"Notably worse against inferior competition.": CFB fans stunned by Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes offensive woes in season opener

The Ohio State Buckeyes won their season opener, defeating the Indiana Hoosiers 23-3. While Ohio State played a Big Ten team, unlike many of the college football powerhouses that opened their seasons against midmajors, Indiana is not expected to be good. Despite this, the Buckeyes offense struggled to move the football, particularly through the air.

John Crumpler, who covers the Houston Texans, who drafted former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, pointed out the dropoff in their offensive production, tweeting:

"Crazy that Ohio State’s offense looks notably worse against inferior competition. Folks told us C.J. Stroud was a product of his receivers… what happened?"

Check out John Crumpler's tweet here.

Fans shared mixed reactions to Crumpler's tweet. @Roulette702 wrote that knowledgeable fans did not feel this way:

"Only ppl who didn’t know what the h**l they were talking about said that. If anything CJ made them better."

@Spendilalicouis pointed out that there were games in which the Buckeyes did not play great offensively last season:

"Ohio State had moments like this with Stroud under center."

@Ozyrel1 suggested that Ohio State has lost plenty of talent from their receiving room:

"Most of the receivers are gone, no? It's just MHJ and Egbuka and a QB worse than Stroud."

While Stroud is set to make his NFL debut next weekend, his replacement, Kyle McCord, struggled in his first start since being named the starter. He finished with just 239 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception while completing 60.6% of his passes.

Perhaps more concerningly, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, who are both projected to be top 10 picks in the 2024 NFL draft, finished with a combined five receptions for 34 yards.

Should the Ohio State Buckeyes be worried?

The Ohio State Buckeyes struggled to move the ball through the air in their season opener. Despite this, it is too soon for coach Ryan Day to hit the panic button. There was always going to be a dropoff going from C.J. Stroud, who finished in the top four of Heisman voting each of the past two seasons.

While Kyle McCord did not look good in his season debut, he was never expected to replicate what Stroud did. Furthermore, it is far too early for Buckeyes faithful to panic about the offense. Unlike most of the teams expected to contend, Ohio State did not have a tune-up game to start its season.

Although McCord may provide the Buckeyes with reason to worry down the line, that shouldn't be the case after just one game. Ohio State will play non-Power Five opponents in their next two games before facing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.