Ohio State head coach Ryan Day in disbelief after junior quarterback Kyle McCord’s second first-half interception. Despite his struggles, the No. 3-ranked Buckeyes secured a 24-10 win over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday.
Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
True to Halloween weekend, Kyle McCord’s first-half performance was frightening.
Two interceptions, a fumble recovered by the defense and a 53 percent completion rate. Despite the junior quarterback’s struggles, No. 3 Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 24-10 in Madison, Wisconsin, Saturday.
“At the end of the day, the goal is to keep winning,” head coach Ryan Day said.
In the Buckeyes’ first possession, McCord missed junior wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. twice but found fellow junior wide receiver Julian Fleming for a 14-yard gain.
Four plays later, on a fourth-and-3 attempt, McCord bore an 8-yard strip sack by graduate outside linebacker C.J. Goetz , which was recovered by Maema Njongmeta of Wisconsin, a redshirt-senior inside linebacker.
McCord went 3-for-7 in Ohio State’s next trio of possessions before throwing his first interception since week one — a pass intended for freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate on first-and-9 in the corner of the end zone. Badger sophomore safety Preston Zachman held onto the ball, resulting in a Wisconsin touchback with 31 seconds on the first-quarter clock.
“I think he would tell you on the first one that it was just a bad decision,” Day said. “The play was designed to go to the tight end, the tight end got caught up and it was not how we designed it and the ball should have got thrown away.”
Looking like he got his feet under him, McCord went 6-for-7 with completed passes to junior running back TreVeyon Henderson, graduate tight end Gee Scott Jr., Harrison and Tate.
McCord ended up finding Harrison for a 16-yard touchdown with 10:36 remaining until halftime. However, six minutes and 38 seconds after the first pick was all it took for another Badger interception..
At the 5:09 mark of the second quarter, Wisconsin’s redshirt-sophomore cornerback Ricardo Hallman read the play intended for Harrison perfectly, picking off McCord and rushing for 19 yards.
“He’s [McCord’s] reading the flat defender in that corner — he [Hallman] just came right off and he took a chance and he made a nice play.”
The Badgers ran out the remaining minutes on the first-half clock, concluding with a successful field goal from 19 yards out by sophomore kicker Nathanial Vakos.
McCord and the Buckeyes led 10-3, a score that was not good enough for them.
“Halftime has always had a good look in their eye all year, knowing that they want to come out and play really well in the fourth quarter,” Day said. “You see us do that.”
McCord almost became a whole new quarterback after the break.
Day said he and McCord had conversations about “putting those plays behind us.”
McCord completed a perfect 7-for-7, including a 19-yard toe-tap touchdown throw to Harrison with 7:13 left to play in the third. This score moved Harrison further along in Buckeye history, as he is now tied at fifth in career receiving touchdowns — 25 — with Santonio Holmes (2003-05).
The “best football player in the country” Day said about Harrison in the post-game press conference Saturday.
Once in the third and once in the fourth, though, McCord was called for intentional grounding for losses of nine and 11, respectively. Both resulted in Jesse Mirco punts.
His 100 percent completion rate did improve his overall pass percentage on the night from 53 to 65 percent. McCord went 17-for-26 and threw for 226 total yards, despite turning the ball over the most in his career.
Throughout the second half, McCord appeared to have a slight limp on the sidelines. Day said “he’ll be fine,” however.
Harrison said McCord’s performance does not change what kind of leader he is.
“We all kind of look to him to lead us, especially on the road in a tough environment,” Harrison said. “It was tonight and he did — he did that.”
McCord will return behind center in a second consecutive road game versus Rutgers Saturday.
