🗣️ Ryan Day names Kyle McCord as starter for the game Saturday vs. the Hoosiers but both QB's will play.
"Pleased we have two guys confident to play in this game."
📺 ➕ More at https://t.co/96WKm7j1lX pic.twitter.com/JWrb8jzm0i
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) August 29, 2023
Day also said the quarterback job is still up for grabs and that Devin Brown would also play this Saturday in the Buckeyes Big Ten season opener at Indiana.
This move by Day ended months of speculation as to who would replace former All-American quarterback CJ Stroud. Over 27 career games at Ohio State, he threw for 8,123 yards with 85 touchdown passes and a dozen interceptions. Stroud is the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans.
Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Indiana Hoosiers 3:30 pm Eastern Saturday, September 2
BetMGM has the Buckeyes as -29.5 favorites with a 59.5 total, and my best bet is Ohio State -29.5 (-110) at BetMGM Ohio.
There isn’t a question in my mind about Ohio State. They will win this game no matter who plays quarterback on Saturday. But are they 30 points better?
Well, of course, they are, and after two consecutive seasons of disappointment, the Buckeyes, as usual, are loaded on offense, and they will light up the Hoosiers on their field.
Over the past two seasons, McCord has thrown 606 yards with three TDs and a pair of interceptions. The junior gunslinger from Philadelphia has been in the system for three years. While there may be some nerves, he’s in charge of an offense loaded with talent and faces the Big Ten’s worst scoring defense, and unfortunately, they haven’t improved that much.
McCord will operate behind arguably the second-best offensive line in the Big Ten, and he has weapons to deploy, and the Buckeyes can beat Indiana on the ground or through the air.
The Buckeyes have 1396 rushing yards returning- Indiana will see a heavy dose of healthy running backs Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson on Saturday afternoon. Williams scampered for 825 yards and 14 TDs, and Henderson rushed for 571 yards and six scores but missed the last five games with a leg injury.
McCord has his top two wideouts returning, and these youngsters have some serious speed and good hands. All-American wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. returns from a 2022 season where he caught 77 balls for 1263 yards with 14 TDs and zero dropped passes.
Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka hauled in 74 passes for 1151 yards with 10 TDs. Indiana allowed a Big Ten-worst 279 passing yards per game, and while they’ve improved a bit on paper, McCord and the Buckeyes offense will eat Saturday afternoon.
Defense has been the Buckeyes’ Achilles Heel the last few seasons. They have five returning and face a Hoosiers offense with a new starting quarterback.
That person hasn’t been named yet, but he’ll work behind a veteran line with 151 career games under their collective belts. Indiana has a solid backfield, and wideout Cam Cooper is a preseason, second-team Big Ten wideout, but the Buckeyes shouldn’t have much trouble stopping this offense.
Finally, the Buckeyes have defeated Indiana 15 straight times and covered the 39-point spread last season in Columbus. Ohio State is loaded on offense and has so many weapons they’ll score no matter who is at quarterback or any other skill position.
Indiana will likely score the football, but they won’t get enough stops to cover the 29.5-point spread. Lay the -29.5 points and take Ohio State to cover the -29.5 (-110) at BetMGM.
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