Ohio State Football might look a little bit different this year, but it’s winning ways continued in the season opening contest against Indiana.
A 23-3 score won’t inspire anyone to have the Buckeye contending for a national championship, but luckily for us, those aren’t being handed out after the first week of college football. That’s a big sigh of relief, isn’t it?
Buy Buckeyes TicketsOhio State had some good performances, as well as some bad moments Saturday afternoon, and this will help highlight those. Below you will find my 5-star performer (the best), and 1-star performer (the worst) in Saturday’s win over Indiana on the road to start the season.
5 ⭐️ - The secondary
What Matters
This was really the only group that played at a national championship caliber level against Indiana. The defense allowed just 58 yards while the Hoosiers attempted 21 passes. It had just one pass interference penalty called on it and that wasn’t because davison igbinosun didn’t look back, he was just a bit early to break up a pass. Aggressive mistakes like that are fine in my book. Lathan Ransom also had a roughing call, but look above for my feeling on that. This could be the beginning for BIA’s (Best in America) return.
4 ⭐️ - Running backs
Why it Matters
The running backs were one step behind the secondary for one simple reason, the inability to find holes on short yardage situations. This could also be an offensive line issue, but we won’t talk about that. The trio of Chip Trayanum, Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson did a very solid job against a stouter than expected Indiana front. Th group carried the load when the offense was sputtering, with Williams accounting for both touchdowns by the offense.
3 ⭐️ - Tight end Cade Stover
Why it Matters
If not for a costly holding penalty, the senior would have been much higher on this list. He showed that he could be a receiving force, catching five passes for 98 yards. His blocking has always been solid so it was disappointing to see his get called for the infraction. Stover didn’t find the end zone but was a great safety blanket for the player below …
2 ⭐️ - Quarterback Kyle McCord
Why it Matters
After a run of first round NFL quarterbacks, maybe we have gotten spoiled. I have no doubt that head coach Ryan Day will make this work, but there is plenty of improvement that McCord can make in his overall game. He was late on throws or just didn’t make them — maybe he was processing the defense a bit slow too. Indiana did try and disguise looks, and for a quarterback with minimal experience, that’s a solid strategy. The touch wasn’t there on a few throws, the deep ball and one into the flat come to mind. The good part is that there is room for growth, but McCord will have to do that quickly with Notre Dame looming in a few weeks.
⭐️ - Offensive play calling
Why
This didn’t look like a typical Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes played close to the vest and it was like the they were having a tribute to former head coach Jim Tressel, not like the one that happened up north. This was eerily similar to a win in his tenure, but Day has shown that his offense is better than that. There were only a few deep shots all afternoon, while running on predictable downs, especially on third, kept this offense from really exploding.
Speaking of third downs, the inability to convert there hurt the bottom line as well, and I questioned some of those play calls. We all knew that Day turning the keys over to offensive coordinator Brian Hartline would be a transition, but not one this ugly, no matter who was making the calls on the sideline.
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