Paul Finebaum: Ohio State was a 'no-show' in Week 1 despite win

Did Ohio State open their season with a 20-point win on the road against a conference opponent? Yes. Was Paul Finebaum at all impressed by the Buckeye’s performance in Bloomington? Not one bit.

Finebaum was overall negative on Ohio State’s 23-3 win over Indiana to start their year on ‘The Matt Barrie Show’ on Sunday. In the end, he just couldn’t put his finger on why they seemed to be as checked out as they were in the first game of their year, even if it was against competition that they were heavily favored against.

“It reminded me of some of their games last year. I think it was the Northwestern game, another game,” said Finebaum “They just literally were zoned out and I can’t explain it.”

“That should have been a game that you’re pretty fired up to play, a road game against a semi-Big Ten opponent on the first Saturday of the year. But they didn’t,” said Finebaum. “They were a no-show, even though they got a win.”

Much of the criticism of Ohio State’s win against the Hoosiers was the lack of success in the passing game. QB Kyle McCord finished the game by going 20/33 for 239 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. That led to a quieter day from some of the Buckeye’s incredible receiving weapons, specifically an injured Marvin Harrison Jr. (two catches for 18 yards) and Emeka Egbuka (three catches for 16 yards)

Take away the three-headed rushing attack from Miyan Williams, Chip Trayanum, and TreVeyon Henderson and it was a very pedestrian showing from the Buckeyes.

1-0 is 1-0, especially against a fellow Big Ten opponent. Even so, as Matt Barrie pointed out, Ohio State will need to be much better, as early as next weekend against Youngstown State, if they want to justify their expectations considering how much talent they have at their disposal.

“Keep an eye on the Ohio State situation,” said Barrie. “Every coach will tell you a win is a win is a win. We get that. But when you’ve got a team that’s got NFL talent and playoff aspirations? They’re going to need to get that thing going a little bit.”

Kyle McCord assesses his performance in Ohio State’s opener

Ohio State QB 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. He also, most importantly, led the Buckeyes to a 23-3 victory against Indiana.

Speaking postgame, he offered his thoughts on what he liked from his play and where 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. Left some points on the field for sure.”

He said he knows there are some plays he would like to take back but they’re now motivating him to learn 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. 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.”