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BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – Ohio State head coach Ryan Day did not enjoy the inconsistent offense his team showed in Saturday’s 23-3 season-opening Big Ten victory over Indiana.
Yes, he was glad the most important goal of the day was accomplished, and that was to win. He looks forward to a week of breaking down film and establishing ways to get better.
A goal that wasn’t accomplished was more playing time for backup quarterback Devin Brown. He played a 3-and-out series in the second quarter and the team’s final series of the game. Brown was 1-for-3 passing on that possession and the catch lost 2 yards.
Player of the Week: Kyle McCord’s second career start could have gone better, but on a lackluster offensive day his play led the Buckeyes.
McCord completed 20 of 33 passes for 239 yards and 1 interception. He almost had a touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr., but Harrison was penalized for stepping out of bounds at the 10-yard line before catching the pass in end zone.
Freshman of the Week: Safety Malik Hartford didn’t start but played quite a bit in the second half. On a 3rd-and-4 early in the fourth quarter, Hartford closed quickly on a receiver and stopped him 2 yards short of a first down to force a punt when the Buckeyes led 20-3. Hartford was also credited with 1 pass broken up.
Biggest surprise: The defensive line stopped the run, which wasn’t a surprise, but they didn’t pressure Indiana quarterbacks Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson, who shared the position and combined to complete only 9 of 21 passes for 82 yards. A late-game sack by backup tackle Hero Kanu was 1 of only 2 hits on Indiana quarterbacks behind the line of scrimmage. The Buckeyes were not credited with a quarterback hurry.
Biggest concern: Short yardage inefficiency was a drive killer, and Day shook his head as he talked about it after the game.
The Buckeyes converted 2 of 12 third downs and were 1-for-7 when the situation was 4 yards or shorter. They were 2-for-6 passing for 14 yards on third down. They averaged 2.0 yards on 6 third-down rushes.
Developing trend: Running back by committee could be part of the Buckeyes’ future. Day and others have talked since spring practice about depth at the position. TreVeyon Henderson is clearly the starter, but he was outgained by Chip Trayanum and outscored by Miyan Williams. Trayanum gained 57 yards on 8 carries. Williams scored 2 touchdowns, on runs of 7 and 3 yards.
Henderson helped lead the Buckeyes’ touchdown drive on their first possession, netting 24 yards on his first 3 carries. But Trayanum and Williams took over in the red zone. Henderson finished with 47 yards on 12 carries.
Key stat: Ohio State’s defense allowed the Hoosiers only 10 first downs and 153 yards. The Hoosiers rushed for 71 yards and passed for 82.
First impression about Week 2: A noon game on the Big Ten Network doesn’t shout big game. And it’s not. The Buckeyes host FCS Youngstown State. The Penguins, who have 63 scholarships, beat non-scholarship FCS foe Valparaiso 52-10 at home Thursday.
YSU was 7-4 last year and is not near the level of the program Jim Tressel led to 4 Division I-AA national championships in the 1990s. The Penguins’ afternoon could go a lot like the way they treated Valpo.