The 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Ryan Day and played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It was the Buckeyes' 135th season overall and 112th as a member of the Big Ten.
As the favorites to win the Big Ten, Ohio State started the season 5âÂÂ0 before falling 32âÂÂ31 to No. 3 Oregon on the road at Autzen Stadium. Subsequent to the loss, the team won its next five, including one on the road against No. 3 Penn State and one at home against No. 5 Indiana. However, an upset home loss to unranked Michigan, a fourth consecutive loss in the rivalry, knocked them out of the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State still qualified for the 2024âÂÂ25 College Football Playoff and was selected as the No. 8 seed. They defeated No. 9 seed Tennessee in the first round, 42âÂÂ17, and avenged their regular season loss against No. 1 seed Oregon, defeating them 41âÂÂ21 in the Rose Bowl. They subsequently defeated No. 5 seed Texas 28âÂÂ14 in the Cotton Bowl Classic to advance to the CFP National Championship, where they defeated No. 7 seed Notre Dame 34âÂÂ23, claiming their first national championship since the 2014 season. The Buckeyes were the first 12-team College Football Playoff champion (winning four playoff games), the first team since the 2007 LSU Tigers to win a national championship with two losses on the season, the first team to win the national championship without winning their respective conference championship game since the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs and the lowest-seeded team in college football history to win a championship.
A record-breaking attendance of 936,550 was recorded at home games in the 2024 season, including the December playoff victory over Tennessee.
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The Buckeyes lost 26 players to the transfer portal.
The Buckeyes added 10 players from the transfer portal.
I was there
On August 31, Ohio State opened their season by hosting the in-state Akron Zips from the MAC. Ohio State looked to continue their 108-year winning streak over in-state opponents. Two weeks before the game, Ryan Day named Kansas State transfer Will Howard Ohio State's starting quarterback for the 2024 season. Ohio State's injuries for the game included starting linebacker Cody Simon and left guard Donovan Jackson.
Ohio State got the ball first and went three-and-out after highly touted freshman Jeremiah Smith dropped his first career target, followed by a false start penalty and an incompletion. On Akron's first play, Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun was nearly ejected for targeting after a late hit on sliding Akron quarterback Ben Finley, but it was overturned upon review. Backup quarterback Tahj Bullock would enter the game and lead the Zips down the field; they would take a 3âÂÂ0 lead after a 48-yard field goal by Garrison Smith. Jeremiah Smith would make his first career catch on the next drive, an 11-yard reception to convert third-and-10. He would catch his first career touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Howard later in the drive, which gave Ohio State a 7âÂÂ3 lead. A sack on second down by Buckeye linebacker C. J. Hicks would cause Akron's next drive to stall. Ohio State then drove down to the Akron 25, but turned it over on downs after an incompletion from Howard to Emeka Egbuka. Two plays later, Ohio State would get the ball back after an interception of Finley by Denzel Burke. The Buckeyes would cash in the short field with a 40âÂÂyard field goal by Jayden Fielding to increase their lead to 10âÂÂ3. Akron went three-and-out again on their next drive after a third-down sack of Finley by JT Tuimoloau. Ohio State would subsequently orchestrate another touchdown drive, with Howard completing a 16-yard pass to Carnell Tate to convert third-and-8 before throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass to Smith to extend the lead to 17âÂÂ3. Akron's next drive reached Ohio State territory, but stalled out at the 34 after Finley ran out of bounds on fourth-and-5. The half ended with Ohio State holding a 17âÂÂ3 lead.
Akron held the ball for over six minutes of game clock on their first drive of the second half, but eventually punted. On Ohio State's second play of their next drive, Howard connected with Smith on a 45-yard deep pass, before Quinshon Judkins plunged in for a 2-yard touchdown run, his first as a Buckeye, extending Ohio State's lead to 24âÂÂ3. On Akron's next drive, junior Caden Curry forced a Bullock fumble on a hit from behind, which was recovered by safety Lathan Ransom and returned for a touchdown, giving Ohio State a 31âÂÂ3 lead. Akron's next drive was successful, getting inside the Ohio State 30 before Smith hit his second field goal of the day, this one a 49-yarder to trim the deficit to 31âÂÂ6. Ohio State scored another touchdown on their next drive via a 4-yard run by James Peoples, extending their lead to 38âÂÂ6. After forcing another punt, the Buckeyes would score again on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Tate, increasing the lead to 45âÂÂ6. After a trade of punts, Ohio State would score for the final time on a pick-six by junior linebacker Gabe Powers, placing the final score at 52âÂÂ6.
This game marked the first time a Buckeyes game would air on ABC since 2022.
<small>Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FR: Fumbles Recovered, FF: Forced Fumbles, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties</small>
Sources: Sports Illustrated, CBS, The Athletic, Associated Press
On Saturday, August 17, a statue of Archie Griffin was revealed at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. On Friday, August 30, a statue of Archie Griffin was unveiled at Ohio Stadium. During the halftime show on Saturday, August 31, Archie Griffin dotted the "i".