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Desmond Howard on Ohio State at Cotton Bowl: OSU fans wish 'Kyle McCord would have stayed'

After watching Ohio State's first half of the 2023 Cotton Bowl against Missouri, Desmond Howard was fixated on the Buckeyes' quarterback position, and who wasn't in the huddle.

"Buckeyes fans wishing that Kyle McCord would have stayed at this point," Howard, an ESPN college football analyst and former Michigan wide receiver and Heisman Trophy winner said on the Cotton Bowl's halftime show.

Kyle McCord, who started each of Ohio State's regular season games, entered the transfer portal after the Buckeyes' third-straight loss to Michigan. McCord transferred to Syracuse.

Without McCord, Ohio State was down to three scholarship quarterbacks for the Cotton Bowl: Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz and Tristan Gebbia.

Brown made his first collegiate start for Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, but left prematurely with a lower leg injury. He finished with four completions on six pass attempts for 20 yards.

Kienholz, a true freshman with two games of experience, replaced Brown.

Kienholz finished Ohio State's 14-3 loss to Missouri with 86 passing yards, completing six of 17 pass attempts.

With Kienholz and Brown at the helm, Ohio State mustered 203 yards of offense and is averaging 3.6 yards per play.

"I’ll tell you what, neither offensive line can block, the defense, 12 punts — six for each team," Howard continued about the first half. "It’s a tough watch at this point."

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Desmond Howard said Ohio State fans wish 'Kyle McCord would have stayed'