Ohio State's Ryan Day Sends Strong Message On Early Struggles vs Akron

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was not thrilled with his team's early struggles against the Akron Zips in their season opener.

Aug 31, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day walks onto the field during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Akron Zips at Ohio Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Based on the scoreboard, you would think the Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Akron Zips in their season opener on Saturday. And in a sense, they did. But Ryan Day wasn't entirely happy with the performance.

Yes, Ohio State won 52-6, but the Buckeyes got off to a slow start, and after the game, Day was sure to make note of it.

“I thought we were a little uptight early on," Day said, via Joey Kaufman of The Columbus Dispatch. "We can’t play like that. We got to play loose.”

Ohio State went into its matchup with Akron favored by nearly 50 points. It was expected to be more of a tune up for the No. 2-ranked squad more than anything else.

However, the Buckeyes found themselves in a rather unanticipated fight early on, as the Zips got off to a 3-0 lead as Ohio State's offense stalled.

As a matter of fact, the Buckeyes did not get on the board until the 2:44 mark of the first quarter, when Will Howard found freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 16-yard touchdown.

Ohio State then stretched its lead to 17-3 at halftime before blowing the doors open in the third period, taking a 38-6 lead into the final frame.

The most important thing is that the Buckeyes ended up in the win column and averted disaster. However, there is no question that Ohio State has some areas to fix.

Perhaps we can chalk the Buckeyes' early struggles against Akron up to Week 1 jitters. But Day is right: Ohio State needs to get itself in order moving forward.