Ohio State Football: 3 hot takes on Buckeyes win over YSU

The Ohio State football team beat Youngstown State 35-7 yesterday afternoon. Here are three takeaways from the game.

The Ohio State football teamtook care of business and beat the Youngstown State Penguins 35-7 on Saturday afternoon. While the offense looked a lot better than it did last week against Indiana, there is still a ton of room for improvement.

Ryan Day said himself after the game that this season will be a slow build into what he hopes becomes a national championship-contending team. Getting there might take some time, however. Here are three takes from yesterday’s game.

No. 1) It’s time to try something new at left tackle.

I believe that I’ve seen enough of Josh Simmons at left tackle. Two games in have left more to be desired from the position. He still was knocked back off the line of scrimmage at times and failed to consistently get to the second level in the running game.

The real question is that if he is struggling against players from Indiana and Youngstown State, then what is going to happen in two weeks when the Buckeyes travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame? I think we all know the answer.

With a game against Western Kentucky next week in Ohio Stadium, I believe it’s time to try and slide Donovan Jackson over to left tackle to see how he fares. He is probably Ohio State’s best offensive lineman and I think he has the athleticism to do it. Plus, the Buckeyes are pretty deep at guard so finding someone like Tegra Tshabola or Enokk Vimahi to play left guard should be fine.

No. 2) Give Kyle McCord all the reps next week against Western Kentucky.

I think everyone has seen enough of the quarterback competition to conclude that Kyl McCord gives Ohio State the best chance at winning games. Devin Brown looks inaccurate and has not shown the type of athleticism that we were told that he has.

Get McCord ready for South Bend and let him play every snap next week against Western Kentucky. He and this offense need to develop chemistry and flow. The only way to do that is to let McCord play the entire game next Saturday.

No. 3) It’s time for the defensive ends to step up.

Again, with two weeks left before Notre Dame, I would love to have seen J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer have had bigger impacts on the game yesterday. And it’s a little concerning that we haven’t.

It is time for these two top-five national players from the 2021 recruiting class to show us something next week against a Western Kentucky offense that will try to throw the ball all around the yard. Let’s see some actual sacks in the game.