Why Ohio State fans can expect more uninspiring performances like Saturday’s win against Akron – Jimmy Watkins

This column is not defending Ryan Day’s program, which didn’t look like a perennial, talented national title contender Saturday. Nor am I excusing OSU’s well-paid player base, which costs $20 million this year, for its lackluster first half. But I would argue that upset wins like Saturday have always been a staple of college football. And as the sports calendar extends even deeper into winter, we’re bound to see more late-summer slogs.

Reality check: National championships are now a 16-, sometimes 17-game pursuit, and contenders will react accordingly. For all that we might gain from a 12-team College Football Playoff, we will lose the urgency of a week that fans have witnessed for years. One loss – even two – no longer defines a contender’s season. After years of 12-week sprints, the championship carrot hanging over Ohio State’s season now encourages a slower, more deliberate climb toward peak performance.

The Buckeyes also play in an expanded super-conference that includes more built-in benchmark matchups than ever before. As of Saturday morning, OSU’s 2024 conference schedule alone features as many top 10 opponents (three) as the Buckeyes have ever faced in a regular season. If the season goes according to plan, you might see another one in the Big Ten championship game. And any path to a national title includes at least three more high-scoring games.

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In the next three years (2024, 2025, 2026), the Buckeyes scheduled two out-of-conference powers (Texas twice). They are scheduled for home-and-home games with Alabama in 2027 and 2028, but those games were scheduled before the playoffs expanded. The only confirmed opponents from 2029? Charlotte and Nevada.

Call it the unofficial college football preseason. The games still count, but the results are predetermined. The fans are still there, but the profit is suppressed. Expectations remain astronomical, but the pressure to meet them so early has been legislated off the schedule.

Buckle up for a long September. The Buckeyes host Western Michigan next Saturday before a bye week. Then Marshall comes to Columbus. Then first-year coach Jonathan Smith leads Michigan State, which wanted a 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic Friday night against the Buckeyes in East Lansing.

The results feel predetermined. The reaction depends on the context. Namely: How badly has Ohio State blown each overmatched opponent? And in some cases, like Saturday, people won’t know how to react.

Ohio State beat Akron, but didn’t pass the post standard. The Buckeyes still have a lot to prove, but they can’t prove it next week. In fact, in the next month of college football’s long trial, they’ll likely play another game that leaves fans wanting.

Get used to it.