Ohio State football: 3 giant warning signs from uninspiring Indiana win

Ohio State opened the 2023 season not with a bang, but with a whimper of a 23-3 victory over Indiana.

On the plus side, they didn't end up like TCU getting upset by an upstart like Colorado. But facing an Indiana team that ranked 83rd in SP+, the Buckeyes looked rather uninspiring for a team with national title aspirations.

It was a Big Ten road game and Ohio State got out with a win, that's what matters. It's certainly too soon to hit the panic button.

Having said that, the warning signs of trouble to come were there in Week 1...

No. 3 warning sign for Ohio State vs. Indiana: WR non-factor

Ohio State has the best wide receiver corps in the country. Talents like Marvin Harrison Jr., Julian Fleming, Emka Egbuka and Carnell Tate should make life impossible for every secondary the Buckeyes face.

So what happened on Saturday against Indiana?

Tight end Cade Stover led the Buckeyes in receiving while Harrison had just two catches. Egbuka had three. Fleming was the only one who got involved at the rate you'd expect with six catches.

This isn't a wide receiver problem. This is a problem of will. On a day when Ohio State's offense struggled in general, Ryan Day should have put the ball in Harrison's hands. He should have made sure Egbuka got his chances.

Day needs to understand that he doesn't have C.J. Stroud out there anymore. Finding easy ways to get the ball to his top playmakers is the best way to make life easier for the quarterbacks. The fact that he didn't figure that out has to be a concern.

Speaking of which...