No. 2 Ohio State has one of the easiest non-conference schedules in college football this season, as the Buckeyes welcome another Mid-American Conference team on Saturday in Western Michigan.
OSU is a mammoth favorite on the NCAAF odds, as you would expect.
| Opening NCAAF Lines Subject to Change: Ohio State -38.5 (total 54.5) Expert Prediction: Ohio State 52, WMU 16 |
Western Michigan
It will be the second straight game against a Big Ten powerhouse for MAC school Western Michigan, as the Broncos were beaten 28-14 at Wisconsin in their opener – but the Broncos played quite well. Down 13-7 late in the third quarter, WMU lined up for a field goal and ran a fake. Holder Ryan Millmore pitched it behind his head to Bronco kicker Palmer Domschke, and the junior ran 26 yards down to the UW four to give Western Michigan first and goal to start the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Jalen Buckley ran it into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night and give the Broncos a 14-13 lead with 14:15 to play.
Last Game
Western forced a punt on the Badgers’ next drive, but the punt bounced off a Bronco and Wisconsin recovered it at the 20-yard line. UW made quick work of the short field and Tawee Walker ran it in from the six. After a two-point conversion, Wisconsin took a 21-14 lead. On the ensuing drive, the Broncos got it out to midfield, but were stopped on a fourth and one attempt. The Badgers put together an eight-play, 50-yard touchdown drive that ate up 4:37 on the clock, with Tyler Van Dyke running it in from six yards to push the lead to 28-14.
It marked Wisconsin’s 17th straight victory in a season opener at Camp Randall against a non-conference opponent. Wisconsin has not lost a non-conference season opener at home since 1995. The Broncos ran for 120 yards against the Badgers and scored both of their touchdowns on the ground. QB Hayden Wolff threw for only 141 yards with a TD. Defensively, the Broncos only allowed 192 passing yards.
For second-year Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor, it was an affirmation that his program is headed in the right direction, coming off a 4-8 record in 2023.
This is a veteran team with several returning starters on offense: Wolff; linemen junior John Hofer and seniors Jacob Gideon, Addison West, Jack Sherwin and Ted Kushi; running backs sophomore Jalen Buckley and senior Zahir Abdus-Salaam; junior tight end Blake Bosma and senior wide receivers Kenny Womack and Anthony Sambucci and junior Malique Dieudonne.
Jalen Buckley
Buckley was the MAC freshman of the year and earned Freshman All-America honors after gaining 1,003 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. He was fifth in the MAC in rushing yards and was one of only two freshmen in the nation that reached 1,000 yards. Buckley had two rushing scores vs. Wisconsin in the opener and 64 yards on 16 carries. Gideon has seen his name scattered all over the award watch lists for offensive linemen during the preseason as he’s on the watch lists for the Lombardi Award (nation’s best linemen and linebackers), Rimington Trophy (nation’s top center), and the Outland Trophy (nation’s top interior lineman).
WMU has a new offensive coordinator in Walt Bell, who came from Indiana. The Broncos also have a new defensive coordinator (Scott Power, Louisiana Tech) and special teams’ coordinator Dan Sabock (Temple).
Western Michigan has played a game against an opponent from the Big Ten now in 19 of the past 21 seasons. Only 2005 and the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season saw the league absent from the Broncos’ schedule. This will mark the seventh time in that span that WMU plays two teams from the league.
^Ohio State -38.5
No. 2 Ohio State trounced MAC school Akron 52-6 in their opener – the Zips actually led 3-0 about midway through the first quarter. Will Howard, playing his first game at quarterback with the Buckeyes following a transfer from Kansas State, completed 17-of-28 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Howard is a top Heisman candidate and crossed the 6,000-yard mark for career passing and now has 6,014 yards.
Jeremiah Smith
Five-star freshman receiver was Howard’s favorite target, with six catches for 92 yards and two scores. Smith became the 13th Buckeye to catch two touchdown passes in a season opener, and the first to do so since Jeremy Ruckert in 2019 against Florida Atlantic. Smith became the first freshman to score in his first collegiate game since Jerron Cage against Penn State in 2021.
Stats to Consider
Carnell Tate and Emeka Egbuka each had four grabs, with Tate adding a score. On the ground, TreVeyon Henderson (8), and Quinshon Judkins (13) combined for 120 yards on 21 carries. Judkins, a transfer from Ole Miss, found the end zone once, as did James Peoples. Henderson averaged 8.1 yards per carry, the eighth time in his career he has averaged over 8.0 yards per carry in games when he has five or more carries.
Henderson now has 2,810 career rushing yards and 37 touchdowns, while Judkins is just 30 yards and two touchdowns behind Henderson with 2,780 rush yards and 35 touchdowns. Henderson ranks 15th nationally in rushing among active career leaders, and Judkins is right behind him in 16th.
It was the Ohio State debut of new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, formerly the UCLA coach.
Day’s teams have still never gone three consecutive games without gaining at least 400 yards of total offense. The 404 yards vs. Akron stopped the most recent two-game skid. Day has the best winning percentage of all head coaches nationally this century at .876 and an overall record of 57-8. The Buckeyes are 8-3 when they produce less than 400 yards of offense under Day, and 49-5 with 400-or-more yards.
Ohio State is 37-1 all-time vs. MAC schools and has won 34 consecutive since an 1894 Akron loss.
^Western Michigan at Ohio State NCAA Football Info
When: Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: Ohio Stadium
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: BTN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Michigan vs Ohio State Series History
Ohio State and Western Michigan have met just once: in 2015 at Ohio Stadium, when Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and was the defending CFP national champion. The Buckeyes prevailed, 38-12. That 2015 game against Western Michigan came one week after a game against Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois. Until this year, that was the last time Ohio State had played back-to-back games against MAC schools.
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