Major Setback: Ohio State’s star player gave a poor statement criticizing the team

COLUMBUS, Ohio — No matter what you saw on Ohio State football’s sideline at Wisconsin, Kyle McCord was not coming out of the game.

He laughed at the thought, actually. McCord sat for interviews Wednesday night with his left ankle still taped up from a just-completed practice. But a lot of guys are banged up right now, he said, and it would take more than a ankle “tweak” — his term — to keep him off the field.

That might be especially true of Saturday’s first trip home to Rutgers, where his father, Derek, played quarterback and his mother, Stacy, also attended.

“Obviously, it’s not ideal,” McCord said of the ankle on his plant foot. “But I think just powering through it and pushing through the pain. The biggest thing is learning how to play with it, and it’s been getting better every single week.”

McCord said he first injured the ankle early in the Sept. 23 win at Notre Dame. He confirmed he aggravated the same injury midway through the third quarter when he scrambled for a 5-yard gain on third-and-3. From that point forward he walked with a noticeable limp. While on the sideline, he was seen riding the stationary bike while backup Tristan Gebbia warmed up behind the bench.

McCord, though, did not miss a snap. He said he expected to ankle to hurt worse than it did coming out of the game. By Wednesday night, he said it “felt pretty good.”

Both before and after that ankle aggravation, some of the ball security issues that have simmered under the surface spiked against Wisconsin

In the first quarter, on first-and-9 at the Badgers 9, McCord rolled out right on a play designed for a pass to tight end Cade Stover. However, Stover got caught up in traffic, leaving McCord only two well-covered receivers in the end zone. McCord tried to fit one in anyway, and Preston Zachman intercepted him.

McCord, typically candid, called it “a dumb play on my fault — and I think I have to grow from that.”

Earlier in that quarter, he lost a fumble while being sacked on third down. On two separate occasions in the second half, he was assessed an intentional grounding penalty for throwing towards no actual receiver when pressure converged. That included one that looked very close to being a backwards pass, which could have been another fumble lost.

Those were also learning moments — reminders that coach Ryan Day prioritized ability to play within the offense during the quarterback competition between McCord and Devin Brown

“I think the biggest thing with coach Day’s offense — and coach (Corey) Dennis says it all the time — is you’re gonna get yours,” McCord said. “If you just continue to follow the rules of the offense, continue to go through your reads and just trust your eyes and what you see, big plays are going to happen — whether that’s throwing a drag to Marvin and having him run it in for a touchdown or throwing a shot down the field. You’re gonna get yours regardless.

“So I think the biggest thing is not pressing for those plays, and just letting them happen as the game flows.”

McCord, and his once again healing ankle, will be back on the field Saturday to work through those issues.