Ohio State opens conference play on the road against Toledo

Week 3 brings a pivotal conference matchup for the Ohio State Club Football team, as the Buckeyes are set to take on divisional foe Toledo.

The game is set to be the home and season opener for the Rockets, who earned a victory by way of forfeit last week against UNC-Greensboro. The matchup will be the fourth in series history, with the Buckeyes sporting a perfect 3-0 mark dating back to the inaugural game in 2021.

Ohio State is coming off of a weather-shortened 7-3 win over Ohio Northern’s JV squad, a game in which the Buckeyes outgained the Polar Bears 181-47 in total offensive yardage. The Rockets open their season with postseason aspirations as they return a plethora of starters with plenty of game experience.

Leading the way for the Rockets offensively is quarterback Brandon Motter, who enters his third year as Toledo’s starting signal caller. In his career, Motter has thrown for 1,935 yards and 22 touchdowns to 11 interceptions with a 49% completion percentage. Excluding forfeits, the Rockets are 6-4 with Motter as their starting quarterback, with two of the losses coming to Ohio State.

Star safety Dane Ornlef patrols the secondary for Toledo and made a name for himself in 2023 in the NCFA. Ornlef was second in the NCFA in interceptions last year, nabbing one against the Buckeyes. He added 14 total tackles from his safety spot and figures to be a staple in the Toledo defense in 2024. Other returning starters include linebackers Brody Szakovits and Dylan Brown and receiver Merced Diaz.

For Ohio State, the ground game has proved to be efficient through six quarters of football. Quarterback Niko Pappas leads the NCFA through two weeks in rushing yards with 144 and a pair of touchdowns to go along with 132 yards passing and a touchdown. Pappas was named the NCFA’s Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against ONU, in which he accounted for 141 yards of total offense in the only half of football that was played. Running back JR Burton joins Pappas as only one of four players in the NCFA to have over 100 rushing yards through two weeks of play, as Burton has tallied 101 yards on 16 carries.

Defensively, Matt Humphreys has led the way for the Buckeyes up front with a pair of sacks and 11 total tackles. Freshman linebacker Ryan Keenan leads Ohio State in total tackles with 14, including a whopping 11 in the first half alone against Ohio Northern. The Buckeyes have collected six sacks in six quarters of play with Trey Jones, Elijah Lowden, Ian Gecse and Tyler Beckman all collecting sacks.

The winner of this matchup will take control of their postseason destiny. The winner will then only need to win its matchup with fellow Great Lakes East foe Wright State to punch its ticket to the Great Lakes Conference title game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Glass Bowl on the campus of Toledo. Admission is $10. The game will also be live-streamed on Campus Nation and BCSN Plus.