Ohio State’s spring football game involves a scrimmage between its offense and defense.

Following a script from previous years, the Buckeyes will sort the two sides of the ball into respective teams. Offense is to be the Scarlet team and defense the Gray team.

Here’s the scoring system that will be in effect to determine a winner and other notes on the format:

What are the scoring rules for the Ohio State spring game?

Traditional scoring will be used for the offense, including six points for a touchdown and three points for a field goal.

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The defense will receive six points for a touchdown, three points for a turnover, three points for a three-and-out, two points for a sack and one point for a punt.

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Is there tackling in the Ohio State scrimmage?

The opening series that pit the first-string offense against the first-string defense will be only “thud” tackling in which defenders do not bring ball carries to the ground.

As the Buckeyes begin rotating less experienced reserves and underclassmen, they are expected to transition to full contact, as coach Ryan Day said earlier this week.

How long does the Ohio State spring game last?

The Buckeyes’ spring game has run around two hours in recent years.

Each of the first three quarters includes between 12 and 15 minutes of play clock. The fourth quarter will be 10 minutes with a running clock.

Ohio State spring game recent winners

Offense has prevailed in the spring game in two out of the past three years, including a 34-33 victory last April.

The exception was in 2023 when defense won, 40-31.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at[email protected] and follow along onBluesky,Instagram andX for more.

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