Skip to main content
ohio-state logo

Kyle McCord on 11-2 record last two seasons: 'at a lot of schools, that's great, but not here'

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•04/21/23•

andybackstrom

Kyle McCord by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord looks downfield during the Buckeyes spring game. McCord is competing with redshirt freshman Devin Brown for the starting job. (Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS — Junior quarterback Kyle McCord understands the standard at Ohio State. That’s why he waited his turn behind two-time Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud. And that’s why he’s welcomed an offseason competition under center with redshirt freshman Devin Brown.

It’s also why McCord isn’t content with going 11-2 again, like the Buckeyes have the last two seasons.

“You don’t beat the Team Up North, you don’t win a national championship, you don’t achieve any of your goals, he told ESPN’s Heather Dinich. “It definitely speaks volumes that 11-2 at a lot of schools, that’s great, but not here.”

McCord went one step further in that ESPN interview and called the last two seasons “complete failures” for Ohio State. McCord, of course, is referring to the Buckeyes falling short of team goals, not the performance of individual players.

His point drives home this message: Ohio State hasn’t been good enough in the games that matter the most. In 2021, the Buckeyes suffered a home loss to Oregon in Week 2. Then they were outplayed in Ann Arbor in the regular season finale before needing a heroic comeback in the Rose Bowl to reach 11 wins. Last year, Ohio State kept an undefeated season alive until The Game, when Michigan beat the Buckeyes in Columbus for the first time since 2000. Then, after backing its way into the College Football Playoff, Ohio State blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead to eventual back-to-back national champion Georgia.

McCord’s commentary on the way the last couple seasons have unfolded isn’t necessarily novel. Head coach Ryan Day openly shared a similar sentiment ahead of the 2022 campaign.

“I think the thing that’s unique about Ohio State is, every year, we’re expected to win the whole thing,” Day said at last year’s Big Ten Media Days. “And that’s part of the deal here.”

Day continued: “A lot of times you go 11-2, win the Rose Bowl, you say it’s one heck of a season. Well, not around here. And we knew that going in, and our goal every year is to beat [Michigan], win the Big Ten championship and win the national championship. So we didn’t get those things last year.”

The Buckeyes didn’t get those things in 2022, either.

Naturally, the expectations haven’t changed. If anything, they’re even greater.

ESPN Football Power Index projects Ohio State as the national title favorite for next season, and, according to FPI, the Buckeyes have a 34.3% chance of running the table in 2023.

Even though Ohio State has to replace three starting offensive linemen, plus a quarterback who is projected to be a top-five NFL Draft pick, and shore up a defense that was gashed down the stretch of last season, the Buckeyes are once again considered a legit contender.

McCord could have a say in Ohio State accomplishing all three of its lofty goals. But, first, he has to earn that opportunity. After all, the competition between McCord and Brown is still ongoing.

Following the spring game, McCord described the decision to keep the competition going as “the wise thing to do.”

“The competition’s been great,” he said. “We both know what it is. But I think, at the end of the day, Devin’s definitely making me better. And I think vice versa as well. Even though there’s not a winner of the job yet, I think that benefits both of us, honestly.

“I think it’s going to push both of us going into fall camp.”

You may also like