1. McCord Played Reasonably Well. There was a lot of gruff midgame about McCord, but I actually thought he played reasonably well.

• He started 11/11 and took what the defense was giving him, keeping the offense ahead of schedule.
• His first incompletion was a pass that Gee Scott should have caught for a huge chunk play.
• His INT was the correct read, just a bad throw. It happens.
• He finished 19/26 for 189 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. By my count there were three drops (one each for Harrison, Scott, and Fleming). He easily could have been 22/26 with four TDs and 275 yards.
• He took the sack instead of trying to do something stupid. This is progress compared to the fumble against PSU and the repeated intentional groundings the past few weeks. Just taking the loss and letting our defense get on the field and get a stop is just fine for this team.

2. This Offense Now Runs Through TreVeyon, and He Averaged 1.1 More YPC Than Corum vs. Rutgers. I am generally not into the transitive property, but Henderson's game yesterday showed the continued growth of the running game.

• Henderson averaged 5.8 YPC yesterday without any of his usual home run plays (long of 27)
• Corum averaged 4.7 YPC against Rutgers, while Donovan Edwards averaged 2.2 YPC
• Rutgers gives up 3.8 YPC, so Henderson averaged 2 more YPC than what they typically allow. 
• In fact, in the three common opponents with UM (IU, Rutgers, Purdue), Ohio State has averaged more YPC in two of the three games (OSU averaged 0.7 more YPC vs. IU and Purdue), and Rutgers was basically a wash (4.8 YPC for OSU, 5.0 for UM).
• My optimistic side is that, if we get back to using Johnson in the run game, we might be able to open up even more for Henderson
• The passes to Henderson are a great addition to this offense. High percentage and can go for a score at any time.

3. The Defense Continues to Make Home Run Plays/Red Zone Stops. It's one thing to have a statistically good defense. It's entirely another to have one that answers the bell and makes its own plays.​

• This defense had several huge 4th down stops against ND, Proctor's pick-6 against Maryland when we were down 10-0, and yesterday's pick-6. They make game-changing explosive plays. Reminds me of the 2016 defense.
• In the last four games we have allowed 15 drives inside the 25. Opponents have come away with 0 points 5 times, a field goal 6 times, and have 4 touchdowns (two of them being garbage time, Purdue and PSU late)
• Specific to yesterday, this defense was without 3 of 4 starters in the defensive backfield, and Eichenburg was banged up. Rutgers started two drives deep in OSU territory. And this defense only gave up 16 points. They are awesome.

Overall we are used to bludgeoning Rutgers. They are better this year. But there was still stuff to build on yesterday. Two more games to work out the kinks before The Game.