COLUMBUS, Ohio — As quarterback debuts go, Kyle McCord's for Ohio State on Saturday was blissfully routine.
It helps to have a talented supporting cast, a defense that played as if it had something to prove, and, oh yeah, an overmatched opponent.
Akron scored first but then provided no resistance as the No. 10 Buckeyes routed the Zips, 59-7, in front of 95,178 at Ohio Stadium.
A lopsided victory over a 48-point underdog may have been routine, but the game might be remembered for a bizarre incident in the second quarter. Senior linebacker K'Vaughan Pope was escorted to the locker room by an Ohio State official after he had an argument on the OSU sideline. He then tweeted a profane comment about Ohio State at halftime. Pope had been expected to compete for significant playing time this year but had been used sparingly.
Other than that little saga, the game went mostly as expected.
McCord, a five-star true freshman, got the nod over redshirt freshman Jack Miller to start in place of C.J. Stroud, who's nursing a sore shoulder. After a slow start, McCord found his groove. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception, in 2½ quarters of action.
Miller replaced McCord midway through the third quarter and directed the Buckeyes on two touchdown drives. Miller completed 5 of 8 passes for 66 yards.
Asked about the play of McCord and Miller, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said, "A lot of young mistakes out there. I thought Jack came in and gave us a little energy. They had some good snaps, but there's a lot to learn from."
True freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson, who last week broke Archie Griffin's freshman rushing record with 277 yards, ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, all in the first half.
The defense did the rest for the Buckeyes (3-1) It allowed a 55-yard touchdown drive on Akron's first possession and only 56 yards the rest of the half against the Zips (1-3). Ohio State's pass rush, which has been a disappointment this season, had nine sacks despite missing several defensive linemen. Defensive tackle Haskell Garrett had three sacks.
Akron's lead was brief. McCord's first completion was a shovel pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 22 yards, and Henderson then weaved 35 yards to set up another shovel pass, this one to Chris Olave, for a five-yard touchdown. Olave had been held without a catch last week against Tulsa.
Garrett Wilson turned a wide receiver screen into a 57-yard gain to set up a three-yard Henderson touchdown run to give Ohio State the lead with 11 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Buckeyes poured it on in the second quarter. McCord threw to Smith-Njigba for a 34-yard touchdown, and linebacker Cody Simon intercepted Akron quarterback DJ Irons to set up Henderson's second score on a 14-yard carry to make it 28-7.
Safety Ronnie Hickman then got the Buckeyes' first pick-6 of the season when plucked a pass bobbled by Tristian Brank and ran 46 yards for a touchdown. Ohio State's final score of the half came on a 32-yard field goal by Noah Ruggles set up by a 39-yard completion to Garrett Wilson to make it 38-7.
Ohio State outgained Akron 324-111 in the first half and 622-229 for the game.
McCord threw an interception on Ohio State's first drive of the third quarter, an overthrown sidearmed pass after he was pressured in the pocket. But he rebounded with the game's biggest gain. He threw to fellow freshman Emeka Egbuka for an 85-yard completion to set up a 2-yard touchdown by Master Teague III.
