Ohio State vs Youngstown State is not a matchup that has the average college football fan eager to tune in. It’s a matchup of a CFP contender and an in-state FCS program that has never defeated the Buckeyes in two tries. In fact, Ohio State hasn’t lost a matchup against an Ohio-based school since that 7-6 loss to Oberlin in 1921. Chances are, that streak will continue.
The Buckeyes come into this game 1-0 after beating Indiana in an admittedly uninspiring fashion. The defense came to play and only allowed three points, 158 yards, and just eight first downs. The offense was a different story. Kyle McCord and company have a chance to get off to the start they believe they should have last week on Saturday.
It’s Time to Let McCord and the Offense Cook vs Youngstown State
Quarterback Battle Decided?
Heading into the Indiana game, Ryan Day said that both McCord and Devin Brown would play “meaningful” snaps. After the dust settled, McCord finished with 64 snaps to Brown’s six. And, to make the waters murkier, those six snaps were far from meaningful. This week should be different and the Buckeyes will utilize both.
McCord is seemingly QB1 in Columbus after taking 91.4% of the snaps in Week 1. While there were some concerns with his play (mostly the fact that he wasn’t immediately Justin Fields or C.J. Stroud), he showed plenty of promise. McCord made a number of good reads and made the right decisions on most throws. When asked about the quarterbacks leading up to the game, Day remarked that McCord made the routine plays routinely in camp. It’s very possible that McCord ends up a game-manager type of quarterback and not a Fields/Stroud-type that takes the big play.
On one hand, this style is perfectly fine this week. Honestly, the Buckeyes could run wide receiver screens as the only pass concept and he’d end up with over 400 yards and four scores. The issue becomes later on in the season. If McCord is not the type of quarterback to take shots, defenses will key in on it and not give up the middle of the field. Of course, play man coverage with no safety help against Marvin Harrison, Jr. at your own risk.
Brown will have a legitimate chance to lead the offense in the second half. Ideally, Day continues to call the offense as if the game were competitive. Bringing on Brown with the bevy of wide receiver depth and just handing the ball off does a disservice to the future of the passing attack.
Naturally, there is a large swath of Ohio State fans who clamor for Brown to take over. This will not quiet down after Brown and the offense of Ohio State vs. Youngstown State’s second-half defense.
APB Out for Star Receivers
When a team has a top-five talent and Heisman hopeful at receiver, the offense should be able to do what it wants. As it was, Indiana had a great game plan for Harrison and his counterpart, Emeka Egbuka.
If there is one thing that Day is known for, it’s getting his players the stats to win awards. He often kept Stroud in a drive or two longer than necessary in order to give him a little more. He did the same with Fields. Now that the face of the offense is at wide receiver, he will try to make up for last week. Look for the first drive to have a shot to Harrison to try and get him going.
Ideally, it should not take McCord long to warm up and he can distribute accordingly. Ohio State has a clear mismatch with their first 10 receivers against the secondary of Youngstown State. Getting Harrison and Egbuka involved early will be key to keeping the stars satisfied.
If the pair of receivers ends up with another five-catch, 34-yard performance, panic buttons will be pressed.
Figure Out RB1
Another aspect of the offense that needs figuring out is who is going to be the lead running back. Each of the top three running backs has shown on multiple occasions that they have what it takes but there’s only one football to go around.
TreVeyon Henderson has been the starter for every game that he’s healthy. He led the way with 12 carries last week but only 47 yards. He still looked like he wasn’t 100% as his evasiveness was not quite there. Henderson didn’t break a tackle and most of those yards came on one first-quarter run where he bounced an off-tackle run and ran out of bounds.
Chip Trayanum was the star of the show in terms of turning opportunities into production. In eight carries, he broke four tackles and led the way with over seven yards a pop. Miyan Williams played the old sniper role, to put it into fantasy football terms. He ran the ball just seven times for 36 yards but earned both of the Buckeyes’ touchdowns.
Each running back adds something different to the offense and Day will utilize each for the majority of this game. They’ll likely continue to split carries as they did against Indiana with Williams being the primary Red Zone back. There is a legitimate possibility that one of these three will have a massive touchdown run. The offensive line was not perfect but did well when run-blocking downhill. If they were a size advantage last week, it’d be a real-life David vs. Goliath matchup, and David just lost his slingshot.
Sweet Tooth? Have a Cupcake!
Nobody likes these FBS vs. FCS matchups but at least this game is being played in September and not the week before they face Michigan. Regardless, the team will suit up for its home opener against the Penguins and will look to get back on track with the high-powered offense that was expected.
The biggest key for this game will be getting better on third down. In Week 1 games involving two FBS-level schools, the Buckeyes finished with the fifth-worst third-down conversion rate. This will be the focus of the offense of Ohio State vs Youngstown State. There will be no excuse for a lack of execution this week. Ohio State cannot afford to not convert on third downs as the competition gets tougher.
The defense was not mentioned much here but it must be said that they have to keep it up. Sure, balling out against Indiana and Youngstown State won’t move the needle much. But they need to get everything working now because they have quite a stretch of offenses coming up. They were disappointed with allowing three points last week. Jim Knowles‘ squad will be looking for the shutout this week.
All in all, Ohio State vs. Youngstown State will not excite anyone outside of Columbus, Ohio. However, it is the perfect opportunity for the Buckeyes to fine-tune some things and continue to prepare for the rest of the schedule.
Photo courtesy: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
