There's quite a bit to be concerned about within the Ohio State football program. While the Buckeyes have plenty of time to fix the issues that head coach Ryan Day saw in the season opener against Indiana, there is quite a bit of work to do for a program that considers itself a national championship contender.

The most notable aspect of the season-opening 23-3 victory of the Hoosiers was the inability of the offense to assert itself against a team that will likely struggle to reach the .500 mark this season.

Teams can have problems early in the season and fix them, but Ohio State appears to have a long way to get close to archrival Michigan.

The Buckeyes struggled with Ryan McCord at quarterback for a large portion of the game, while JJ McCarthy of the Wolverines looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate in Michigan's 30-3 triumph over East Carolina. When the quarterback struggles with timing, accuracy and confidence, it has an impact on the rest of the offense.

Day did not expect any miracles from McCord or fellow quarterback Devin Brown, who played briefly against the Hoosiers. Day had said in the days prior to the opener that that he would employ both quarterbacks in the early part of the season with the belief that one of the two signalcallers will assert himself.

Three games before the Buckeyes must be whole

McCord did get the start against Indiana, and he played the large majority of the game. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 239 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass and he did toss an interception.

McCord was not a factor running with the ball. He had just 8 yards on 2 carries, and the Hoosiers did not have to be concerned with the quarterback tucking the ball and running with it.

Brown did not take advantage of the door opening, not that he had a real opportunity. He completed 1 of 3 passes for minus-2 yards and his only carry resulted in a 3-yard loss.

The next two opportunities for the Ohio State quarterbacks will come against Youngstown State and Western Kentucky during the next two weeks.

While neither of those opponents should test the Buckeyes, perhaps one of the two quarterbacks will look more like an Ohio State quarterback is supposed to look. Actually, McCord was not awful against the Hoosiers. He struggled early in the game but was much better as it progressed.

Even if neither quarterback excels during the first three games, Day wants to establish his team's QB1 prior to the Sept. 23 game at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are off to a dominating 2-0 start, and it will be difficult for Ohio State to win on the road in South Bend if their quarterback play is subpar.

Offensive line has to improve

The offensive line had a rough game against the Hoosiers, and McCord bore the brunt of their issues. While he did not get sacked, there was pressure in his face throughout the game, and that has to change.

Two players on the offensive line were making their first starts, so there is every reason to believe that Weeks 2 and 3 should get better. Josh Simmons started at left tackle and Carson Hinzman started at center, and these are arguably the two most important positions on the offensive line. In addition to those two first-timers, the rest of the offensive line did not excel.

The running game may no longer be the bread and butter portion of the Ohio State offense, but the Buckeyes want to establish the run. Ohio State did not look like a powerful running team against Indiana. Overall, the statistics were not awful as the team gained 143 yards on 31 carries. That's a 4.6 yards per carry mark, and Chip Trayanum gained 57 yards on 8 carries for an average of 7.1 yards per attempt.

However, when Ohio State needed solid blocking, it did not get it. The Buckeyes were just 2 of 12 on third-down plays.

Long-term ramifications

While the Buckeyes were unimpressive with McCord at the controls and an ordinary offensive line, archrival Michigan has no such worries at this point in the season.

The Wolverines saw QB JJ McCarthy complete 26 of 30 passes for 281 yards with 3 TDs and 0 interceptions, while Blake Corum gained 73 yards on 11 carries as he returned from a knee injury that wiped out the end of the 2022 season for him.

Their offensive line functioned at a high level throughout. The Buckeyes have a long way to go if they are going to compete on even terms with Michigan when they meet in Ann Arbor November 25.