7:16 OSU - Miyan Williams 7-yard run (Jayden Fielding kick) - Ohio State 7-0, Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:34
Second quarter
6:15 IND - Chris Freeman 42-yard field goal - Ohio State 7-3, Drive: 8 plays, 43 yards, 4:03
0:03 OSU - Jayden Fielding 40-yard field goal - Ohio State 10-3, Drive: 6 plays, 35 yards, 0:35
Third quarter
6:42 OSU - Jayden Fielding 22-yard field goal - Ohio State 13-3, Drive: 11 plays, 76 yards, 5:24
1:51 OSU - Miyan Williams 3-yard run (Jayden Fielding kick) - Ohio State 20-3, Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards, 3:24
Fourth quarter
4:26 OSU - Jayden Fielding 22-yard field goal - Ohio State 23-3, Drive: 14 plays, 54 yards, 5:41
Ohio State opened its season with a 23–3 victory on September 2 against the Indiana Hoosiers in front of a near-capacity crowd of 50,050 at Memorial Stadium. As part of the Big Ten's new media rights deal, an Ohio State game would be broadcast on CBS for the first time since 2014. Ohio State entered the game having won 27 straight meetings against the Hoosiers. In the week leading up to the game, coach Ryan Day said that junior Kyle McCord would start for the Buckeyes in their opener, with redshirt freshman Devin Brown also expected to see playing time.[3]
The game began with Indiana going three-and-out, with a third-down stop by linebacker Steele Chambers forcing the Hoosiers to punt. McCord and the Buckeyes would then march down the field, punctuated by a 7-yard touchdown from senior running back Miyan Williams. The two teams would then trade punts until the end of the first quarter, with Ohio State's defense able to stifle Indiana's unexpected triple option offense. Ohio State would go on a long drive to start the second quarter, driving down to the Indiana 29, where on 4th-and-2 McCord's pass would be intercepted by defensive back Philip Dunnam after his primary target, running back Chip Trayanum, was knocked over by a Hoosier defender. Indiana would drive down the field after this interception, and would score their first points on a 42-yard field goal by kicker Chris Freeman that bounced off the right upright and through. Brown would see his first snaps on Ohio State's ensuing possession, but would be sacked on third down by defensive lineman Andre Carter, forcing another punt. The half would come to an end with Ohio State taking advantage of a fourth-down stop by safety Josh Proctor and a taunting penalty against Indiana to allow kicker Jayden Fielding to kick a 40-yard field goal, giving Ohio State a 10–3 lead at the break.
The teams traded punts to open the second half. Ohio State was then able to drive deep into Indiana territory, but a missed read on a quarterback run by McCord caused the Buckeye offense to stall in the red zone, resulting in a 22-yard field goal by Fielding to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 13-3. After another Indiana punt, Ohio State would have their most successful drive of the day, with McCord finding tight end Cade Stover for a 49-yard completion as well as a would-be touchdown pass to star wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. that was called back due to Harrison stepping out of bounds before catching the pass. Ohio State would punctuate the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Williams, his second of the day, which extended the Buckeye lead to 20-3. Ohio State's defense was able to keep the Hoosiers off the scoreboard in the second half, with redshirt freshman defensive tackle Hero Kanu recording his first career sack. Ohio State would add one more field goal by Fielding in the fourth quarter, a 22-yarder that put the final score at 23-3.[4]
1:40 OSU - TreVeyon Henderson 30-yard run (Jayden Fielding kick) - 35-7 Ohio State, Drive: 5 plays, 61 yards, 1:43
On September 9, Ohio State hosted in-state FCS opponent Youngstown State before a capacity crowd of 102,897 at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won the game 35-7. Entering the game, coach Ryan Day said the quarterback arrangement would remain the same as the previous week, with Kyle McCord starting and Devin Brown seeing significant playing time.[5]
Ohio State won the coin toss and elected to receive. On the Buckeyes' first possession, a holding penalty on center Carson Hinzman set up a 3rd-and-5, where McCord would find Marvin Harrison Jr. on the sideline, who took the pass all the way to the endzone to give Ohio State a 7–0 lead. Youngstown State would answer quickly, with quarterback Mitch Davidson throwing a long completion to wideout Max Tomczak over the head of Buckeye safety Cameron Martinez before scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-goal to tie the game at 7. The two teams would then trade punts. On Ohio State's third possession, McCord delivered several sharp passes to Harrison and Emeka Egbuka before finding Harrison in the endzone for a 39-yard touchdown pass to give Ohio State a 14–7 lead. After another Youngstown State punt, Brown would enter the game and lead another touchdown drive, converting a 4th-and-7 on a pass to Gee Scott Jr. as well as a 3rd-and-3 with his legs, before TreVeyon Henderson would cap the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run to give the Buckeyes a 21–7 lead. After Youngstown State went 3-and-out, McCord would re-enter the game and continue to find Harrison and Egbuka to drive Ohio State down the field before Egbuka would score on a 4th-and-1 bubble screen pass from McCord, giving the Buckeyes a 28–7 lead. The teams would trade punts to close out the first half.
On Youngstown State's first drive of the second half, they would methodically drive down the field into Ohio State territory before junior cornerback Denzel Burke was able to intercept a jump ball from quarterback Beau Brungard in the endzone for a touchback, the first interception by an Ohio State cornerback since the 2021 season. After a pair of 3-and-outs by both teams, Brown would re-enter the game and lead a scoring drive by completing passes to Julian Fleming and Carnell Tate before Henderson scored on a 30-yard run to give the Buckeyes a 35–7 lead. This would end up being the final score, as both teams combined for just 7 possessions in the second half, an effect of the new clock stoppage rules introduced during the 2023 season.[6]
On September 16, Ohio State defeated Western Kentucky, 63-10, in front of a near-capacity crowd of 100,217 at Ohio Stadium. On the Tuesday before the game, coach Ryan Day officially announced Kyle McCord as Ohio State's full-time starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2023 season.[7] The game marked the first time that the Buckeyes and the Hilltoppers played.
Ohio State won the coin toss and elected to receive. On Ohio State's first possession, a 4th-and-5 conversion on a pass from McCord to Emeka Egbuka set up a 21-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson to get the Buckeyes on the board first. Western Kentucky would then turn the ball over on downs, with quarterback Austin Reed failing to complete passes on 3rd and 4th down. On Ohio State's next possession, McCord would be strip-sacked by defensive tackle Hosea Wheeler when attempting to throw deep on first down, and Western Kentucky would convert the turnover into points, with a 43-yard field goal by Lucas Cameiro cutting Ohio State's lead to 7-3. Ohio State would drive down the field on its next possession, with McCord converting two third downs with passes to Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr. before Henderson would find the endzone again with a 7-yard touchdown run to extend OSU's lead to 14-3. Western Kentucky would respond quickly, with Reed completing a long pass to star receiver Malachi Corley before a botched Ohio State fumble recovery would set the Hilltoppers up in the redzone, where Reed would hit Corley on a screen pass for a 2-yard touchdown, cutting the Buckeye lead to 14-10. On the first play after, McCord would find Harrison streaking wide open for an easy touchdown, putting Ohio State up 21-10. After a fourth-down pass breakup by safety Josh Proctor gave Ohio State the ball back, running back Chip Trayanum would run for a 40-yard touchdown on the very next play, his first touchdown since transferring from Arizona State in 2022. On the next possession, a fumble by wideout Blue Smith would give Ohio State the ball once again, and McCord would convert the turnover into another touchdown drive, capped by a 15-yard pass to Egbuka. After a turnover on downs by Western Kentucky, McCord would complete passes to Cade Stover and Egbuka, the latter of which was a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Ohio State a 42-10 lead heading into the half. Ohio State's 35 second-quarter points were its most in any quarter since 2019.[8]
The teams would trade punts to start the second half as Ohio State began pulling some of its starters. On Western Kentucky's third possession of the half, cornerback Denzel Burke would force a fumble from WKU's Davion Ervin-Poindexter, which would be recovered by Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams for a scoop-and-score to extend Ohio State's lead to 49-10. On Western Kentucky's next drive, Reed would throw an interception to linebacker Steele Chambers, his first interception of the year. Backup quarterback Devin Brown would enter the game and lead a touchdown drive, capped off with a 28-yard touchdown pass to freshman wideout Carnell Tate, the first touchdown in an Ohio State uniform for both. The final score of the day would come on a pick-six by freshman cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr., who picked off a pass from WKU backup quarterback Bronson Barron, to put the final score at 63-10.[9]
8:22 ND - Rico Flores Jr. 2-yard pass from Sam Hartman (Spencer Shrader kick) - 14-10 Notre Dame, Drive: 11 plays, 96 yards, 6:28
0:01 OSU - Chip Trayanum 1-yard run (Jayden Fielding kick) - 17-14 Ohio State, Drive: 15 plays, 65 yards, 1:26
On September 23, Ohio State visited Notre Dame Stadium to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a matchup of top-10 teams, and a rematch of the previous year's game in Columbus, which Ohio State won 21-10. College GameDay was in attendance. The game was Ohio State's first game televised on NBC since their 1996 matchup with Notre Dame, which they won 29-16. The game was the eighth all-time meeting between the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish, with the Buckeyes having won each of their previous five meetings.[10]
Ohio State won the game 17-14. The game began with Notre Dame winning the coin toss and deferring. Ohio State would drive into Notre Dame territory, but the drive stalled after a false start penalty on right tackle Josh Fryar set up 2nd-and-long. On Notre Dame's first drive, they would reach the red zone with several completions by quarterback Sam Hartman, but on a 4th-and-1, Hartman ran out of bounds inches short of the first down marker, turning the ball over. Ohio State would fail to move the ball on their next possession, and Notre Dame would drive into OSU territory once again, where kicker Spencer Shrader would miss a 47-yard field goal. On Ohio State's next drive, quarterback Kyle McCord would complete several third-down passes as Ohio State reached the Notre Dame 1-yard line, but they would fail to score and turned it over on downs. After a Notre Dame punt, McCord would have his best drive of the day, completing several passes to Emeka Egbuka and gaining yardage when Marvin Harrison Jr. was interfered with. Ohio State would cap the drive with a 31-yard field goal by kicker Jayden Fielding to take a 3-0 lead into halftime.
Notre Dame got the ball to start the second half, and began leaning on the run game, driving down into Ohio State territory. On 4th-and-1 from the Ohio State 39, Hartman's quarterback sneak came up short, with Sonny Styles making the critical tackle. On Ohio State's next play, running back TreVeyon Henderson would spring loose for a 61-yard touchdown run, but Harrison Jr., who delivered the block that sprang Henderson, had his ankle rolled up on; he would play with the ankle taped up heavily for the rest of the game. On Notre Dame's next drive, they would continue to hand the ball off to a deep stable of running backs, with three different backs combining for 10 carries and 54 yards, with the drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Gi'Bran Payne to cut the Ohio State lead to 10-7. Ohio State's next drive would reach the Notre Dame 39, where on 3rd-and-9 a McCord pass to Egbuka for a first down was called back for an unnecessary roughness penalty on Fryar. Ohio State would punt, pinning Notre Dame back at their own 4.
Notre Dame would start the fourth quarter pinned deep in their own territory, but they would quickly drive down the field, with Hartman completing passes of 28 and 25 yards to freshman receiver Jaden Greathouse and tight end Mitchell Evans. From there, Notre Dame's running backs would drive the rest of the way before Hartman capped the drive with a touchdown pass to Rico Flores Jr. to give Notre Dame their first lead of the night at 14-10. Ohio State's next drive began with 8 minutes left, and they would enter Notre Dame territory on a 40-yard catch by team captain Xavier Johnson. A pass interference call on Notre Dame would take the Buckeyes into the red zone. On 3rd-and-1 from the Notre Dame 11, a run by Henderson up the middle was stopped short, before an end-around run by Egbuka was snuffed out by the Irish, and Ohio State turned the ball over on downs. After two Notre Dame first downs brought the clock under 3 minutes, defensive end J. T. Tuimoloau would sack Hartman on first down, and bat down an attempted screen pass on second down, which would help end the drive and give Ohio State's offense the ball back with 90 seconds to go.
Ohio State's final drive started with two incomplete screen passes by McCord, before a 23-yard pass to Egbuka picked up a first down. The Buckeyes would only gain 3 yards on McCord's next three pass attempts, with Notre Dame's defensive line able to generate pressure on the young quarterback. On 4th-and-7, McCord would find Julian Fleming on a crossing route, and he would gain exactly the 7 yards needed. After a first-down incompletion, McCord would then find Harrison over the middle to advance to the Notre Dame 13 with less than 30 seconds left. On 2nd-and-10, McCord would attempt to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, but instead was called for intentional grounding, which forced Ohio State to use its last timeout and set up a 3rd-and-19 with 15 seconds left. On the following play, McCord was able to find Egbuka, who hauled in the ball at the Notre Dame 1 to set up 1st-and-goal with 7 seconds left. Ohio State would attempt a pass to Harrison that was overthrown by McCord, before with 3 seconds left Ohio State would hand the ball off to Chip Trayanum who plunged in for the touchdown with 1 second left, securing a 17-14 victory for Ohio State.
Following the game, coach Ryan Day would call out those doubting Ohio State's toughness, specifically former Notre Dame head coach and Ohio State assistant Lou Holtz.[11] It would later come out that Notre Dame only had 10 defensive players on the field for each of Ohio State's final two plays, including Trayanum's game-winning touchdown.[12]
