For the third season in a row, flat screens are floating down the Olentangy because the Ohio State Buckeyes came up short in The Game vs. Michigan. While the Wolverines are probably done with stealing signs for the time being, Ohio State needs to accept that the Buckeyes are no longer the titans atop the Big Ten's highest perch. The Big Ten shall belong to the victors until proven otherwise.
We are yet another year removed from Urban Meyer on the Ohio State sidelines. He has many flaws, but none of them were ever exposed when he faced the Wolverines. Unblemished, Meyer saw his successor come up short for a third time in a row in the program's defining game. Day will probably keep his job, as Ohio State would be so foolish to fire him. Conversely, he may just walk away anyway.
Firing Day into the sun jokes aside, the real big issue for the Buckeyes is poor quarterback misevaluations regarding McCord coming out of high school. His past and present teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. has been otherworldly at wide receiver, but you have to think a number of quarterbacks the Buckeyes picked McCord over could have done better in Ohio State's biggest game of the year.
Here are five quarterbacks the Buckeyes could have had who would have won The Game yesterday.
5 QBs Ohio State could have had who would have beaten Michigan
5. Drew Allar was in-state and looks sharper in year one than Kyle McCord
A lot was made about this when Penn State lost to Ohio State a few weeks ago in Happy Valley. 2022 five-star Drew Allar was in-state over at Medina. He wanted to play for the Buckeyes, but with a full quarterback room featuring McCord and his predecessor C.J. Stroud, you could understand why Allar had to go play his college football else. He has been fine in his first year as the starter at Penn State.
Not to say that Allar would have been better than what J.J. McCarthy was for Michigan in the latest rendition of The Game, but there is a chance he would have played better than McCord. He is way more mobile than his Ohio State counterpart, so perhaps he could have made a few plays with his legs to better open up the pass. You have to remember that Penn State has no wide receiver depth.
To me, I think Allar could have helped close the gap in this game, but I am not saying he would have won it more often than not. However, I think if you play The Game 10 times, Allar would have found a way to win at least one more game of 10 than McCord would have. Because he was never really given a fair shot at being recruited by his home state's program, you have to wonder what could have been.
Expect for Allar to be so much better entering his second full year as the Penn State starter in 2024.
4. Quinn Ewers was already in-house before transferring over to Texas
This one might be hard to stomach. The timing was never right to begin with, but can you imagine how good this Ohio State offense would have been if Quinn Ewers was the quarterback and never transferred back home to his native Texas? Ewers has a great opportunity to not only win the Big 12 in his second season at Texas, but can be the one to bring Texas back: Into the College Football Playoff.
Again, Ewers reclassifying to 2021 made his chances of actually playing anything meaningful at Ohio State slim to none. Two handoffs and a sweet kombucha tea NIL deal, and he was back to Texas. Ewers was never going to be a college backup for two years, which is why he transferred. His talent is too good and too obvious. However, he would have been a gigantic upgrade over McCord this year.
While we should commend McCord for having patience in biding his time to be the Ohio State starting quarterback, we must also commend Ewers for taking what is his and then some. Texas was in far worse shape than Ohio State ever has been in its illustrious history. A lot of the credit should go to head coach Steve Sarkisian, but some of it should go to Ewers for being a total program changer.
If Ewers is the Buckeyes starting quarterback, they are going to Indianapolis, possibly ranked No. 1.
3. Jalen Milroe is not a stiff, as illustrated by his big playmaking abilities
Not to say that he was genuinely on their radar, but look at what Jalen Milroe is doing at Alabama compared to what McCord is doing at Ohio State and don't tell me he could not have been a difference-maker for the Buckeyes. Like McCord, Milroe had to bide his time by a sensational college quarterback. He had to back up 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young for his first two seasons.
Admittedly, Milroe too was in a quarterback battle out of camp. McCord beat out Devin Brown, while Milroe edged out Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner. It was not smooth sailing for Milroe in September, but he has flourished in Tommy Rees' offense the last two months. What he has done leading the Crimson Tide offense the last several weeks has Alabama fans so incredibly excited.
Given that the SEC is the faster of the two leagues, you would think that Milroe could have been every bit as good as C.J. Stroud, Justin Fields and the late Dwayne Haskins were before McCord running this Ohio State offense for Ryan Day. Milroe is a borderline Heisman Trophy candidate. Had he been in Columbus, he would be right up there with Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. so very easily.
Simply put, Milroe would have made at least three more dynamic plays that McCord was incapable of.
2. Caleb Williams carried a rebuilding USC team for two whole seasons
I think this goes without saying. Caleb Williams is the most talented quarterback in the college game today. Unfortunately, there is a strong possibility that he has played final game in a USC Trojans uniform. They went 7-5 this season and he may just declare for the 2024 NFL Draft, as opposed to playing in something like the Alamo Bowl for the second time in his illustrious collegiate career.
As with Quinn Ewers, could you imagine what Williams could have accomplished in this Ohio State offense? Throwing the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr.? Insanity, I tell you! While he was always going to go to either Georgia or Oklahoma out of high school, the USC star would have done Joe Burrow things at LSU for Burrow's first college team. Williams was in the same recruiting class as Ewers and McCord...
Again, Ohio State was not really ever going to have Williams, as the Buckeyes picked McCord, and Ewers, over him. However, it was a shame to see what should be his final college season fizzle out like it absolutely did over in Los Angeles. Had Williams been the Buckeyes starter over McCord for this season, Ohio State may have been the overwhelming favorite to win the College Football Playoff.
Not only would Williams have made up the difference, but he would have left McCarthy in his dust.
1. J.J. McCarthy wanted to go to Ohio State, but they picked Kyle McCord
This is the one that may pain Buckeye Nation the most. Like Drew Allar, J.J. McCarthy initially wanted to come play at Ohio State. He was a five-star quarterback from Chicagoland before going down to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for his senior season. Ultimately, the Buckeyes decided to go with McCord out of Philadelphia and Michigan landed McCarthy. Oh, how the turn tables have turned.
McCarthy bided his time behind Cade McNamara for a season before ultimately taking over for him last year. McNamara transferred to Iowa before succumbing to injury. That Hawkeyes offense set the football world back a century. All the while, McCarthy has been the best quarterback to play at Michigan in a generation. He has the Wolverines poised to make the playoff for the third year in a row.
What I like about McCarthy's game the most is the poise in which he plays. The big moment is never too big for him, unless you are the TCU Horned Frogs, and you are playing them in Phoenix... Then again, McCarthy does not cost his team games like McCord has been seemingly trying to do all year long to no avail until The Game on Saturday. McCarthy would have Ohio State playing in Indianapolis.
Sometimes, one tough decision you make can have ghastly consequences if you are not too careful.
