Ohio State football: 3 takeaways from win over Western Kentucky
By Eric Boggs
After slipping in the Associated Press Poll two consecutive weeks, the Ohio State football team seemed to have turned the corner offensively on Saturday afternoon against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, winning 63-10 in front of 102,000-plus at Ohio Stadium.
After playing to a 14-10 score, with half of the second quarter remaining, the Ohio State offense woke up, scoring 28 points on 9 plays to finish the first half. They continued their scoring streak into the second half finishing the game on a 49-0 run.
The Ohio State defense was flying all around, and after they figured out the air raid offense a quarter and a half into the game, the Hilltoppers never saw the endzone again.
This was the most dominating complete game that the Buckeyes have played this season. Here are my three takeaways from the game against Western Kentucky:
1. The Ohio State passing game took another step forward
Earlier this week during his Tuesday press conference with the media, Ryan Day announced that Kyle McCord was going to be the starting quarterback moving forward. Whether it was the confidence that came from being named the starter, the extra reps as the starter, or a combination of both, it was clear that the Ohio State passing game took another step forward on Saturday.
Kyle McCord was in sync with his receivers most of Saturday afternoon finishing the game 20 of 24 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns. The passing game looked elite and what Ohio State fans are used to seeing under former quarterback C.J. Stroud. But it wasn’t just the passing game that looked like it was much improved.
The offensive line was not only doing a good job in pass protection but was getting off of the ball in the run game as well. TreVeyon Henderson finished the game Saturday with 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 13 carries while Chip Trayanum once again ran strong with a touchdown and 56 carries on just five touches.
If Ohio State can get this kind of offensive output next week in South Bend, Indiana, they will come away with a big win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.