Why This Week Will Tell Us More About Ohio State on Both Sides of the Ball

Ohio State’s quarterback competition is now complete, but the pressure is increasing for the Buckeyes to find their A-game.Tuesday’s press conference at Ohio State brought the expected news that Kyle McCord would remain the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback going forward, bringing an end to the competition between McCord and Devin Brown that extended into the season.Ryan Day had good reason to shut down the competition and allow the offense to coalesce around one quarterback this week. The Buckeyes are just one week away from a top-10 matchup with Notre Dame, so they need their offense to get into a rhythm before their trip to South Bend. But first, Ohio State will have to pass another test this week when it hosts Western Kentucky at Ohio Stadium.While the Hilltoppers may not stand out as an opponent who should challenge the Buckeyes, they‘re not a team that should simply be overlooked. Western Kentucky led the entire FBS in passing yards last season and brought back quarterback Austin Reed and wide receiver Malachi Corley, who will present the toughest test of the season to date for Ohio State’s defense.Given that this will be McCord’s first game this year as the full-time starting quarterback and the first time Ohio State has had to face a dangerous passing offense this year, this week should serve as a truer litmus test of where the Buckeyes stand on both sides of the ball than the first two games of the season did.We discuss that on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays along with sharing all of our biggest takeaways from the Youngstown State game and discussing what else stood out to us from Week 2 in college football.The full rundown for this week’s show:0:16: Naming Kyle McCord the starter now was the obvious move and the right move1:40: Devin Brown has promise for the future, but it’s time to focus on winning over experimenting6:23: Playing well against Youngstown State doesn’t prove anything, but McCord can now build on that7:44: Quarterback competition, new clock rules, less efficiency have all contributed to lower point totals15:55: A variety of factors, not just offensive line play, have contributed to third-down struggles19:49: TreVeyon Henderson clearly has his explosiveness back, which makes him OSU’s No. 1 RB25:08: We started to see in Week 2 what the Kyle McCord-Marvin Harrison Jr. connection can be27:23: Ohio State has a top-five defense in the country right now, but this week presents a stiffer test29:33: Day and Knowles aren‘t worried about lack of sacks yet, but DEs must start making more plays33:19: Free safety remains a question mark, so it would be best if Josh Proctor can play this week38:10: Jordan Hancock could be in line to play most of the snaps at slot CB vs. Western Kentucky44:36: The defensive tackle rotation of Mike Hall, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton is looking strong47:30: Ohio State’s offense has a good chance to score more points on more possessions this week49:20: Taking care of the football, not allowing big plays will be points of emphasis this week53:41: Score predictions: Andy has OSU covering and the under, Dan has no cover and the over58:57: Texas might be back, and every Power 5 conference appears to have a real CFP contender1:06:10: Purdue shows it’s still dangerous and Wisconsin shows it’s still a work in progress1:09:08: Week 3 in college football lacks marquee matchups, but there’s still potential for chaos