Postgame Notebook: Ohio State's Shaky Win at Indiana Reveals Issues
The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 23-3 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Buckeyes finished the first quarter up 7-0 on the Hoosiers, a much-lower margin than many fans and experts expected. At the half, Ohio State was still up on the scoreboard, 10-3.
A 20-point win in the opening week of the season is certainly a good thing, but the Buckeyes were projected by several sportsbooks to prevail by at least ten more points than they did.
Perhaps there is still some confidence that needs to be found by the more inexperienced members of the team.
Junior Kyle McCord finished 20-of-33 for 239 yards with an interception and (most importantly) without a passing touchdown. Sophomore Devin Brown, serving in the back-up role after Day named McCord the starter for this week, completed one of his three passes for -2 yards.
McCord began to gain some confidence as the game progressed, staying calm when moving around the pocket and making smart decisions when in danger of going down to the Hoosier rush.
McCord was able to correct some of his first-half issues because he was given plenty of playing time in order to do so. Brown, on the other hand, was not.
The Gilbert, Arizona-native captained just two drives (one in each half) for a total of seven plays. During that time, Brown seemed to be somewhat lost in the spotlight of Memorial Stadium, and didn't quite look as comfortable as he had in practice.
This can be expected from the young QB, and is almost certainly not a sign of a lasting issue with Brown. However, it does require a solution which Buckeyes fans might be hesitant to get on board with after his shaky debut: more playing time.
As Brown begins to get his feet underneath him behind center in games rather than practices, his true abilities should come to light.
Ohio State heads home to host the Youngstown State Penguins next Saturday at noon on Big Ten Network.
