Kyle McCord heard the question everyone was asking about him going into Saturday’s game at Notre Dame: If Ohio State needed its new starting quarterback to make plays with the game on the line, would he be up to the task?
That ended up being the exact scenario that played out in South Bend, and McCord proved he was up to the task. In a span of just 85 seconds, McCord led the Buckeyes on a 65-yard drive down the field, completing five of 12 passing attempts for 73 yards – making up for the nine yards he lost on an intentional grounding penalty – before Chip Trayanum punched the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run to put Ohio State ahead 17-14 with just one second left on the clock.
McCord had to prove to the world he could deliver in the clutch because he simply hadn’t been in that situation before at the collegiate level. McCord’s first four starts at Ohio State were all decisive wins against inferior opponents (Akron, Indiana, Youngstown State and Western Kentucky), and all of his other game appearances in his first two years as a Buckeye came on the back end of games that were already decided.
McCord didn’t have to prove that to himself, however, because he was already confident he could do it. That confidence, he says, came from all the work he’s put in over the past three years to prepare himself to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback.
“I think practice is the toughest look I'll get, knowing that I'm going up against the best defense in America every single day in practice. And if you can have success in practice, I think that gives you so much confidence walking out there on the field regardless of who you're going up against,” McCord said. “And at that point, you know, just executing a two-minute drive, I said it on Saturday, just reverting back to our training. And something that we've done hundreds of times since I've been here, and now, getting an opportunity to go out on a big stage like that and execute it. So, just calm and sticking to my rules, my training.
“I think it was just a matter of time till everything kind of played itself out. One of my favorite sayings is ‘What’s done in the dark will always come to light.’ And just countless reps and hours and hours in the film room, preparing all for that one moment. So I felt confident walking out there.”
McCord’s teammates had the same confidence in him going into the game-winning drive because of the work they’ve seen him put in.
“I kind of knew that it would just happen,” said wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. “That doesn't just happen by chance. I mean, it's not like he got lucky or anything like that. He's always that way, 24/7. If the offense is shaky or in a tough spot, everybody can look at Kyle, and he's going to be the most calm person on the field. So that's something that's really encouraging to have behind the pocket. And we all knew that was gonna be the case when he took over the starting role.”
Ohio State nearly lost its chance to win the game when Egbuka got stopped for no gain on a 4th-and-1 running play with just 4:12 left to play. But despite that turnover on downs, McCord felt good about the Buckeyes’ chances of winning the game if the defense could get them the ball back, which they ultimately did with 1:26 remaining on the clock.
“I felt like as soon as we got the ball back, with a minute and 26 seconds left and a timeout, I had all the confidence in the world in our offense,” McCord said. “It's something that we practice a whole lot here. Because at the end of the day, that's really what the game came down to is that last drive. And so if we got the ball back, I knew we were gonna go down and score, there was no doubt in my mind. It was just how we were going to do it. And obviously, it was a tough drive, converting a few third-and-longs and a fourth down, but you can't draw it up much better than that.”
“If you can have success in practice, I think that gives you so much confidence walking out there on the field regardless of who you're going up against.”– Kyle McCord
McCord’s final drive against Notre Dame wasn’t perfect. It nearly ended with an interception – which would have left him with a lot more to prove coming out of that game – when a pass intended for Cade Stover over the middle of the field was tipped by Fighting Irish safety DJ Brown. As he recalled that moment on Wednesday, McCord said he couldn’t repeat what was going through his mind as he saw the ball hit Brown’s hands, but he didn’t allow the near-turnover to fluster him.
“I'd probably get in trouble by (Ohio State communications director Jerry Emig) for repeating it,” McCord said. “Obviously that wasn't a great read, but I feel like that's the type of game it was. A game of inches. And watching it back on film, obviously we'd like to have that one back, but I think we got almost a second chance there at life and I made the most of it.”
While Ohio State found itself on the ropes plenty of times in the final minutes against Notre Dame, McCord never allowed the Fighting Irish to land the knockout blow, completing a 23-yard pass to Egbuka on 3rd-and-10, a 7-yard pass to Julian Fleming on 4th-and-7 and a 21-yard pass to Egbuka on 3rd-and-19 – the latter getting Ohio State to the 1-yard line with just 15 seconds left to play – to keep the Buckeyes alive.
He believes he exhibited both his mental and physical toughness in those moments, as do his coaches and teammates.
“To win the game in a two-minute drill, that's what great quarterbacks do. And for his first top-10 road game, to be put in that situation and come through says a lot about his future,” Ryan Day said after the game. “I mean, there were some big-time throws in there. Hung in there, he was poised. And what a great win for our program.”
Now, McCord will look to build off of his first month of the year by putting in the same kind of work with his teammates that he feels led to his successful game-winning drive last Saturday.
“I think one of the most underrated parts of it is just controlling the moments and controlling the environment and making sure that the guys around you just have the utmost confidence in you. And I think the only way you can really do that is by putting the work in and letting them see that whether it's staying late after practice watching film, getting extra reps after practice, just allowing guys to see you putting in that extra work,” McCord said. “And when moments like that arise, you want to have all 11 guys or all 10 other guys in the field believe in you.”
