Ryan Day admits QB experience is a factor in games like Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

One of the marquee matchups of Week 4 will take place in South Bend, Indiana as No. 6 ranked Ohio State visits No. 9 Notre Dame.

The game will feature quarterbacks who are complete opposites when it comes to experience, with Fighting Irish QB Sam Hartman entering the 53rd game of his collegiate career and Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord making his fourth career start.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked about the importance of experience at the quarterback position in such a big-time, highly anticipated matchup, and wasn’t afraid to admit that it plays a role.

“Yeah, I think it’s a factor,” Day said. “How much of one? I think Kyle’s been around, he hasn’t played a whole bunch of football but he has been around, he’s seen it. So he’s older, more mature than maybe a freshman who’s coming into the same situation.”

This may be McCord’s first year as a starter, but it’s not with the program, as he’s currently in the midst of his third year in the program. He made a handful of game appearances in his previous two seasons for the Buckeyes and performed rather well, separating him from your average first year starter.

McCord is also coming off his best game of the season following a slow start in Weeks 1 and 2, throwing for 318 yards and three touchdown passes in a dominant 63-10 win over Western Kentucky. And while experience is an important thing, it’s not the only thing.

“I think experience does play a part of it, it’s not the number one thing overall, there’s a lot of other things that come with it,” Day said. “But I do think it’s significant.”

When it comes to the experience department, there are not many in college football that can compete with Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman.

He spent the first five seasons of his career at Wake Forest where he put up monster numbers, leaving the program as their leader in career completions, attempts, total touchdowns, and total yards. He not only made his mark on the Demon Deacons, but the entire ACC, ranking first all-time in conference history with 107 touchdowns and second in passing yards with 12,687 trailing only behind Phillip Rivers.

Hartman has added to his career totals with 1,061 yards and 13 touchdown passes this season, and it will definitely be interesting to see his experience clash with the youth of McCord this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.