No. 3 Ohio State captured a 23–3 victory over Indiana in Bloomington on Saturday to kick off its season, but it was an uncharacteristically flat performance for Ryan Day’s Buckeyes.
Ohio State led just 10–3 at the half and struggled to move the ball offensively, especially on the ground. Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson, the Buckeyes’ two primary ball-carriers, rushed the ball 19 times for 72 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came from Williams.
Junior quarterback Kyle McCord made his first start at Ohio State, taking over for C.J. Stroud, who left school for the NFL after last season. McCord threw for 239 yards and an interception. All-American wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. pulled in a touchdown pass from McCord that was negated due to an illegal touching call, and thus finished with just two catches for 18 yards.
Despite the sluggish performance, Indiana failed to defeat Ohio State once again, and is winless in the season series dating back to 1988.
After the uncharacteristically poor play offensively, Ohio State is likely to slide in the AP poll heading into Week 2. The start to the year has Buckeyes fans seriously concerned. Here are some of the best reactions from social media following the win over the Hoosiers.
Ohio State wideouts in Ryan Day’s offense pic.twitter.com/viITt25bV0
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) September 2, 2023
Ohio State looks…rough pic.twitter.com/nnndsbpvRa
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) September 2, 2023
Hot take: Ohio State does not beat Notre Dame in South Bend in a few weeks
— Alex Ansted (@AlexAnstedCFB) September 2, 2023
🚨MELTDOWN ALERT🚨#OhioState is only up 7-3 in the second quarter. #MeltdownAlert pic.twitter.com/JpFZaaCpih
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) September 2, 2023
Beginning to see why it was so tough for Ohio State to make a decision at quarterback.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) September 2, 2023
On the bright side, Ohio State's defense has looked great.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 2, 2023
