COLUMBUS — No. 2 Ohio State didn’t come out firing on all cylinders but eventually found its stride, cruising to a 52-6 win over Akron to kick off a 2024 season full of lofty expectations.

True freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith quickly announced his arrival as one of college football’s budding superstars, leading all Buckeye receivers with six catches for 92 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career.

Will Howard, also making his first start at Ohio State, tossed three touchdowns, including the pair to Smith, while completing 17 of his 28 attempts for 228 yards.

Ohio State’s running back tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for 120 yards on 21 carries to lead the rushing attack.

While Ohio State’s offense took time to find its footing, its defense was dominant from start to finish, holding the Zips to just six points and 177 total yards. Akron went into halftime with negative rushing yards thanks in part to three first-half sacks. The Buckeyes finished with five sacks for the game.

Akron got on the board first with a 49-yard field goal from Garrison Smith to give the Zips an early 3-0 lead, but it didn’t take long for Ohio State to respond. After catching the first pass of his career on third down to sustain the drive, Smith added the first of many touchdowns late in the first quarter.

On third down at the Akron 16, Howard delivered a perfect throw to Smith on an end zone fade. Smith hauled in the pass while keeping his feet inbounds, giving Ohio State a 7-3 lead.

“If he’s pressed (in coverage) and it’s one-on-one, put it up and he’ll make the play. And that’s exactly what he did,” Howard said of the play by Smith to haul in the touchdown pass. “I just saw he was pressed, so I just put it over the top, and he actually made a little adjustment and came back to it.”

Howard added, ”That’s all I can do is give him a chance and he’s going to do the rest. You guys saw that today.”

And Smith was just getting started in his debut.

After Ohio State added a 40-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding early in the second quarter, Howard again connected with Smith, this time on a slant from nine yards out to increase the Buckeyes’ lead to 17-3 heading into halftime.

“Our chemistry is really good right now,” Smith said after the game of his connection with Howard. “That’s just something we’ve built in practice and will continue to build on. It’s going to get even better for sure.”

Ohio State outgained Akron 203 to 83 in total yards in the first half, including limiting the Zips to -2 rushing yards.

Judkins’ 2-yard touchdown run, his first as a Buckeye, upped the lead to 24-3 midway through the third quarter as Ohio State began to find separation. The touchdown was set up by a 45-yard completion from Howard to Smith that ended just short of the goal line and Smith’s third score of the day.

The Ohio State defense got in on the scoring fun on the ensuing possession to blow the game wide open. On second down from the Akron 25, quarterback Tahj Bullock was hit by Caden Curry and lost the ball. Lathan Ransom scooped up the fumble and raced 27 yards to the end zone for the defensive touchdown, giving Ohio State a 31-3 lead midway through the third quarter.

Touchdowns in the second half by freshman running back James Peoples, the first of his career, and Carnell Tate added to the Ohio State lead as the Buckeyes cruised to the win. Buckeye linebacker Gabe Powers rounded out the scoring late in the fourth quarter with his first interception of his career, which he subsequently returned for the first touchdown of his college career.

After the game, Day said he thought his offense was tight to begin the game but began to find its success as it loosened up.

“That’s the way we need to play,” he said. “I thought we were a little uptight early on, and we can’t play like that. We have to come out of the gates playing loose. But I get it, and we’re going to get on the film and go from there. But for a lot of these guys, it was their first start (at Ohio State), and it was also good to see some younger guys get in there and play towards the end…”

Ohio State returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Western Michigan. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be aired on Big Ten Network.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.