Kyle McCord assesses his Week 1 performance, what he can improve on

Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord led the Buckeyes offense out on the field to begin the season after beating out Devin Brown for the starting job in camp. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but McCord looked solid and, most importantly, led the Buckeyes to a 23-3 victory against Indiana.

McCord did not throw a touchdown in the win as he finished 20-of-33 passing (60.6%) for 239 yards and an interception. Speaking postgame on CBS, he offered his thoughts on what he liked from his play as well as what areas he can improve.

“I think there’s a lot to learn from it,” McCord said. “I’m excited to go back and watch the film. I feel like as an offense we had our moments, moved the ball well and scored a few times. But at the same time, there’s a lot of improve upon. I’m excited. Overall, I thought we did all right, but left some points on the field for sure.”

McCord opened the game strong, completing his first two pass attempts while taking the Buckeyes 80 yards down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive. He finished the drive 3-of-4 on his pass attempts, including completing one to convert a fourth down, as running back Miyan Williams punched in the first touchdown to put Ohio State up 7-0.

McCord later threw an interception early in the second quarter as the Buckeyes offense seemed to run into a wall for the rest of the first half. Ohio State did not score another touchdown as it held on to just a 10-3 lead heading into halftime.

The Buckeyes managed another touchdown behind their rushing attack in the third quarter and McCord also got them in field goal range a couple more times. Continuing after the game, he said he knows there are some plays he would like to take back, but is motivated to learn from that going forward.

“I think just taking every game and taking the highs and the lows, learning from it and just continuing to evolve and be better,” he said. “I know there’s definitely a few throws I would like to have back and I’m sure the rest of the guys would agree there’s a few plays they want to clean up. That’s the beauty of it. We get to come back next week and improve and keep going.”

Ohio State coach Ryan Day came away impressed with a few of the plays Kyle McCord made, but also noted the room for growth. However, he again reiterated that the QB led his team to the win, so ultimately it was a solid start to the season.

“I thought he had some really good moments,” Day said. “There’s a lot to learn from, a lot to grow on. But got the first W and that’s the point.”

McCord will get an opportunity to improve upon his Week 1 performance when the Buckeyes face Youngstown State in Week 2.