Ohio State Football vs. Western Kentucky: 3 keys to victory
By Ryan Stano
2. The Ohio State football team needs to keep Kyle McCord comfortable
Ryan Day officially made Kyle McCord the starting quarterback for the rest of the season after his performance against Youngstown State last weekend. While it wasn’t perfect, it was miles better than his performance against Indiana in the opener. He was clearly more comfortable.
That’s another key for the Buckeyes this weekend. They have to keep McCord comfortable this week and allow him to keep his rhythm. Beating up on another weak defense might be just what his confidence needs before he heads into a hostile environment in South Bend.
McCord needs to show improvement from week to week. I expect him to be even better than he was against the Penguins. He did a great job of finding Marvin Harrison Jr. last week. Expect a heavy dose of him again this week. He’s the best player on the roster and needs to get the ball as much as possible.
A nice 300+ yard performance with no interceptions would be good to see out of McCord this week. Then, we know he’s going to be as prepared as he can be for the Irish. WKU doesn’t have a defense that can hang with these receivers so that’s definitely possible to do.
The final key for the Buckeyes this weekend has to do with an improvement on the defensive side of the ball.