The Ohio State football team made it 48 consecutive victories over in-state opponents after defeating the Youngstown State University by a score of 35-7 in a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Columbus.
Both offenses started hot, scoring touchdowns on their first drives, but it would be all Buckeyes after that as Ohio State scored 28 unanswered points. Once again, both quarterbacks played for the Buckeyes with redshirt freshman Devin Brown getting more of an opportunity than he did in week one against Indiana.
However, it was redshirt sophomore Kyle McCord who stole the show and more than likely solidified himself as QB1 for Ryan Day moving forward.
Youngstown State didn’t play scared and at times didn’t look overmatched. But at the end of the day, Ohio State just had too much depth and was too athletic for the Penguins to keep up.
Before Ohio State turns the page to focus on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, let’s take a look at the three takeaways from today’s win for the Buckeyes.
1. Kyle McCord is the starting quarterback
If there was any doubt about who the starting quarterback should be moving forward between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown, those questions were answered emphatically by McCord. He began the day hitting Marvin Harrison Jr. on a 71-yard bomb for the first score of the afternoon to put the Buckeyes up and get the 102,000 plus in attendance on their feet.
That wouldn’t be their only connection on the day as the former high school teammates rekindled their chemistry with one another. Last week, McCord found it difficult to find his top target, who finished that opening game in Bloomington, Indiana with only two catches for 18 yards. Two drives later near the end of the opening quarter, McCord found Harrison Jr. again, this time backpedaling into the back of the end zone as he caught his second touchdown falling down.
McCord finished the game 14-of-20 passing for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State’s other top receiver, also had a much better performance after a lackluster opening game, catching five passes for 94 yards and a score.
McCord looked more comfortable in the pocket and found himself getting in rhythm with his main targets. When Brown was in, the offense appeared clunky and discombobulated at times. At this point, it is pretty obvious that McCord is the starting quarterback moving forward, thus ending the QB competition in Columbus.
2. Gene Smith completely ignored Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel is one of two remaining head coaches at Ohio State who has won a national championship. The others, Jim Brown and Woody Hayes, passed away years ago.
While Urban Meyer has returned to FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff, Tressel has been enjoying retirement since February of this year after serving as President of Youngstown State. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Ohio State’s athletic director Gene Smith to do something special for Tressel who is beloved by both programs.
Tressel won four Division I AA national championships while coaching at Youngstown State. He then came to Columbus and did the same for the Buckeyes in 2002, being the first to do so since Hayes. It is true that Tressel’s tenure at Ohio State ended after being investigated by the NCAA, resulting in a five-year ban. Tressel was accused of withholding information from investigators. The same claim the NCAA has placed on Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.
In today’s game, Tressel would have received a slap on the wrist and a stern talking-to. For some odd reason, Smith avoids Tressel.
Tressel was at the skull session before the game, which is a giant pep rally for the Ohio State Marching Band, known worldwide as The Best Da*n Band In The Land (TBDBITL). He was recognized by the PA announcer before the band arrived, in which those in attendance at St. John’s Arena exploded in applause.
After that moment, it was like Tressel, who was known for his sweater vests when he was coaching, wasn’t even at the game. No special recognition was given to him during the game at all.
He could have been asked to dot the “I” in script Ohio, which is one of the most iconic traditions in college football. In fact, only two former head coaches have ever received that honor, the first being Hayes, and the other being Earle Bruce. Tressel deserves that honor. His name should also be added to the ring of honor. Both Brown and Hayes have their names hanging on the façade, where is Tressel’s?
Tressel wore a special sweater vest for the game, with both the Ohio State and Youngstown State logos, but outside of a couple of interviews he gave media outlets, and the quick recognition at the skull session, he was once again ignored by Smith.
At this point, one has to wonder why Smith can’t swallow his pride and recognize the fact that the fanbase who pays for him and his athletic department loves Tressel and wants to see him be recognized beyond coming back for reunion celebrations with the 2002 National Championship team.
3. Ohio State’s offensive line took a step forward
One of the question marks heading into the season was the offensive line. Replacing three starters, all of whom were drafted in the 2023 NFL draft, was going to be key for Day and his offensive coaching staff this season.
Midway through fall camp, Day announced that they flipped Jimmy Simmons and Josh Fryar from one offensive tackle position to the other. Fryar, who was the backup tackle last season, filled in for Dawand Jones at right tackle for one start last year and played well. At left tackle this fall, he looked out of place. Simmons, a transfer from San Diego State, played right tackle last season as well but appeared to be the more athletic of the two, so he was given the opportunity to start at left.
Last week didn’t look so good. The offensive line had trouble picking up the blitz, and when on several key third and fourth down attempts, whiffed on their blocks completely. It was a different story today. The line is beginning to gel and seems to be communicating better. It helped that Day called a more aggressive game throwing the deep ball early, which opened up running lanes for the offense. The Buckeyes had six different ball carriers who ran 27 times for 123 yards. Starting back TreVeyon Henderson led the way with two rushing touchdowns.
If Ohio State plans on winning in South Bend in two weeks, this offensive line is going to need to take another step forward. The Buckeyes have had one of the better offenses in college football under Day’s leadership, but this season it feels like they have taken a major step backward.
Whenever you replace three NFL talents on the line and a starting quarterback who was the second pick in the draft, it’s going to look and feel different. But there are still plenty of weapons on offense, starting with Harrison Jr. and Egbuka. If McCord has enough time to get them the football, then there isn’t a team in college football that the Buckeyes can’t hang with.