After the Ohio State football team lost to Michigan last year, they had a sit-down with Kyle McCord. His dad allegedly wanted a guarantee that McCord was going to be the starter in 2024. After a deeply average 2023 season, Ryan Day wasn't willing to give that guarantee.
Because of that, McCord left for Syracuse. The Buckeyes went and got Will Howard from the transfer portal. After that happened, other fanbases, namely Michigan fans, tried to claim that Howard was a downgrade from McCord. It was true that McCord played well early in the year.
His performance on Thursday night against Pitt was the first big road game of the season that he played with Syracuse. A win would give them an outside shot at winning the ACC and competing for a CFP spot. Instead, they failed in spectacular fashion with McCord as the star of the horrible show.
Kyle McCord's horrible game leaves no doubt Will Howard was an upgrade for the Ohio State football team
Things could not have been worse for McCord on Thursday night. He threw four interceptions in the first half. Three of them were returned for touchdowns. He scored more points for the Pitt Panthers in the first half than he did for his own team throughout the entire game.
Pitt won the game 41-13 on the strength of those pick-sixes. In all, McCord threw a whopping five interceptions in this game. He was just 35/64 for a completion percentage of just 54.6% for the game. Worst of all, he threw zero touchdown passes for the Orange.
Howard doesn't even have four interceptions on the season, let alone throwing that many in one half. He didn't shrink in the big game against Oregon. In fact, he played one of his best games of the season. McCord showed once again that he shrivels up when the big lights are on him.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are in a great spot with Howard. Any fanbase that tries to claim Howard is a downgrade from McCord is just trolling at this point. It's clear the Buckeyes made the right decision.