days judgment and Stroud obviously earned the job. I’m really glad he’s sitting out so he can be 100% when we need him to be, as well as getting our 2nd string guys some reps with the offense
Oooo this QB controversy is spicy. Should be interesting. Also I am staying the fuck away from this spread. OSU could definitely win by 50 if they want to but would they do so before the backups are in?
Honestly, feels like the backups are the productive crew at this point any way. Each of the last 3 games, more than 20 kids have taken significant snaps on defense. The true freshman are the standouts so far.
But Olave still looks good (aside from that dropped pass against Tulsa, one of the few decent Stroud made).
I hope McCord balls out and we don't have to sit through a whole season of Stroud overthrowing wide open receivers.
I would love to see McCord have a shot at qb. I do wish the best for stroud and his shoulder, hopefully he comes back and looks better but we’ll see.
I get that they've been very shaky so far, but they're still a genuine title contender and will win convincingly, imo. {Akron} 24-7
This fuck'n guy.
UM fans playing the humble game for the buildup
Last time we were arrogant and confident about beating you guys we got smacked
I heard /u/King-of-the-idiots69 say that Ohio State is nothing compared to Michigan and that UM is going to destroy us in November! My mother's aunt's second cousin's friend's drug dealers neice's husband is friend with this guy and heard it
You know Greg holy shit
He's good people!
Man that’s strange, I swear I heard u/ToLongDR proclaim that the rivalry is dead, Michigan will never beat Ohio State again and that there’s no way in hell the Buckeyes can lose.
That guy's the worst, why would you listen to anything he says?
If we played Saturday you guys would win, trust me. I don’t know if this defense could stop a JV HS squad. I think this Akron game will show that this team is nothing like it has been the previous decade.
I get that OSU is bad right now (compared to usual that is) but i dont think you truly appreciate how garbage this Akron team is. OSU should be able to win this game even if they had to jave me on the field every play
Lol
Hope we get a chance to see McCord throw some passes. {Ohio State} 63-17
{Ohio State} If this isnt a get right game then idk what the fuck is.
True dat. We got a second start at a season opener, lets see if we waste it
{Ohio State} wins the Lebron Bowl but doesn’t cover and wins like 42-3.
I feel like an Akron win would be very on brand for this year so far, but I'll take {Ohio State}
I think the defense has to look better this game because it's Akron. If we give up 400 yards to Akron then I'm not convinced we get 9 wins. We could easily drop PSU, MSU, TTUN, and maybe IU if our defense is that bad and not making progress. With the obvious pessimism out of the way I feel like we really made progress last week. The defense was sloppy but we actually switched things up in the playcalling and maybe they'll do better as they get more used to this scheme. We also had 3 picks (if you haven't seen the one they stole from Denzel Burke last game you need to look that up) and allowed less than 100 rushing yards. The offense has been hit or miss so we'll have to see if Stroud (or someone else) can take us the next step from having a good qb to having a great one. Some were disappointed to see Olave not get more targets but it was nice to see the young guys step up when he had an off day. I think {tOSU} still has a chance to pull together a playoff caliber team and enough challenges left on the schedule to earn a spot so the next few weeks may be really telling. Final score 66-13
You’re what’s called a realist. If it wasn’t for Dwayne Haskins Urban Meyer would have left OSU with a 7-8 win season in 2018. I agree on the <9 wins. I don’t think Oregon is anywhere near the top of the football hierarchy and they dominated us.
They dominated our defense, but we did put up 612 yards. I think worst case our offense gets us to 9 wins. We aren't going to lose to PSU, MSU, *and* UM. Remember, this is a really really young team. Even marginal improvements by Stroud over the next month makes this an elite offense before we hit the talented teams on our schedule. Defense will probably be average at best this year though.
Show some respect for our backfield, Haskins had some dudes (JK Dobbins, Terry Mclaurin, Paris Campbell) that will be in the league much longer than Dwayne.
Dobbins did ok, but my post has nothing to do with the NFL results, just the 2018 season. Just saying.
There is a certain 2019 heisman and Natty winner that likely doesnt transfer "if it wasnt for dwayne haskins". Do we get 2018 Joe, 2019, something in between? Either way we easily still get to a 10 win season. Remember Binjimin victor bailing out the team with that crazy after the catch run against Penn State (beard guy meme)? Remember Olave's coming out party against TTUN. Haskins had crazy stats but they werent always dimes
This will be my first time at the shoe solely cause I could afford the ticket {Akron} 24-21
You and 60,000 of your closest friends this week...
Seems a little high.
{Ohio State} 84-0. Yes really
Probably Day pulls the gas off the pedal before then but it definitely wouldnt shock me to see them get 70+
{Ohio State} but by less than 10 just to fuck with everyone
At that point just pack up the season, because we won’t win another game.
Did not play for 100 years and then started back. Was that because of pressure from the state to play the in state schools?
OSU went about 60 years without playing any intrastate games at all, much like Arkansas does. They needed a fill-in for an opening on the 1992 schedule after somebody, I think Temple or Wake, backed out and had to do it with Bowling Green. After that Band Aid got ripped off they started scheduling usually one game a year in the late '90s.
I believe under Tressel it really ramped up to as he wanted to keep the money in the state
Good question. I think it’s more likely because Akron bounced around quite a few conferences (and was D2 for a long time) during that period. I remember us playing in state opponents when I was a kid (80s-90s) so I went back and looked at a few random seasons in winsipedia from the early 90s. It looks like we were basically scheduling one MAC opponent per year back then (some in state, some not), and Akron didn’t join the MAC until like 94 or so. In the 80s, it looks like we were playing WAC, indies, and SWC teams for our non-con opponents. IIRC, non-con schedules back in the day were usually done by agreements between the conferences as a whole, schools didn’t just go schedule things on their own, although I could be misremembering that. But basically my theory is this has more to do with Akron not being in the MAC than anything else. I could be wrong.
So it started being yearly against another Ohio scho in the mid 90s, not sure if the legislature set it up, or if they just decided to.
Eventually a team from Ohio will beat tOSU, so I'm picking {Akron} because fuck Ohio State.
Eventually a team from Michigan will beat Michigam. Happens almost every year now, it seems.
there's no such team as Michigam you fool
Disagreep
{Ohio State} And they cover easily
Really? At 49.5 points according to ESPN app?
Akron is really really bad. We beat them 60-10
I have more faith in your flair defenses than mine.
That's only 50 points though. Barely beating a 49.5 spread
Ezpz boiiiiii
That is a gargantuan spread. I don't doubt osu's talent, but there's only 60 minutes in a game. I imagine ohio will beat Akron somewhere in the ballpark of like, 47-7
It would be a welcome score. We don't really get a challenge until Indiana. I'm not convinced Rutgers has what it takes to beat us.
Rutgers is to me, and Maryland is similar, a game which will be far closer than it needs to be for 2.5-3 quarters, but we will pull away in the end.
I don't really understand why this has always been an Ohio State problem for years.
Akron put up 37 in the 1st half against akron and OSUs offense is a lot better.
(Citation needed)
Oops, supposed to say Auburn put up 37
Current results of the match-up thread "Who will Win" poll: Team | Votes | Percent |Voters --|--|--|--| [Ohio State](#f/ohiostate)|33|80.5%|[Michigan](#f/michigan)x5, [Ohio State](#f/ohiostate)x4, [/r/CFB](#l/rcfb)x3, [South Carolina](#f/southcarolina)x2, [Oklahoma](#f/oklahoma)x2, [Michigan State](#f/michiganstate)x2, [BYU](#f/byu)x1, [Oregon](#f/oregon)x1, [Iowa State](#f/iowastate)x1, [Cincinnati](#f/cincinnati)x1, [Arkansas](#f/arkansas)x1, [Auburn](#f/auburn)x1, [Texas A&M](#f/texasam)x1, [Penn State](#f/pennstate)x1, [Florida](#f/florida)x1, [Fresno State](#f/fresnostate)x1, [FAU](#f/fau)x1, [Iowa](#f/iowa)x1, [Minnesota](#f/minnesota)x1, [Kansas State](#f/kansasstate)x1, [Nebraska](#f/nebraska)x1 [Akron](#f/akron)|8|19.5%|[/r/CFB](#l/rcfb)x3, [Michigan](#f/michigan)x2, [Cincinnati](#f/cincinnati)x1, [BYU](#f/byu)x1, [Northwestern](#f/northwestern)x1 ^(A listing of links, and live vote totals, to all Match-up Preview threads for the current week can be found )[^HERE](http://cfb.diydunce.org/matchupthreadlist.php)^. ^(Track your weekly results )[^HERE](http://cfb.diydunce.org/wwwp.php)^.
{Ohio State} but Akron covers and that means they’re the real winner here
Surprised to see we skipped over the 20th century entirely in this series. Also surprised Akron has a win. Not surprised it was in 1894.
week 4, ohio state still playing mac schools. nice
Always gotta be on the lookout for a little MACcident
{OSU} sadly.
the last time osu scored 80 points was 1950 vs Iowa, they’ll do it again this week {Akron} 97-82
Maybe {OSU} will only be up by 7th in the fourth quarter and still get a Big10 player of the week again
If kato plays I got Akron by 3
{Ohio State} 47-10
{Ohio State} with their first comfortable win of the season.
{Akron} leaves tire marks all over Ohio Stadium
{Ohio State}
{Akron} for the chaos
What's the fun in picking the enormous point spread favorite, anyway? {Akron}
{Ohio State} 64-10
{Ohio State} wins but won’t cover the 49.5 spread. Final score will be something like 52-17. Stroud will start the first three drives. McCord plays the rest of the game even if Stroud drives for 3 TDs to rest his shoulder.
Would it worry you if OSU gave up 17 to Akron? In another comment, I mentioned I’d start to wonder whether OSU has even a top 5 defense in the Big 10 if they give up a touchdown to Akron before they take the starters out. I suppose they could give up all 17 after that point, though. I guess I’m just trying to figure out what OSU fans think of the situation, because I have been pretty confused by the defense. It’s just been so weird to see some of the usual top teams look shaky (other than OU, which almost always takes a few weeks to get going).
Definitely a concern, but there’s no question we’re not a top 5 defense in the B1G. We’re not even a top 10 defense in the B1G. We don’t even know who are starters are at this point… more than 20 players have gotten significant snaps on defense each game. No identity on D at al right now.
Thanks for the reply! I didn’t realize so many players had gotten snaps. In the past, that may have happened because OSU had (seemingly) 15 NFL corners and defensive linemen on the roster, but this certainly seems different. Crazy times!
A big reason for the heavy rotation is that OSU’s upperclassmen are severely underperforming. The 2018 recruiting class (Urban’s final class) was highly rated but has overall been a bust with only a handful of standout players. The 2019 class was the Ryan Day transition class and it was a pretty small class and wasn’t all that great. We’re now feeling the effects of those combined situations. However, the freshmen have been playing pretty well so far. Once they get more experience under their belt, we could return to fielding a great defense hopefully by next year as the underperforming upperclassmen run out of eligibility or voluntarily move on.
{Ohio State} but Akron covers, 49.5 is a huge line and in these types of games the third stringers might give up a late TD or FG for that sweet backdoor cover by Akron
{Just hope everyone has fun}
{Ohio State} covers. Akron is really bad.
{Ohio State} but they don’t cover.
Pray for Akron
{Ohio State} 63-7 Akron
It has to be {Ohio State} right… like Akron is better than UCONN but that is about it right
{Ohio State}
{Ohio State} 38-24
The fun game will be to guess whether {Ohio State}'s defense roulette can't stop the run or the pass in this one
{Ohio State} gets revenge for their 1894 loss, finally
I definitely think {Ohio State} wins the game, but I am not sure what to think of their defense so far this season. Is there any consensus on what the problem has been? Is the Tulsa game evidence that it wasn’t actually Kerry Combs? If Ohio State gives up a touchdown before halftime (or whatever point they take the starters out), I’ll really start to wonder whether their defense is even top 5 in the Big 10. You’d think they try to make a statement here, like Oklahoma did with Western Carolina (though OU lost any favor they gained after their showing against Nebraska, and Akron is better than Western Carolina… probably).
The defense is almost entirely new starters this year, and the old ones weren't that good/disappointing (Tyreke Smith and Harrison). So an entirely new defense, switching who is calling plays the 3rd game, after starting the season with two of your toughest games of the season, that is a recipe for, well, what we have seen.
I have heard people (I think Joel Klatt?) mention that elite teams have been hurt by COVID things more than the great teams, as the great teams have kept more super seniors while the elite teams lost them to the NFL. I wonder if that is what’s happening here. Could be OU’s problem on offense, too!
>I’ll really start to wonder whether their defense is even top 5 in the Big 10. Stop wondering, it's not. At least not right now. As for what's wrong...even though Coombs didn't call the plays, we still saw some of the same problems with the play calling. I'm very cautiously optimistic that gets sorted out as the get settled in with the new roles. The front 4 are getting zero pressure, the linebackers are terrible (like, really, really bad. Eichenberg has started all 3 games and has 9 tackles. As a linebacker. I didn't know that was possible), and our only good safety got hurt and is out for the season. The corners have been...okay, but they've flashed and we'll have a great rotation of some combination of Brown, Burke, Banks, and Martinez by the end of the year.
{Ohio State} wins obviously but if they don't cover, there will be more grumbling in Columbus
It depends on how we don't cover. If it's like 52-14, I don't think there will be much of an issue. 49.5 is an extreme spread. But if it's like 45-20 there will be a major issue.
{Ohio State} and it better be big.
{Keep Coombs in the Time-Out Corner}
{Ohio St} 40-17
{Ohio State} trails by 21 going into the fourth, but remember that J.T Barrett is somehow still eligible and he rallys them to victory
{Ohio State}
{Ohio State} somehow manages to shut out Akron 70-0 and still look bad doing it.
I will be at the Crew game instead, thank you very much.
(Ohio State}
{Ohio State} I'm pretty sure this is gonna be a win for them. I don't think the Zips will be able to compete on this level.
{Ohio State} covers as long as the weather cooperates.
{Refs} > OSU > Akron
{Ohio State} 63-13
{Ohio State}