Cleveland, OH

History tells Ohio State exactly what should be required of Kyle McCord against Notre Dame

Published

11 months ago

September 23, 2023

History tells Ohio State exactly what should be required of Kyle McCord against Notre Dame

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ryan Day has brought up Ohio State’s loss to Oregon in 2021 on numerous occasions this season when discussing what is needed for this season’s roster to be successful.

More specifically, he discusses the burden placed on C.J. Stroud just two games into his career as a starter and why it’s so important that the same thing doesn’t happen when Kyle McCord faces Notre Dame.

“Coming out of the Oregon game we put too much on C.J.,” Day said during fall camp. “That was too much for him. We should’ve played better defense and run the ball but we didn’t. He threw for over 400 yards, that wasn’t C.J.’s fault. But he’s getting a hard time after the game and on social media.

“That wasn’t C.J.’s fault. That was our fault.”

That 2021 roster had a flawed and inexperienced defense and a run game that struggled all season. Its only real positive was a passing attack that featured three future first-round NFL Draft picks and that showed with how the game played out. The inability to get defensive stops constantly had OSU playing catch-up offensively. The lack of a run game meant having to air things out with Stroud throwing 54 passes. He completed 35 of them for 484 yards and three touchdowns, which should be viewed as more than enough to get a win.

But it wasn’t perfect, especially on the final drive that led to an interception. So instead, Ohio State’s College Football Playoff resume took its first hit.

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It’s a position the Buckeyes have been in plenty of times before where a new starting quarterback had an early season road test that provided a chance for the world to get a good look at what he is really made of, even if he is still growing. In those cases, the pieces around the quarterback excelled in a way that didn’t require him to be a savior before he was ready to be.

In 2018 it was Dwayne Haskins going into a neutral site game against TCU inside AT&T Stadium in Texas in Week 3, with OSU walking away with a 40-28 win.

Haskins was 38 of 48 for 344 yards and two touchdowns playing in a more pass-heavy offense, but he wasn’t alone in his outstanding play. J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber combined for 185 yards and the defense — even with losing Nick Bosa to a season-ending injury — contributed to the scoreboard with two defensive touchdowns.

Haskins was quality that night. But he didn’t have to be perfect.

Justin Fields got his first big test in Week 5 of the 2019 season when Ohio State headed to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face a Cornhusker program that some thought was ready to take that next step. That contest had a similar environment to what McCord will walk into Saturday night with College GameDay in town and the game being play in prime time on ABC. But instead of a competitive show, the Buckeyes showed off the first signs of what might have been the nation’s most complete team with a 48-7 win.

Fields had 212 yards and three touchdowns on 15 of 21 passing, adding another 72 yards and a score on the ground. He was quality, but far from the main reason OSU was so dominant.

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The defense harassed Adrian Martinez into three interceptions, two of which came in the first quarter. Jeff Okudah and Chase Young showed the world why they would go on to be the Nos. 2 and 3 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, and Dobbins dominated on the ground with 177 yards. Even Master Teague had a quality day as RB2 with 77 yards and two touchdowns.

That is the place Ohio State needs to get back to, and early signs suggest that will happen. The running back room is deep with options with the guy at the top, TreVeyon Henderson, starting to show flashes that the 2021 version of him is back. Defensively the Buckeyes are in Year 2 of Jim Knowles, who drastically improved the overall play last season and has personnel featuring numerous players with meaningful snaps for three seasons.

Plus it helps that even though McCord is in his first year as a full-time starter, he’s been in the program for three years having watched Stroud prepare for these moments the past two seasons.

“This is a group that has played on the big stage,” Day said. “The majority of these guys have done that and they’ve seen it. Even though Kyle hasn’t been on that stage he’s seen it. He knows what it looks like. A lot of the guys coming back from last year’s team, they’ve been here before. That’s good going into it.

“You saw last week what we’re capable of. It’s all there and now it’s just time to go do it.”

McCord needs to take a step forward this week, just as the quarterbacks that have come before him did when they got on the field for their first big game. There will come a moment against Notre Dame where he will have to flash his upside even if he is still weeks away from that being a level he is at consistently. That comes with the territory of playing games of this magnitude in September and is a normal part of a quarterback’s development.

He has to be good while sprinkling in some moments of greatness when they are called for. That was the case with Haskins and Fields in their first big games and they responded while leading the team to wins. But Stroud was not given that benefit. He had to be perfect long before his development suggested he should have to be, and it resulted in an early loss that gave the team had no room for error the rest of the year.

The Buckeyes would rather not live through that scenario again. The expectation for Ohio State quarterbacks is arguably higher than in any other program outside of Lincoln Riley’s at USC. That means McCord must be willing — and capable — of doing anything necessary to beat the Fighting Irish.

That requirement will never change. But the pieces around him need to make sure McCord is among the reasons OSU improves to 4-0.

“He has to go play the game and we have to do whatever to win the game,” Day said. “That’s the bottom line whatever that looks like.”

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Cleveland, OH

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Published

58 mins ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Get Your Golf On!
Golfers of all abilities are invited to play in GCSC’s Summer Golf Classic presented by First National Bank on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Cleveland Metroparks Sleepy Hollow.
Join us for a day of 18 holes with cart featuring beverages, contests & prizes, lunch and a buffet dinner.
FORMAT:…

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Cleveland, OH

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

Published

8 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – One man is dead after a shooting following reports of a large fight on the east side, according to Cleveland Police.

Police got reports of a large fight around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday in the 1000 block of East 71st Street.

While officers were en route, they learned that two people were shot.

Police located a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man who were both shot, according to a release.

Both of the men were taken to the hospital by EMS.

The 22-year-old man later died at the hospital.

The condition of the 24-year-old is unknown.

Cleveland Police homicide unit is investigating, according to police.

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Cleveland, OH

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Results: Winners And Grades On August 3, 2024

Published

16 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

WWE SummerSlam 2024 results

Credit: WWE.com

WWE SummerSlam 2024 from Cleveland, Ohio advertised six championship matches. Among them was Solo Sikoa challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship, LA Knight challenging Logan Paul for the WWE United States Championship, Sami Zayn defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker and GUNTHER challenging Damian Priest for the WWE World Championship.

This week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.412 million viewers on SyFy after being preempted by the Olympics.

WWE SummerSlam Results | August 3, 2024

Liv Morgan def. Rhea Ripley | WWE Women’s World Championship
Bron Breakker def. Sami Zayn | WWE Intercontinental Championship
LA Knight def. Logan Paul | WWE United States Championship
Nia Jax def. Bayley | WWE Women’s Championship
Drew McIntyre def. CM Punk
GUNTHER def. Damian Priest | WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes def. Solo Sikoa | WWE Undisputed Championship

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Ticket Sales

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland, OH)
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Distributed: 55,858
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Available: 807

WWE Money In The Bank 2024 Winners And Grades

Liv Morgan Def. Rhea Ripley

Despite all the talk of The Judgment Day competing by themselves, Dominik Mysterio accompanied Rhea Ripley to the ring.

Michael Cole noted the last time Rhea Ripley lost a singles match was 26 months ago. To Liv Morgan.

This match started as a cat-and-mouse as Liv ran away from Ripley. Fans became frustrated and booed Liv loudly.

Rhea dominated this match until Liv Morgan dodged a charging Ripley and followed up by throwing her, shoulder-first, into the turnbuckle. Ripley could be heard (kayfabe) saying “it’s out, it’s out!”

Fans were split as they made dueling chants of “let’s go Rhea/let’s go Liv!”

Liv Morgan (kayfabe) popped her shoulder back into place by running herself into the announce table and fans went crazy.

Ripley hit the riptide, but did not pin Morgan. Instead, she grabbed a steel chair that Morgan brought into the ring. Mysterio grabbed the chair from her, which was the wise decision because she would have gotten herself disqualified. This led to an Oblivion for a nearfall and “holy s—t” chants.

Dom distracted the ref, leading to an Oblivion on the steel chair for the win. After the match, Dominik Mysterio kissed Liv Morgan and they left together.

Backstage, Damian Priest was furious with Dominik Mysterio for his actions. Finn and the rest of the Judgment Day vowed to go find him. I don’t trust them.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan Grade: A-

Bron Breakker Def. Sami Zayn

Bron Breakker hit his always impressive Breakkensteiner early on, then he proceeded to scream “quit!” at Sami Zayn.

Bron Breakker cut Sami Zayn off with a Spear, then he hit ayn with another Spear for the win. This wasn’t necessarily a squash match, but it was definitely a dominant win for Breakker.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn Grade: B

LA Knight Def. Logan Paul

Logan Paul wore a Cleveland-inspired American Flag vest and greeted two security guards on his way to the ring. One of hte security guards turned out to be Cleveland’s own MGK.

LA Knight shattered the glass on Logan Paul’s Prime vehicle before making his way to the ring.

Paul cleared the table, but LA Knight got the better of him with a modified TKO, though the table didn’t break.

Paul won these people over with a springboard moonsault on LA Knight. Though they cheered the spot, they eventually came to their senses and chanted “you still suck!”

After jumping up on the top rope, LA Knight hit a scary looking superplex. Fans chanted “this is awesome” after a nearfall.

Logan Paul borrowed brass knuckles from MGK. After a shot to LA Knight, Knight countered with a BFT.

Logan Paul vs. LA Knight Grade: A-

Nia Jax Def. Bayley

Bayley relentlessly knocked Nia Jax off her feet early in the match.

Nia Jax took control of the match, to the point where she hit the Annihilator, but Bayley kicked out.

Jax called herself “reckless” and “clumsy” while trash-talking Bayley on offense.

Bayley hit an awesome power bomb on Nia Jax from the top rope. The fans were fervently into a match that struggled to follow Logan Paul vs. LA Knight.

A Tiffany Stratton cash-in was thwarted by Bayley, but the distraction led to two power bombs and two Annihilators for the win.

Nia Jax vs. Bayley Grade: A-

Drew McIntyre Def. CM Punk

Seth Rollins walked out in a long cloak, and what was under the jacket was certain to be even wilder.

WWE used ref cameras on the referee’s ear, and there were never more ref cam shots than during Seth Rollins’ entrance.

Rollins’ referee outfit were baggy, bedazzled pants and a cutoff shirt similar to Shawn Michaels.

Fans chanted “CM Punk” to start the match as punk donned pink gear in homage to Bret Hart.

Rollins did a great job working the fans into a frenzy before ringing the bell. When the bell rang, Punk and McIntyre brawled like crazy.

Instead of counting to 10 while Punk and McIntyre were outside of the ring, Rollins instead chose to tie his shoes. Rollins also took immense pleasure in seeing Punk and Rollins beat the hell out of one another.

During an Anaconda Vice on McIntyre, Punk secured his friendship bracelet and the entire stadium celebrated.

Punk stopped his GTS on McIntyre dead in its tracks and confronted Rollins about wearing his bracelet, which Rollins picked up off the ground did wear, but out of no malice.

After a ref bump and a nearfall (followed by a second visual pinfall), Punk and Rollins got into a heated argument. Punk hit a Go To Sleep on Rollins and took his bracelet back, but it cost him the match.

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk Grade: B+

GUNTHER Def. Damian Priest

Finn Balor wished Damian Priest luck before the match. Famous last words.

GUNTHER already had chop marks on his chest before the match even started.

GUNTHER and Priest chopped the hell out of one another to the point where GUNTHER was bleeding from the chest.

Finn Balor hit the ring, presumably to save Priest, but he ended up costing Priest the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by putting GUNTHER’s leg on the bottom rope.

After this match, Jelly Roll, The Miz and R-Truth took out A-Town Down Under.

GUNTHER vs. Damian Priest Grade: B+

Cody Rhodes Def. Solo Sikoa

Cody Rhodes ran into Arn Anderson backstage, and Anderson said he called in a few favors to a few allies of Cody Rhodes. Some of whom he knows, some he doesn’t.

For a full recap of Cody vs. Solo Sikoa in Bloodline Rules, click here.

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