Ohio State Football: Will OSU regret not getting Kyle McCord more action?

As the Ohio State football team is on its bye week, it’s time to assess whether Ryan Day is making all the right moves.

The Ohio State football team is off to a great start to their season. With a perfect 6-0 record with a powerful offense and much-improved defense, head coach Ryan Day has to be pleased.

One of the teams that could stand in the Buckeyes’ way at the end of the season is Alabama. A perennial national championship contender, the Crimson Tide could be looked at as an example for Ohio State.

Last Saturday, Alabama nearly lost a game to Texas A&M, mostly because of not having Heisman-contending quarterback Bryce Young available for the game due to injury. The Crimson Tide had to start second-year quarterback Jalen Milroe in his stead. And the results were iffy.

Only 11-19 passing for111 yards in the game, Nick Saban clearly did not trust Milroe to throw the ball vertically down the field. Instead, Saban leaned heavily on Milroe and Jahmyr Gibbs in the running game to survive a 24-20 scare against the Aggies.

This has me wondering if Ryan Day should have second-year backup quarterback Kyle McCord more ready if needed. McCord is 12-16 on the season in mop-up duty for 157 yards and a score. But mostly when McCord enters games, he’s used primarily to hand the ball off and eat up the clock.

Now, I’m not saying for Ryan Day to be calling bombs down the field to run up the score on opposing teams, but it’d be nice to see McCord get a series or two with the ones and run the normal Ohio State offense in these blowouts.

Even if Kyle McCord never has to start a game this season, it would be nice experience for next year as he should be the expected starter heading into 2023.

Maybe Ryan Day can look at the Alabama game as an example to get McCord some more meaningful reps so he can be fully ready to play if needed in a crucial situation.