Kirk Herbstreit reveals how Ohio State can help Kyle McCord against Michigan

Kirk Herbstreit pointed out a few keys for Ohio State to help Kyle McCord against Michigan in the biggest game of the year.

The Buckeyes quarterback played well this season, but the Wolverines are a different animal. The good news is, Ohio State has plenty around its quarterback to ensure another solid performance.

But, it starts with the running game and if that’s on point, McCord could have a field day.

“A guy by the name of TreVeyon Henderson, you want to know how you help Kyle McCord? You get the ball to TreVeyon Henderson,” Herbstreit said on SportsCenter. “Because we can look at Kyle McCord all you want. You got Marvin Harrison Jr. on the outside, who obviously they’re gonna try to get the football to. Will Michigan double him? How do they take him out of the game?

“If they double him, TreVeyon Henderson has to run the football. You have Emeka Egbuka on the other side, you have Cade Stover at tight end, so there’s plenty of weapons.”

Henderson reemerged as one of the best backs in the country with his performances over the second half of the season. In eight games this season, Henderson has 118 carries for 794 yards, 10 touchdowns and 6.7 yards per carry.

As long as the offensive line holds up across the board, the offense will click with McCord.

“Kyle McCord, when he is on schedule and has protection, the guy can throw the football,” Herbstreit said. “The biggest question of the day for Ohio State is can they run the ball? And on third down can that Ohio State offensive line protect Kyle McCord and that’s just to simplify it. Can they or will they struggle in that area? I think that I’ll tell you a lot about how this game goes.”

This year, McCord has 2,899 yards, 22 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 66.4% completion percentage.

McCord and JJ McCarthy, who were both in the same recruiting class and recruited by each school, will face off Saturday. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked about that aspect of the matchup ahead of Saturday’s game, but instead decided to focus on the overall preparedness and anticipation from his team as a whole.

“Well I think there’s a lot going on here, and I think what we’ve done all season is in preparation for this game,” Day said. “The way that we’ve prepared, the way we’ve evaluated each game, the way we’ve talked about each game, our focus in the offseason, our focus on the preseason, and our focus during the season.”