Ohio State takeaways from Wisconsin: What did we learn about Kyle McCord, Buckeyes?

MADISON, Wisc. – It wasn’t always pretty, but Ohio State found a way to win on Saturday. The No. 3 Buckeyes beat Wisconsin 24-10, led by their stout defense, another huge game from Heisman Trophy candidate receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and the return of running back TreVeyon Henderson.

Harrison had two of the Ohio State touchdowns to go with 123 yards receiving, while the defense held Wisconsin in check for much of the game outside of the first drive of the second half. The Buckeyes are now 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten. Here are a few initial takeaways:

McCord must clean up decision-making

Kyle McCord has had some faults in his first season starting, but turnovers weren’t a problem before Saturday. He entered the day with one interception, in the opener against Indiana, plus one lost fumble against Purdue.

He didn’t take care of the ball against Wisconsin. He fumbled on the first drive, which wasn’t completely his fault. Right tackle Josh Fryar got beat off the snap and gave up the strip sack while McCord was trying to convert on fourth down. But he also threw two interceptions, the first being the most problematic. On first-and-goal from the 9-yard line, McCord tried to fit a pass into a window that was nonexistent and ended any scoring chance for the Buckeyes.

His second INT came in the second quarter while staring down Harrison on a crossing route.

Entering Saturday, Pro Football Focus had graded 3.4 percent of McCord’s 205 pass attempts as turnover-worthy plays, which ranked in the middle of the pack in the FBS. The trip to Madison was a step in the wrong direction in that regard, with a new season high in turnovers for the Buckeyes.

McCord had some nice moments in the first half and was hurt by a few drops, plus he had a stellar touchdown throw to Harrison from 19 yards out in the corner of the end zone in the third quarter. But he also had two intentional grounding calls in Wisconsin territory that ended drives, and he never looked completely comfortable against the Badgers.

McCord did come up with a limp after a scramble in the fourth quarter, but he stayed in the game. If he had to leave, third-string quarterback Tristan Gebbia would’ve played with Devin Brown unavailable.

Ultimately, McCord completed 17-of-26 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and the two interceptions. He has to be better going forward if Ohio State is going to have a chance to win the national championship.

Defense dominating again

Where would Ohio State be without its defense? It would probably have two losses coming into Saturday, and it’s possible Wisconsin would have been a third.

With Ohio State continuing its first-half offensive woes, Jim Knowles’ defense shut down Wisconsin, giving up just three points and 83 total yards. The Buckeyes held the Badgers to 1-of-5 on third down in the first half, as well.

The defense struggled out of the gate in the second half, as Wisconsin went on a 75-yard touchdown drive to begin the third quarter. But the Badgers had four yards the rest of the third quarter and didn’t score in the fourth. All told, Wisconsin had 259 yards and scored one touchdown.

Ohio State’s going to have to find a way to get more offense going in the first half, but the defense continues to be good enough to carry more than its share of the load.

Henderson provides crucial jolt

A bright spot for the offense was the return of TreVeyon Henderson. The Buckeyes’ standout running back missed the previous three games with an undisclosed injury but came back Saturday looking like the Henderson everyone had been waiting for.

He had 24 carries for 162 yards and a touchdown. His explosive ability was a big help to the offense, as he averaged 6.8 yards per carry and had a few plays that looked like they could’ve broken for touchdowns. Ohio State has to keep Henderson healthy the rest of the season because the run game looked completely different with him in the game.

He dropped what should have been a touchdown in the first quarter, but other than that he was terrific — including the 33-yard score that put the game away in the fourth quarter.

Injury update

Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka missed the previous two games but was not on the injury report going into Saturday. And yet: He warmed up but did not play against Wisconsin.

That was an unexpected absence for Ohio State, and a few other injuries popped up once the game began. Wide receiver Julian Fleming left the game after a deep pass attempt in the first quarter, though he returned to share snaps with Xavier Johnson and Carnell Tate the rest of the game. Starting safety Lathan Ransom left the game in the fourth quarter and was carted to the locker room. He returned to the sideline late in the fourth quarter with an obvious limp but did not play.

Though Ohio State got Henderson and Denzel Burke back on Saturday, there are still more injuries to watch in the coming weeks.

(Photo of Marvin Harrison Jr.: Dan Sanger / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)