The Monday After: Taking closer look at Buckeyes opening win over Indiana

COLUMBUS — Ohio State didn’t play its best football in the season-opening win.

Good thing the Buckeyes have plenty of time to reach their full potential. Yes, Ryan Day wanted to see his team open the year with a better performance. But the fifth-year head coach also understands the value of Week 1 struggles — and how they can help a team bursting with potential reach its ceiling.

“The goal is to win the first game, you know, you don’t need to play your best football in the first game of the year,” Day said Sautrday after the 23-3 win over Indiana. “But you have to grow from it, you have to make sure that win’s under your belt because you know, a few weeks, nobody cares, the win’s a win, and then you move on.

“But the goal is to get it and then we have to grow immediately after.”

Ohio State has plenty of growing to do. With games coming against Youngstown State and Western Kentucky on deck before the massive road trip to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, Ohio State will need to sure some issues up quickly.

How were the Buckeyes able to pull away and earn a road win to open the season? Are the mistakes made by McCord correctable or is this a sign that the quarterback play may be in trouble? How do we measure the dominant defensive performance, given the lack of talent on the Hoosiers offense?

Spencer Holbrook, Andy Backstrom and Tim May are breaking down how the Buckeyes fared with the newest Lettermen Row video: The Monday After. Every Monday following Buckeyes games, Tim, Andy and Spencer will reconvene and chat about what they saw Saturday afternoon, this time after the season-opening win over the Hoosiers in Bloomington.

Don’t miss The Monday After with Spencer and Tim as they take a final look at the latest Buckeyes win — this one coming over Indiana.

More coverage from the weekend:

Picking three impressive Kyle McCord throws from season-opening start

Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord made his first start since 2021, and it came with ups and downs Saturday. McCord didn’t throw a touchdown, but he did make some nice throws.

Lettermen Row turned back the tape and identified his three best passes from the afternoon. Albeit somewhat inconsistent, McCord’s arm talent was on display against the Hoosiers.

Check it out here.

Ryan Day, program culture, stands out to Ohio State offensive line commit Ian Moore

Ohio State has a lot to offer offensive linemen, namely a track record of producing top-tier NFL players up front, the most recent of which is three-and-done tackle Paris Johnson Jr., who went No. 6 overall in this year’s draft.

What also caught the attention of 2024 four-star offensive tackle commit Ian Moore was the Buckeyes’ culture. His parents saw it, too.

“We’ve met a lot of people and we’ve met a lot of coaching staffs, but there’s been nobody like coach Day,” Ian’s father, Terry, told Lettermen Row. “And then you get coach Justin Frye and coach Mike Sollenne, those dudes are solid people.”

For the full story, go here.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Youngstown State: 6 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 82 days

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