Third-year quarterback Kyle McCord (6) scans the field before calling for the snap against Wisconsin Oct. 28. No. 1 Ohio State won 24-10 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI.
Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
“If only we had C.J. this year.”
As Ohio State’s defense suffocated Drew Allar and the then-No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions Oct. 21, many Buckeye fans uttered these very words as they exited Ohio Stadium.
Impassioned, but ever-demanding, Ohio State fans have been here before. After C.J. Stroud and the 2021 Buckeyes fell 35-28 to Oregon in the ’Shoe, the masses called for Quinn Ewers and Kyle McCord, even lamenting, “If only we had Justin [Fields] this year.”
The year is 2023, and McCord seemingly does not need to be Stroud or Fields. With a championship-caliber defense and a Heisman trophy candidate in Marvin Harrison Jr. at receiver, McCord simply needs to be good enough.
Anyone who logs onto X, formerly known as Twitter, at halftime of an Ohio State football game will almost certainly be bombarded by the wave of criticism McCord has faced. It ranges from “He is killing them,” to “Ohio State has exactly zero percent chance of winning a national championship with Kyle McCord as QB1.”
In response to these claims, it is critical to determine if McCord has been that bad and if Ohio State can win a national championship with him at quarterback.
Has McCord been as bad as the general consensus? This is a question of relativity and subjectivity. Relative to the rest of the country, McCord is 9th in total quarterback rating. He has been careful with the football, with a 17-4 touchdown to interception ratio. McCord is second in the Big Ten in passing yards per attempt, passer efficiency rating, passing yards and total yards.
McCord’s play looks underwhelming compared to top quarterbacks in the country like LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Oregon’s Bo Nix, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. However, it remains important to remember that the 2023 Buckeyes are very different stylistically compared to Ohio State teams of the past.
Ohio State fans have been spoiled by perennially having a top quarterback in the country. This is partly due to having an offensive mind like Ryan Day as head coach but also because the defenses during Day’s era have not exactly been powerhouses.
In 2021, the Buckeyes were 38th in “team defense.” That seemed generous. The 2022 team slightly improved to 24th. Even still, both of these teams were forced to attack offensively at outrageous rates because they would lose if they did not.
The 2023 defense sits at No. 2 in the country. Fundamentally, the identity of this year’s Ohio State football team is different. The Buckeyes have won four out of their nine games this season while scoring under 25 points. The message is clear: they are going to run the ball, attempt to pass efficiently and suffocate opponents to death with a generational defense.
McCord has not been playing poorly — he has been doing what is asked of him. The days of having a de facto Heisman candidate under center in Columbus may be long gone, but even those aforementioned “prolific quarterbacks” failed to net the Buckeyes their first national title under Day.
So, is McCord the guy to do it? Well, not just yet. There is still a long way to go in the season, and it would be foolish to assert that McCord is ready for that moment currently. However, looking toward the future, a second question must be addressed: whether McCord can give the Buckeyes a legitimate shot at a championship.
First, he will have to walk into the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and defeat the quarterback, McCarthy, who has been a favorite in the Heisman rankings for weeks. McCarthy and McCord will forever be inextricably linked. Day essentially handpicked McCord over McCarthy in the recruitment process.
McCarthy said he felt lied to and has hated the Buckeyes ever since.
At this point in time, McCarthy has been the better quarterback at the college level. But luckily for the Buckeyes, McCord is a first-year starter with the ability to improve, and it will not be just McCord versus McCarthy on Nov. 25, as football is not an individual sport.
After “The Game,” McCord and the Buckeyes will face a continued gauntlet on the road to a national championship —assuming they remain in contention. If history is any indication, having the quarterback not be the strength of a team might actually be favorable.
In the College Football Playoff era, Cardale Jones, Jake Coker and Mac Jones of Alabama and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett have quarterbacked national championship-winning teams. They have also all clearly not been the best player on said team.
It is not a question of whether McCord can carry a team to a title. He has been good enough to sweep through the Big Ten thus far, though it will take some leveling up to be good enough to beat Michigan.
Fields is in Chicago and Stroud is in Houston. Those eras are over now. It is time for Buckeye fans to redirect their focus to No. 6 and hope he can be good enough to bring Ohio State a national championship.
