Ohio State football has to be feeling good right about now. In the first college football playoff rankings that were released on Tuesday, the Buckeyes sat atop those rankings. They're undefeated on the year and have numerous statement wins on the season, the most notable of which include wins over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend and a victory against the Penn State Nittany Lions in Columbus.
That isn't to say there hasn't been some turbulence along the way. Kyle McCord is in his first season starting at quarterback for Ohio State, and his play hasn't exactly been flawless. Marvin Harrison Jr. has been exceptional as always but his star running mate, Emeka Egbuka, has missed each of Ohio State's last three games. And now, Miyan Williams, a bruiser running back for the Buckeyes, will miss the rest of the season after undergoing a procedure on his knee.
It isn't a loss Ohio State can't come back from, but it still is a loss nonetheless. Luckily, Ohio State football has a few players who can step up in his absence.
TreVeyon Henderson
If Williams is Ohio State's bruiser back, then TreVeyon Henderson is the lightning to Williams' thunder. Henderson is averaging 6.7 yards per carry compared to the 3.2 that Williams was averaging. Henderson has provided plenty of big plays for the Buckeyes, a trend that continued last week to ice Ohio State's road win over the Wisconsin Badgers.
That hasn't been the first time Henderson has delivered a big play to spark a road win this 2023 season. His 61-yard touchdown run against Notre Dame helped Ohio State football get off to a 10-0 lead in that game.
In five games this season, Henderson has 457 yards, averaging 91.4 yards per game in those contests. But he also has runs of 30, 33, and 61 yards. If those runs were wiped off the record, Henderson would be averaging 5.1 yards per carry. That's not bad by any means, but it isn't world-breaking either.
What it does do is highlight the consistency Henderson has to improve upon. He is a proven big-play creator, but can he churn out five-to-six yard runs consistently and wear a defense out? That hasn't really been the case so far in his college career. He needs to make it so to help keep Ohio State's offense balanced.
Kyle McCord
If Ohio State football's rush attack is compromised in any way, more will be asked of Kyle McCord. McCord has been mostly solid as the Buckeyes' QB1 this season. He ranks fifth in the country in QBR at 83.4; only Washington's Michael Penix Jr., LSU's Jayden Daniels, Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel, and Oregon's Bo Nix rank more favorably than McCord.
McCord is also averaging 9.4 yards per attempt on the season, has 14 touchdowns to only three interceptions, and is completing 64.1 percent of his passes.
Of course, what helps those numbers is being able to throw to Marvin Harrison Jr. Harrison Jr. is responsible for 32.3 percent of McCord's completions, 41.1 percent of McCord's passing yards, and 57.1 percent of his touchdown passes. That's great; who wouldn't want to rely on a truly dominant force like Marvin Harrison Jr? But it would do McCord some good to spread the ball around and get others involved.
To cut him some slack, tight end Cade Stover has been a reliable option as well. But if Ohio State's run game isn't working up to par, Ohio State is going to need more from McCord to stay undefeated, beat Michigan, and make and win the college football playoff.
Follow Us
Subscribe