Three moments that led to the Ohio State football team going all in on 2024
By Ryan Stano
2. Kyle McCord throws an interception on Ohio State's final drive vs. Michigan
This single play ended the Ohio State football team's season in 2023. It ended any shot they had of getting revenge on TTUN for the past two years. It also kept them from a chance to win the Big Ten and a shot to play in the College Football Playoff.
That play also ended Kyle McCord's Ohio State career. It led Ryan Day to realize that McCord was not good enough to lead the rest of the team to a national title. His ceiling just wasn't high enough. While he wasn't terrible, that ceiling is important to winning it all.
Day went out and got Will Howard to take his place. The transfer from Kansas State has a world of experience and is more mobile than McCord. He's the guy that Day has chosen to ride with. Time will tell if that's the right move for this year or not.
But had McCord not gotten hit on that final play and thrown a pick, we wouldn't be here. If McCord had led the Buckeyes to a game-winning touchdown drive, he would have gone down as an Ohio State legend. Michigan doesn't win a tainted national championship and the Buckeyes go to the CFP.
That's how much things live on a razor's edge with the Ohio State football program. One play changed the course of how Day wanted to run his program. Now, he's got a new offensive staff that he brought in to make this team a national champion in 2024.
The final moment that got us here is something that happened after that awful Michigan loss.