It wasn’t Ohio State Football best performance, but returning to Columbus with a 23-3 win over Indiana is better than the alternative.
There was plenty of good and bad for the Buckeyes, and now that we have had a chance to digest what happened in Bloomington, Indiana, I still had plenty of thoughts running my mind.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsThe majority of those thoughts revolve around the offense, and rightfully so, for one that has averaged over 40 points per game the last few years. Find out below what has continued to stick out in my mind about Ohio State’s win over Indiana to start the season.
McCord grew even if it wasn’t seen in the box score
OSU QBs first starts….
McCord: 20 of 33 61% for 239 yards
Stroud: 13 of 22 59% for 294 yards
Fields: 18 of 25 for 72% for 234 yards
Haskins: 22 of 30 73% for 313 yards
Barrett: 12 of 15 80% for 226 yards
Miller: 8 of 12 66% for 130 yards
— Jeremiah (@SYRmotsag) September 3, 2023
Thoughts
Yeah, the box score didn’t do Kyle McCord any justice. What we needed to see was growth, and we got that in the second half. His interception was silly. He could have made a similar choice in the second half, but opted to target a receiver who wasn’t trailing behind him. If Marvin Harrison Jr. doesn’t step out of bounds, there’s a touchdown.
It wasn’t the best day for McCord, but it wasn’t the worst. There is room to grow. He has the arm strength and just needs more reps. Working on his touch would help tremendously, and I saw improvements in the second half there as well. I believe this offense will get to where we all expect it to with McCord behind the controls.
Mind you that the stat above is misleading. Multiple people thought this was McCord’s first start. In fact, he started against Akron in 2021 when C.J. Stroud was out with an injury. He threw for 319 yards with two touchdowns in that game.
Quarterback going forward
Ryan Day talks on the current Quarterback situation. Day plans on playing Quarterback Devin Brown in the future.
"We got to make sure we are doing what is right for the team, what's right for Ohio State." pic.twitter.com/rPbGxhuGc8
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) September 3, 2023
Thoughts
Day mentioned he wanted Devin Brown to play more, but the game didn’t dictate it. I think he made it very clear who the best quarterback on this team is. There are people clamoring for Brown, or even true freshman Lincoln Kienholz, but I trust Day. His history of elite quarterback play is exactly that, elite. I have full faith that the coaching staff will figure this out, whoever ends up as the starter.
Apologies to Stover
𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲: @cstov8 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/BtVo5VUs4h
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 3, 2023
Thoughts
I completely missed giving tight end Cade Stover a Buckeye Leaf after the game, but he deserved one. His receiving numbers were impressive and gave McCord another target when he couldn’t find his receivers. Stover has to do a better job of blocking after he was called for a holding and missed a few assignments. He’s got to clean that up but we’ve seen him be stellar before there.
Need more of Chip
Whew. This was a nice jump cut by Chip Trayanum pic.twitter.com/jzayXWIylf
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) September 2, 2023
Thoughts
The best running back on the day for the Buckeyes was Chip Trayanum, but he only carried the ball eight times. I get giving the ball to TreVeyon Henderson, but feed the hot hand. This unit is deep and there are only so many carries to go around, but if one player is ripping off over seven yards a touch, give him the rock.
Offensive line was average at best
𝐏𝐅𝐅 𝐎𝐡𝐢𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐎𝐋 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬
Carson Hinzman 76.6
Josh Fryar 69.6
Matthew Jones 62.5
Josh Simmons 60.6
Donovan Jackson 53.4— jbook™ (@jbook37) September 3, 2023
Thoughts
During the game, our chat was clearly revolving around the offense and Mark Russell mentioned the line wasn’t playing well. For me it was a mixed bag. There were times where running lanes were there, and it gave McCord time. We knew heading into the season that this group was going to be a work in progress and that’s exactly what they are. They need to find the right mix and have time to gel as a unit before traveling to South Bend.
Vanilla play calling
I've seen enough of this conservative Ryan Day play calling
— CleBuckeye (@CleBuckeye23) September 2, 2023
Thoughts
Following the game, head coach Day admitted to wanting to do “what’s right for the team.” Calling a bland game wasn’t the way to help this team. Like last year, it was obvious when the Buckeyes would run, and would pass. There is minimal pre-snap movement, they are playing straight up and right now the Buckeyes aren’t beating their opponents.
During his media session, he didn’t seem too happy how he went about calling plays with Brian Hartline. Day didn’t come out and say it, but it seems like having both of them on the field might not be the best idea. Moving Hartline to the box and bringing offensive line coach, Justin Frye, down to the field would be something I’d experiment with.
The Silver Bullets are trending to being back
"It's okay for me to be excited about great defense and I thought our defense played really well."
Ohio State held Indiana to 3 points and 153 yards total in their 23-3 win over the Hoosiers #Buckeyes
More from Ryan Day postgame⬇️ pic.twitter.com/UNPVlTxn15
— Kellyanne Stitts (@KellyanneStitts) September 3, 2023
Thoughts
It was just one game, but this unit was phenomenal. The defense allowed 153 yards (82 passing), and stopped the Hoosiers 11 out of 15 times on third down. They were flying to the ball, didn’t commit too many costly penalties and allowed just 3 points. The only knock was not getting to the quarterback enough, but Indiana’s game plan was to run first, and pass when necessary. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is off to a great start in 2023.
Freshman
True freshman Malik Hartford played 23 snaps yesterday. The most of any true freshman on Saturday and the most snaps among the second group of safeties.
Thought he had a good day, too. Tallied one tackle and one pass breakup in his debut.
— Cameron Teague (@cj_teague) September 3, 2023
Thoughts
Safety Malik Hartford received plenty of run late in the game, and he was flying all over the field. Wide receiver Carnell Tate caught one of his targeted passes, although he should have grabbed the other one that went his way. With the line struggling, it would have been nice to see offensive tackle Luke Montgomery getting a little more run, but we’ll see how that all works going forward.
Tressel ball
Thoughts
As I mentioned in my five-stars postgame article, this looked like a classic Jim Tressel win. The defense was stout, the offense did enough and special teams was solid and didn’t make mistakes. Can you win every game with this mix? Sure you can, but this was Game 1 and we are bound to see improvement.
Going forward
The best thing about being 1-0…
— Urban Meyer (@CoachUrbanMeyer) September 2, 2023
Thoughts
Starting the season with a conference foe isn’t easy, and breaking in a new starting quarterback wasn’t going to make it any easier. Let’s not forget, Ohio State started the 2023 season 1-0 with a Big Ten win. Notre Dame wasn’t pretty last year, but it was a 21-10 win that resulted in a College Football Playoff berth. Minnesota the year before was the same, and a Rose Bowl win capped 2021. Winning isn’t easy, like Urban Meyer said, the best thing about going 1-0 is getting a chance to go 2-0.
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