Akron @ Ohio State - Saturday @ noon

By Adam Kiefaber

Seven years ago, Jim Tressel coached his first game for the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 8th, 2001.

The oppenent was the Akron Zips. OSU won the game 28-14 and it was the last time these two teams squared off.

The Zips, coming off a win against Army, haven’t won consecutive games to start a season since 1993. Akron also won their first opener since ‘01.

Akron’s defense played well against Army. As a team, they had two interceptions and four sacks. Akron held Army to only one offensive touchdown in their 22-14 victory. The Zips also scored a defensive touchdown when defensive back Reggie Corner returned an interception for 74 yards.

Quarterback Todd Boeckman should have a tougher challenge than he had against Youngstown State.

Also, the running game has to get better even though they will be going up against a tougher defense.

Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells needs to make some big plays so Buckeye fans can relax. Going into this season, ‘Beanie’ was the closest thing Ohio State had in a Heisman candidate. That didn’t seem true when ‘Beanie’ rushed for only 46 yards on 16 carries against a tiny Youngstown State defense.

The Buckeyes will replace defensive end Lawrence Wilson (below), who broke his leg, with Glenville alum Robert Rose. Luckily, the Buckeyes have great depth at DE and Rose is a playmaker.

Rose and the rest of the defense will have to stop running back Dennis Kennedy, who transferred from Ohio State. Kennedy rushed for 914 yards and nine touchdowns last season while missing some time with a shoulder injury. Last week, he rushed for 72 yards on 13 carries.

Akron senior wide receiver Jabari Arthur looked impressive last week. The 25-year-old from Montreal caught 11 passes for 125 yards and had a touchdown. Last season, Arthur caught 45 passes for 730 yards with four touchdowns, making him the sixth-overall pick (by Calgary) in the CFL draft.

The Buckeyes should be able to stop the Zips offense and score enough to win.

FINAL SCORE: OSU 28-14