Ohio State On This Date: Buckeyes Expected to Remain Undefeated on Aug. 31

Playing in August is a relatively rare experience for Ohio State football. Because the Buckeyes have played only 12 times before the start of September, the season's first edition of Ohio State On This Date will be a tad leaner than what you have come to expect from this series. The Buckeyes have played three times on Aug. 31 and all of those games have been within the last 11 years. 

Like today, Ohio State’s last game on Aug. 31 featured a transfer quarterback making his debut for the scarlet and gray. Five years ago, Justin Fields lived up to the hype as the former Georgia player accounted for the Buckeyes' first four touchdowns of the game.

Against Lane Kiffin's Florida Atlantic squad, Fields started strong. He had a 51-yard touchdown run and threw touchdown passes of 25-plus yards to Jeremy Ruckert, Binjimen Victor and Chris Olave during Ohio State's first four possessions of the contest. Ohio State led 28-3 at the break.

Jeff Hafley's defense was stifling. The unit forced the Owls to punt on its first eight possessions including three-and-outs on FAU's first four drives. Although points were conceded, Ohio State's defense held Kiffin's team to 22 yards rushing and a total of 228 yards in the Buckeyes' 45-21 victory.

A key contributor to Ohio State's success on defense was a talented defensive end who stood out to the Owls' head coach. Chase Young, who went on to earn win multiple national defensive player of the year awards that season and became the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, was a constant threat and recorded 1.5 sacks in the season opener.

“Guy's a great player and will change your whole game plan like a Myles Garrett does,” Kiffin said after the game. “We saw it happen. I can see why they talk about him being the first pick in the draft. The guy's a special player, and he really changed the first half by himself.”

In his first start as Ohio State's quarterback, Fields finished the day completing 18 of 25 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 61 yards and a score. The dynamic quarterback displayed his toolbox as he carved up Florida Atlantic's defense with his arm and legs. J.K. Dobbins had a game-high 91 yards rushing and Olave had a team-high 68 yards receiving. 

J.K. All Day

With Mike Weber unavailable due to a hamstring injury, J.K. Dobbins started his first career game as a Buckeye in the 2017 season opener against Indiana. The talented back from La Grange, Texas, became the first true freshman Buckeye running back to start an opener since Maurice Clarett did it against Texas Tech in 2002.

On this rare Thursday night game, Dobbins took advantage of the early playing time in Bloomington. He finished the night with 29 carries for 181 rushing yards, the most ever in an Ohio State debut for a true freshman, besting Clarett's 175-yard performance against the Red Raiders 15 years prior.

Dobbins had extra incentive to run hard as his hometown had been flooded from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey earlier in the week.

“I thought of it as motivation for me because I'm probably the only positive thing going on my town right now,” Dobbins said after the game.

To date, Ohio State has had only seven true freshmen start the first game of the season in the modern era: Art Schlichter (1978), Orlando Pace (1995), Andy Katzenmoyer (1996), Clarett (2002), Michael Jordan (2016), Dobbins (2017) and Denzel Burke (2021). Jeremiah Smith is expected to join the list later today.

Mack Attack

On this date in 2013, Khalil Mack and the Buffalo Bulls put a little scare into Urban Meyer's second Ohio State squad. The future top-five NFL draft pick had some hype entering the game and solidified his superstar abilities with his play against the Buckeyes. But Mack's hype train didn't get rolling until after the first quarter.

Ohio State scored quickly and jumped out to a 23-0 lead in the first quarter. Following the first two touchdowns of the game, Meyer implemented a play he called “magic,” and the Buckeyes converted both two-point conversions. Braxton Miller started the game by completing 12 of his first 14 passes with two touchdowns, but that's when Mack took over. 

The future NFL Defensive Player of the Year disrupted Ohio State's backfield and harassed Miller. Mack finished the game with 2.5 sacks, a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown and nine tackles. He also forced a fumble that he recovered on the Buckeyes' 1-yard line, but the play was nullified due to a defensive hands-to-the-face penalty. Had the play stood, the outcome of the game could have been drastically different.

Meyer was impressed with Mack.

“They've got a kid that kicked our tails, that outside linebacker,” Meyer said after the game. “He had a couple of sacks, pressures. I know he beat guys that I expect to play very well on our offensive line.”

In the end, Ohio State was too much for the Bulls as the Buckeyes held on to win 40-20. Jordan Hall rushed for 159 yards on 21 carries and 2 touchdowns. It was the first time Hall eclipsed 150 rushing yards in a game and the first time he rushed for two touchdowns for the Buckeyes.

Stat Superlatives

Five Fun Facts

1. Ohio State's last loss in August was to Miami on Aug. 29, 1999. 
2. Since the loss to the Hurricanes, the Buckeyes have won seven consecutive games played in August.
3. Ohio State’s 2013 game against Buffalo was its first-ever game against the Bulls. The Buckeyes are scheduled to host Buffalo again on Sept. 2, 2028.
4. The last time the Buckeyes scored a 2-point conversion was against Indiana on 8/31/2017, and the last time Ohio State scored on two 2-point conversions in a game was against Buffalo on 8/31/2013.
5. The Buckeyes have only allowed seven first-quarter points in three games played on this date.