Ryan Day complimentary of backup QB Kyle McCord in practice

The Ohio State Buckeyes took advantage of the bye week by giving backup quarterback Kyle McCord more reps at the QB1 spot. Heading into Week 9, head coach Ryan Day shared his assessment of the young signal-caller after watching him step into CJ Stroud’s shoes.

“It’s just during the bye week, something we’ve done in the past,” Day said. “Just let Kyle get some work with the ones that day and thought he did a nice job stepping in and running the offense. So that was good. We don’t really do it often, CJ’s had a great week of practice and he does a great job of practicing, that’s part of why you’re seeing the production on Saturdays.

“As the backup quarterback you don’t get as many reps and you have to get mental reps and go through the play in your mind.”

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In relief duty of Stroud, McCord has gone 14-for-16 for 165 passing yards and one touchdown. His score versus Toledo was his third in two seasons with the Buckeyes.

With the Ohio State starter already topping mocks for the NFL’s next draft, McCord has only a few months left in the background of the offense.

Day previews facing Penn State environment

The unbeaten Ohio State Buckeyes are one of six undefeated teams in the country, as they sit No. 2 in the latest AP Poll.

Their strength of schedule has been questioned from time to time this season, but this weekend they will face their first ranked opponent since their week 1 victory over Notre Dame. They hit the road to take on No. 13 Penn State. Beaver Stadium is one of the most hostile environments in college football, which Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day discussed ahead of their visit.

“Well no matter when you go into Penn State it’s going to be a challenge, they do a great job with the atmosphere and there’s still a handful of guys that went in 2018, but not all of them,” Day said. “So we went in 2020, it was different, it was COVID, but we know whether it’s a night game, an afternoon game, noon game, it’s gonna be a challenge. Their crowd’s gonna be in it and they’ll play a factor.”

The Nittany Lions have already sold out their entire student section for the whole 2022 season, and Saturday’s crowd for their noon kickoff will be ready to make it as hard as they can on the visiting Buckeyes.

“And they’re a good team, you can see what they did last week, you can see what they did all season, really good coaches, really good players, veteran quarterback. So new scheme this year on defense, we play good on special teams, so we got to play our A game,” Day added.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report.