Inside the Play: Q. Johnson levels Egbuka
It was a really good throw by McCord. Perfect placement. Q was just that much more perfect on his timing and hit!
Still not sure why they rode McCord out of town. He could have been solid this year.
They needed a fall guy.
Don’t forget where Chris Carter came from!
Yeah, they needed a scapegoat. Remember, the most important thing for Day's buckeyes it that they need always need an excuse.
They are not going to have any excuses this year. So many good/strong/excellent players coming back. Their RB room and ours have got to be #1-#2 in the nation, pick 'em. They've got The Game in the commode this year. And probably the greatest factor of all, having lost 3 straight, the desperation factor, the will to win, will be very high for the Nuts.
Plus, Ryan is starting to get it, although I'm not sure he can implement it. Last year before the game, when asked about the keys to victory, he said in his tough-guy voice, "Run the ball, stop the run, and win the turnover battle." Then post-game when asked why they didn't win, he said, "In this Game, you gotta win the rushing yards and you've got to win the turnover battle and we did neither of those things."
It's going to be a great Game this year. We'll see if their OL can make a jump, and how they fare against Graham & Grant, et al.
Unfounded Reddit rumor is that Judkins would threaten to hold out of games at Ole Miss unless he got more money. I'm hoping it is true and that he further poisons the OSU locker room. The reported reason for his departure was NIL, so the rumor seems plausible.
That locker room is poisoned, but by none other than Freddie P. Soft.
For those of you old enough to remember: Ryan "Mr. Whipple" Day.
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:29 AM ^
Also wondering about the chemistry between Chip Kelly and Day. Kelly has done nothing but HC for 15 years, is a control freak on offense, and, reportedly, not the most warm and fuzzy guy in the game. Combining this with another guy who thinks he's a brilliant offensive mind, but hasn't really accomplished much on his own, and clearly is being pushed to the edge of his fragile ego- is going to be quite interesting, IMO
Combining this with another guy who thinks he's a brilliant offensive mind, but hasn't really accomplished much on his own
I wouldn't go that far. Day was a legitimately good to great OC, and toughness issues aside, he's put together a very good passing attack. His gameplan against UGA was unbelievable. Credit Harbaugh and Co. for getting in his head these past couple years,
I'm not saying Day can't scheme up a passing attack. I'm saying Day hasn't really accomplished much on his own. He went to the playoff with Urban's players. And that's about it.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:30 AM ^
Judkins wasn't coming back to Ole Miss no matter what. In their bowl game Dart has to ask the coaches to remove Judkins from the game because he is being so disruptive to the team because he isnt getting his number called enough to his liking. He's actually throwing a tantrum on the field. You can see it on camera during their bowl.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:48 AM ^
Did he not realize he's going to a team which likes to spread the ball around to it's receivers, and now also has a QB who is willing to run with an OC who is known to like leveraging the QB as a running threat, plus they have other good RB's on the roster?
What part of any of that reads, I'm going to get all the carries I want???
*Cris
I can think of 30-24 reasons.
Did OSU really ride him out? Could it be as simple as Day making it clear to him that he still needed to compete for his starting job and McCord's reptile brain went into flight mode instead of fight mode and decided to scamper to Syracuse where he knew he wouldn't have to compete at all?
Regardless, the hope is that OSU ends up being a train wreck just like TAMU was two years ago.
My opinion, with nothing but rumor to back it up, is that McCord didn’t enjoy the OSU fan hate he was getting for OSU losing to Michigan again. McCord had a decent stat line in the game up until the last int.(better than most against Michigan last season), and I’d say he was not the reason OSU lost, yet their fans were giving him all sorts of undeserved grief at the time. If I’m him I wouldn’t want to play for that fan base. There’s a difference between pressure to perform well and having to deal with a jackwagon irrational fan base like OSU has.
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:44 AM ^
Like our fans with Navarre.
I think the fan hate did it, not a QB competition.
Also, as others mentioned, Cam Ward was rumored to OSU at that time too. And there was an article (maybe the Athletic) saying the going rate for QBs was like $1.5-2Mn. So basically, McCord has to compete against a guy making way more in NIL, and if he beats him out, would not be compensated equivalent to the guy he beat. Without an assurance he would be compensated the same, he left.
Blue in Paradise is right that Day needed a fall guy. The other answer is that they thought they were going to get Cam Ward who would have been an upgrade. My recollection of events.
1. OSU loses to Michigan. Eleven Warriors and OSU reddit start talking about how they are going to get Cam Ward and that they are talking to him.
2. EW and r/OSU buzz that it is a battle between Miami and OSU.
3. Cam Ward enters the portal. (Yes. OSU and Miami were tampering if the rumors were true.)
4. Ryan Day tells Kyle McCord that he's going to have to compete to win the job next year.
5. McCord leaves not because he is worried about Brown, Keinholz or Norland but because he's not going to beat out Cam Ward, or get the NIL money Cam Ward would gobble up.
(OSU loses to Missouri with Devin Brown at QB)
6. Cam Ward declares for the draft (!)
7. Day brings in Will Howard as a backup plan. EW and r/OSU are excited but MGoBlog thinks he's a lateral move from McCord. Brown and Keinholz are idiots for staying at OSU.
8. Cam Ward exits NFL draft and goes to Miami who has been bidding (and winning) against OSU for multiple players. Ha! Ha!
9. Julian Sayin transfers to OSU. Brown and Keinholz remain idiots for staying at OSU.
I'm guessing at least two QBs leave OSU after spring ball.
Interestingly enough they chose him over another top QB out of Illinois whose name escapes me. Or so I heard.
Can’t question Ryan Days’ judgement.
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:08 AM ^
JJ McSomethingOrOther I think...but tough to recall.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:13 AM ^
I work with a couple buckeyes. This years game was McCords fault.
When he entered the portal I said “who’s going to be your QB next year?”
the response was something like “Well McCord sucks, so as long as it’s not him we’ll be fine.”
that just goes to show how spoiled they are. They have no idea that a quality quarterback just walked out the door and are convinced there’s a better one available. Now, given their recent history that may be true, but they are TRASHING McCord as terrible.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:29 AM ^
Rod Moore called game.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:57 AM ^
I don't think McCord was pushed out by OSU. It was a surprise to the coaching staff when McCord entered the portal.
I do think Day was hard on him...on numerous occasions when McCord approached the sideline after a failed 3rd down or interception. The Cam Ward talk may have further encouraged him to bolt.
I think there's a great misconception on this board that OSU pushed him out.
March 22nd, 2024 at 12:13 PM ^
Which path is pushing someone out:
- We are going to look for someone else to be QB next year
- Repeatedly blaming one person for in-game failures, in a sport which requires execution by the total team to be successful, in front of those other players
Answer: they both are. One is honest and upfront, the other is just being an ass.
It was beauty killed the beast.
Where else are we going to go for great misconceptions?
March 22nd, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
I'm not sure McCord is mobile enough to field Seth McLaughlin's snaps.
I wouldn’t have minded if McCord had stayed, but not that confident he was going to get much better.
McCord improved a lot from Week 1 to Week 6, but hit a pretty hard ceiling afterwards. He was still locking into 1-2 receivers during the game, would make panicked throws, and his pocket awareness/instinct was below expectations for a 3rd year player.
There’s definitely a chance that another full offseason could have produced a more polished player - but if McCord wanted a guarantee to be a starter to stay, then I think Ryan Day did right by him to tell him that there’s a decent chance he wouldn’t be a starter next year. McCord would have been competing with a RsSo. Devin Brown, and a RsFr. Lincoln Kienholz. I don’t blame McCord either for not risking his final year of eligibility on potentially being a backup.
Cant be the coach so the player gets the stiletto between the ribs.
Good offense beats good defense... unless it's 2023 Michigan
Defense wins championships!
Not going to lie, if we knew we would have a QB who could produce at McCord's 2023 level on our roster for next season, I would seriously think back to back would be a strong possibility.
I wanted M to recruit him for this year. 100%, 0% trolling.
That would be advance scouting says any Bucknut.
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:06 AM ^
Agree. McCord is a good college QB and could win and be developed at UM.
Almost anybody is going to look mid coming after CJ Stroud or Justin Fields.
Ryan Day's QB-centric offense does nothing to take pressure off the QB position.
Any QB, even Brady and Mahomes, could have an off day - specifically when going up against d-lines that are in your face all day. Pressure is the great equalizer...getting pressure with just the front 4 tilts the advantage to the defense.
Ryan Day is still trying to out Texas Tech opponents, not realizing that this allows them to nuke the Hoosiers and Sparties of the world by 49 by halftime, but doesn't work at the expected 50-50 rate when facing equal talent or scheme (UM, Bama, UGA).
Stockpiling all that elite talent across the field and then putting 80% of the game on the QB's shoulders is idiocy. It creates a dynamic where the team's performance week to week can be much higher variance than it should be. Lincoln Riley has also had to learn this the hard way.
In the NFL, QB play is often the margin because there is so much parity across entire rosters across the league - so that one position (along with d-line if its elite) can be the margin - hence, NFL games have far fewer blowouts than college.
Same
He would be the best QB on this roster. Unfortunately. :/
I know I know, Orji with his (checks notes) zero passes last year is better. I know I know the old guy from Indiana with his 54% completion ratio and INTs galore every time he played a real game is better. I know I know a true freshman is better. We've got 5 guys better than a top 20ish QB last year in NCAA
/drink
Awesome! So glad he is back!
Best hit of the year?
Toss up, in my mind, between this and Mike’s hit on Henderson in this game. What a game!
dunno. graham ripping thru the bama line in OT was pretty amazing. and the stop on 3rd down on the same drive.. not a huge hit, but to hold on and refuse to let him get by...
But graham's knifing thru the line to me was such a huge play because it felt, at the time, like our defense had been solved a little bit and it was going to be O vs O... NOPE!
I would have to say Graham's too because of the situation and sheer WOW factor of him knifing through and making that play.
The one play that isn't talked about enough, and what I believe actually was the biggest tackle of the season was Rod Moore's tackle on Milroe's long run in OT. I'd say at least 75% of safeties miss that tackle and Milroe walks in for a TD.
Agree but it wasn't the biggest hit, so to speak... i think its been mentioned a lot as a huge play for us in the season, but not a wow play.
I would say that's similar to Grant chasing down PSU's all-Universe running back.
Its so amazing that we have so many great plays to look back on and so many moments... and as a fan/alum of 25+ years, I can say ... these moments are fleeting... its very hard to do what we've done the past 3 years... and may not be done again for at least another 6 months. :-D
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:20 AM ^
The point about "so many great plays" is so true. There were a handful of really "WOW" plays that occurred in our mid-season blowing out of B1G opponents that are easily forgotten about because they occurred in games we won by 40+. JJ's throws to Loveland vs MSU. Roman Wilson's insane catch on the back of a Nebraska defender. Will's genius baiting for a pick-6 vs Minnesota. Semaj jitterbug vs Indiana; just to name a few.
Mikey's pick six that sealed the Rutgers game. Or the one that announced garbage time had begun against MSU. And . . .
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:11 AM ^
At Qmatic...100%. I mentioned this once in top plays of the year.
If you watch the all 22, the quick reaction by Moore, the ground he covers, and the angle he takes to make the tackle are perfection. 75% may be too modest, tbh. That was an NFL play that by Rod Moore to save a TD, one that maybe 10% of college safeties can make.
You shall not pass.
He's back!
How sweet it has been to watch this team play defense the way it did back in the Woodson days. Remember the hit by Marcus Ray on David Boston in the game? No running free in the secondary any more.