COLUMBUS — Every Friday we’ll bring you a quick-hit look at the game ahead for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Kent State at Ohio State
Kickoff: Noon
Network: Fox
Announcers: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft
History: Ohio State leads the series 3-0 with wins in 2002, 2007 and 2014.
Info: Ohio State games notes & Kent State game notes
Game trailer
Buckeye I’ll be watching Saturday
RB Isaiah West: Can I be a little curious here? Bo Jackson has played 70 snaps, Ja’Kobi Jackson 39 and West 21 through two games. Bo has 28 carries, Ja’Kobi 13 and West has seven. He was an afterthought against Texas, with two snaps and two carries for seven yards. After preseason praise about how strong of an offseason he had, I’m wondering if there will be any real role for West in the offense. He looked like a potential co-starter during parts of camp. Now he’s way down the list as back No. 3 at best, and while everyone is clamoring for more of Legend Bey, no one is clamoring for West. So I’ll clamor. Figure plenty of Buckeyes to touch the ball against Kent State, and I’d like to see what West does with his chances. — Doug
DE Khary Wilder: I think we're all on the "Wilder should play more" bandwagon, but that's based on seeing him play in a specialized role on passing downs, primarily as an interior rusher. I'm looking to see what it looks like when Wilder is lined up at end on standard downs. He should play a decent amount on Saturday, even if he doesn't start, because we're expecting the defense to be without Zion Grady. Wilder has only played nine snaps as a true edge and just three snaps on run plays so far. I think he's good. I'll buy all the stock you can give me. But it'll be nice to see how Wilder performs outside of his specialized role so we can have a full evaluation of where exactly he is. — Bill
One thing I want Ohio State to do Saturday
Just get creative with some pass rush. Bill did an excellent job outlining this in his defensive rewatch, and he might say the same thing and he has more right to do it than I do, but I’m writing this before I see his, and it’s really all that I want. Just try to get after the quarterback without only relying on guys to win their matchups, because I’m not sure how many guys can do that. When I asked Ryan Day if he’s OK with more risk on defense in the name of more pass rush, he said, “Yeah, for sure.” So this. Just this. — Doug
Share the sugar on offense. We need to get a better inventory of what each of these non-Jeremiah-Smith offensive skill players are capable of. I'm primarily interested in receivers and how Julian Sayin looks throwing to them, but this also includes the running backs (yes, Legend Bey). I thought on rewatch that Bo Jackson played great against Texas. He wasn't explosive, but he was decisive and displayed the best between-the-tackles running of his career. How does he build on that? Can Isaiah West get involved at all? We know Smith is Batman. He needs some Robins to start emerging. — Bill
Another game to watch with Ohio State in mind
Virginia Tech at Maryland, 7:30, FS1: This is a win-win for Buckeye fans, because I sense little love for James Franklin and Mike Locksley. One of them will lose. But this is mostly about the Terps, who come to Ohio Stadium in a few weeks. Collectively, Maryland’s roster doesn’t stack up to Ohio State’s, but they have interesting, talented individuals on both sides of the ball — quarterback Malik Washington, edge rushers Zion Elee and Sidney Stewart — who will be worth paying attention to when the Buckeyes host Maryland. Let’s see what they look like in a sneaky good nonconference game. — Bill
Stat to know
Jeremiah Smith is 26 yards away from becoming Ohio State’s all-time leader in receiving yards. After 1,315 yards as a freshman and 1,243 yards as a sophomore, Smith is at 315 yards through two games of his junior season. Overall he’s at 2,873 yards for his career in 31 games. That’s 25 yards behind Michael Jenkins, who amassed 2,898 yards from 2001-2003. He reached that total in 39 career games.
Smith is 27 receptions away from breaking the OSU catch record, and he’s six touchdown catches away from owning that mark by himself. He won’t get those two records on Saturday. He should get the first one.— Doug
Bell Ringer
Uniform Look
Band Plan
Lines
Ohio State -52.5
Over-under 59.5
Picks
Bill: Ohio State 59, Kent State 0
Doug: Ohio State 62, Kent State 0
On the season
Bill: 1-1 straight up, 1-1 spread, 1-1 over-under
Doug: 2-0 straight up, 0-2 spread, 1-1 over-under
Your vote
Ohio State will win by 53 points or more: 91 percent
Ohio State will win by 52 points or fewer: 9 percent
Combined score of 60 points or more: 64 percent
Combined score of 59 points or fewer: 36 percent
Remember this guy?
We interviewed Kent State head coach Mark Carney for our opponent preview in the offseason and people seemed to like him.
Tracking network and kickoff times for the season
Network
BTN: 1
ABC: 1
Fox: 1
Announcers
Jeff Levering, Jake Butt: 1
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit: 1
Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt: 1
Kickoff time
Noon: 1
12:30: 1
7:30: 1
Also
• For this Helmet Stripe Game, fans are asked to wear gray in most of Ohio Stadium but not all of the Shoe. In the south end zone sections, these are the color requests:
— Scarlet: Sections 37-39
— White: Sections 33-36
— Black: Sections 31-32
• It’s also faculty and staff appreciation day. Plus, all OSU athletes will be recognized during the game.
• Ohio State is 7-0 against MAC teams under Ryan Day, scoring 59 points per game and winning by an average of 51.7 points.
• Kent State’s Da’Realyst Clark was one of five players in the nation to return two kickoffs for touchdowns last season. This year he has returned four kicks for an 18.3 yard average, with a long of 22 yards.
Love the Batman and Robin analogy. Interested to see who steps up!