Ohio State Football: Three questions OSU must answer vs. Akron

What is the answer for Ohio State’s quarterback?

Over the young season, C.J. Stroud has gone from being the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, to (at least according to social media) a definitive bust who needs to be replaced immediately. His current value lies somewhere in between.

Stroud has been wild on some of his throws (usually missing high and wide), a bit indecisive in his decision-making, and has missed reads of wide-open receivers. However, he has also shown great touch on deep balls, hitting receivers in stride to allow them to pick up YAC, and has taken full responsibility for improvement. All in all, this is about what you would expect out a young quarterback starting in his first few college games.

The problem facing Stroud is that there are several talented backups on the roster who fans are clamoring to see in game action. Kyle McCord and Jack Miller could see snaps against Akron, especially if the game is put out of reach, which could complicate the quarterback situation.

Ohio State has tried having multiple cooks in the kitchen (J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones) which just led to the quarterback looking over their shoulder every play. I am a believer that Stroud earned the starting job by being the best quarterback, and switching to a different young quarterback making their first stat will not necessarily fix the problem.

Ryan Day has made it clear Stroud is his starter moving forward, which I think is the right call, but he will need to show improvement to get separation between him and his backups this week.