Megan.Husslein
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Kyle McCord showed Saturday why he deserves to be QB1
Megan.Husslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
He was darn near perfect against Western Kentucky.
There has been a debate for months over who should be the starting quarterback at Ohio State: Kyle McCord or Devin Brown? Even head coach Ryan Day couldn’t decide until the the third week of the season. He decided to go with McCord, and that seems to be 100% the right call.
Admittedly, McCord looked shaky the first couple of weeks of the season. Although it has been made very clear that his performance wasn’t solely on him; the offensive line is adjusting to game play as well. Finally, on Saturday versus Western Kentucky, everything clicked into place.
McCord’s stats are about as perfect as can be. He went 19-of-23 with 318 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a QBR of 95.7 He really showed every skill that was expected of him.
The deep ball was WORKING for McCord, as clearly demonstrated on his touchdown pass to his high school teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. This was probably the most exciting pass of the game, as it was just a dime to Marv for a 75 yard score. THIS was exactly what Ohio State fans were waiting for.
Overall, he just looked comfortable out there. Day said in his weekly press conference that he was hoping that now that McCord was named the starter, he could relax out there and find his rhythm, and I think that is exactly what happened. He didn’t have to worry about making zero mistakes in fear that Devin Brown might take over. He knew he had the confidence of everyone around him that he was THE guy, and therefore he was confident.
Now, I’m aware that he did all of this against a Western Kentucky defense, a team that was known for its offense (and still only put up 10 points). So, McCord’s first true test will come this Saturday against Notre Dame. However, this is exactly the kind of game he needed to have as a confidence booster heading into a top-10 matchup. The offense as a group needed a game where it fired on all cylinders and everything clicked.
Now, none of this is to make Brown look or sound bad. Hey, he had his first collegiate touchdown Saturday as he went three-of-four throwing the ball. However, McCord’s experience and maturity I think edges Brown’s out a bit, which makes sense as he is older.
So moving forward, what do I want to see out of McCord? Obviously, just continue to build on the performance from Saturday. This weekend I will be interested to see how he stays calm and collected under pressure in a massive road game. Many coaches and players have described how cool he stays in pressure situations, so now it will be time to show that on the field, especially when maybe everything isn’t going as smoothly as it did against Western Kentucky.
Continue reading...
Megan.Husslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
He was darn near perfect against Western Kentucky.
There has been a debate for months over who should be the starting quarterback at Ohio State: Kyle McCord or Devin Brown? Even head coach Ryan Day couldn’t decide until the the third week of the season. He decided to go with McCord, and that seems to be 100% the right call.
Admittedly, McCord looked shaky the first couple of weeks of the season. Although it has been made very clear that his performance wasn’t solely on him; the offensive line is adjusting to game play as well. Finally, on Saturday versus Western Kentucky, everything clicked into place.
McCord’s stats are about as perfect as can be. He went 19-of-23 with 318 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a QBR of 95.7 He really showed every skill that was expected of him.
Kyle McCord had a big-time game today.
Watch each of his 3 @OhioStateFB TDs passes.pic.twitter.com/zYbaRiyx34
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 16, 2023
The deep ball was WORKING for McCord, as clearly demonstrated on his touchdown pass to his high school teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. This was probably the most exciting pass of the game, as it was just a dime to Marv for a 75 yard score. THIS was exactly what Ohio State fans were waiting for.
Overall, he just looked comfortable out there. Day said in his weekly press conference that he was hoping that now that McCord was named the starter, he could relax out there and find his rhythm, and I think that is exactly what happened. He didn’t have to worry about making zero mistakes in fear that Devin Brown might take over. He knew he had the confidence of everyone around him that he was THE guy, and therefore he was confident.
Now, I’m aware that he did all of this against a Western Kentucky defense, a team that was known for its offense (and still only put up 10 points). So, McCord’s first true test will come this Saturday against Notre Dame. However, this is exactly the kind of game he needed to have as a confidence booster heading into a top-10 matchup. The offense as a group needed a game where it fired on all cylinders and everything clicked.
Now, none of this is to make Brown look or sound bad. Hey, he had his first collegiate touchdown Saturday as he went three-of-four throwing the ball. However, McCord’s experience and maturity I think edges Brown’s out a bit, which makes sense as he is older.
So moving forward, what do I want to see out of McCord? Obviously, just continue to build on the performance from Saturday. This weekend I will be interested to see how he stays calm and collected under pressure in a massive road game. Many coaches and players have described how cool he stays in pressure situations, so now it will be time to show that on the field, especially when maybe everything isn’t going as smoothly as it did against Western Kentucky.
Continue reading...