Ohio State football spring game schedule: How to watch Buckeyes scrimmage

For all the spring games that take place across college football, arguably no other is more well attended than the annual event Ohio State holds in Columbus.

The perennial Big Ten favorites enter Year 4 under head coach Ryan Day and coming off a somewhat disappointing season that included losses to Oregon and rival Michigan, but ended with an exciting Rose Bowl win over Pac-12 champion Utah.

For the first time under Day, the Buckeyes are not defending Big Ten champions, but will be in the thick of the conference race again for the 2022 season.

And from there, are contenders to make the College Football Playoff.

First things first: the initial date on the Ohio State football calendar is this year's spring game. Here's how you can watch the game, and what to pay attention to this spring.

Ohio State football spring game schedule

Date: Saturday, April 16

Time: 12 p.m. Eastern

Where: Ohio Stadium; Columbus, Ohio

TV network: Big Ten Network

Streaming: fuboTV

This season's Scarlet and Gray scrimmage will be available for free on the Big Ten Network, which will carry the entire event from Columbus. Those interesting in streaming the game can do so on fuboTV.

Ohio State spring game format

Head coach Ryan Day announced this year's scrimmage will feature the Buckeyes' offense against the Buckeyes' defense. The game will have clock stoppage during the first three quarters, but will have a running clock for the fourth quarter.

What to watch during Ohio State's spring game

1. Solidifying the QB situation

USA Today Images

Ohio State lost two quarterbacks to the transfer portal this offseason. Five-star prospect Quinn Ewers, the consensus No. 1 player in his class, left for his native Texas, and Jack Miller departed for Florida. But those losses shouldn't exactly hurt the Buckeyes' situation under center.

CJ Stroud, a 4,000-plus yard passer and Heisman Trophy finalist a year ago, is back to repeat his exploits for a second season. But the Buckeyes want a closer look at his presumptive backup, a former 5-star recruit in Kyle McCord.

McCord played in five games last season for Ohio State, going 25 of 38 passing (65.8 percent) with 416 yards passing, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Keep an eye on freshman Devin Brown, a four-star prospect standing at 6-3 and 196 pounds who will challenge McCord for the No. 2 gig and can be a starter in future.

2. How this defense has improved

For how great Ohio State looked on offense a year, posting the No. 1 overall unit nationally, its defensive unit notably cost the team in statement losses early to Oregon and in the finale at Michigan, allowing almost 500 yards in both matchups.

In particular, the Buckeyes suffered against the rush, allowing more than 200 ground yards from opponents in four games last fall. Enter Jim Knowles.

Oklahoma State's defensive coordinator last year, Knowles coached a Cowboys unit that placed No. 3 overall and led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss.

Former Cowboy safety Tanner McCallister came over with Knowles, a huge on-field presence who can help translate the coach's scheme to his teammates. And expect the secondary to be active, as Knowles installs what he terms a "safety-driven" approach with five DBs on the field at the same time.

3. Who replaces OSU's receivers?

Losing the likes of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave to the NFL is enough for almost any program to suffer a decline at the receiver position. But the Buckeyes have prepared for this situation and recruited aggressively at the position.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba figures to lead this group, and already had a great outing in a preview of what's to come by breaking college football records for receiving in the Rose Bowl performance. In total last season, he had nine scores off 1,606 yards, bringing huge potential to the position.

Behind him is a room of equally great options, including Marvin Harrison, Jr. (son of the Pro Football Hall of Famer), and a pair of former 5-star prospects in junior Julian Fleming and sophomore Emeka Egbuka who will battle for snaps.

Paying tribute to Dwayne Haskins

Ohio State will take time at this year's spring game to remember and mourn one of its own. Dwayne Haskins, OSU's quarterback on the 2018 team, died after being struck by a vehicle in Florida at the age of 24.

The school will conduct a moment of silence before kicking off the spring game and show a tribute video to Haskins at the end of the first half.

Haskins was at Ohio State for three seasons, but played most of his career with the Buckeyes during a record-breaking 2018 campaign. He went 13-1 as starter, completing 70.1 percent of his passes for 4,831 yards with 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions, leading OSU to a Rose Bowl win over Washington.

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