With 3:25 left in the third quarter against Indiana, Kyle McCord threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. down the sideline, who flexed in the face of Hoosiers defensive back Noah Pierre to celebrate. It was called back, however, because Harrison stepped out-of-bounds on his route before coming back in to catch the pass.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said on his radio show, “The Ryan Day Show,” that he was told by Big Ten officials that the touchdown should have counted since Harrison was forced out by the cornerback.
“(McCord) hit Marvin – which I was told should have been a touchdown,” Day said. “That shouldn’t have been called because he was forced out by the defender. They thought he ran out on his own. That didn’t happen. So that was missed, and they let us know that.”
This would have given the Buckeyes a 19-3 lead before the extra point, and McCord would have a touchdown pass in the box score. McCord finished the game 20 for 33 with 239 yards and an interception, and he believes he could have been better.
The drive still ended in a touchdown when Miyan Williams got into the endzone for his second touchdown of the day, a 3-yard score, so the incorrect penalty call didn’t change the outcome of the game, but it would have made McCord and Harrison’s day look much better. Since it came right on the heels of Cade Stover’s 49-yard grab, it would have been a three-play drive if it wasn’t called back.
Even though the Buckeyes had to figure out another way to get those 24 yards, Day still used that as an example that the offense was starting to get into a rhythm later in the game, but there were still a few things that weren’t done well enough.
