Is Ohio State QB Kyle McCord ready for his big moment?

Was it a coincidence that, after formally being named Ohio State's starting quarterback, Kyle McCord had his best week of practice that culminated in his strongest performance to date?

Probably not. Even for a guy who Buckeyes coaches and players describe as calm and composed, getting that assurance that you are QB1 is crucial.

Last Tuesday, Ohio State coach Ryan Day made it official: McCord would be the guy for the remainder of the season. Day had previously been noncommittal about the topic as McCord had battled Devin Brown through the offseason. Just a few days later, McCord impressively completed 19 of 23 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant 63-10 win over Western Kentucky.

But now, the real test comes.

No. 6 Ohio State is 3-0 as it heads to South Bend on Saturday for a top-10 clash against No. 9 Notre Dame. It's the second matchup in the home-and-home series — in their 2022 season opener, the Buckeyes ground out a 21-10 victory over the Fighting Irish at home.

Since Day arrived in Columbus in 2017, Ohio State has been rich with quarterback talent. He's coached J.T. Barrett, Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud. The latter three entered their respective seasons as surefire first-round NFL draft picks and lived up to those expectations. Stroud was a Heisman Trophy finalist and was a walk-off field goal away from leading the Buckeyes to the national championship game last year.

Is McCord poised to be the Buckeyes' next great star QB?

"I think he's grown each week," Day told reporters Tuesday. "Not everything is perfect, nothing is. And I think this week will be a big challenge to see where we're at. But it's been a gradual build-up for our whole team and for him to this point. So now, it's time to go play and see what we've got."

Ohio State's first two wins of the season — against Indiana and Youngstown State — were lackluster compared to the fiery offensive and indomitable defensive performances the college football world has come to expect from this program. They appeared more like themselves last Saturday while blowing out WKU.

Notre Dame's defense presents a much stiffer test for McCord, who will be making just his fifth career start. The Irish have a veteran defense and don't give up big plays, and as Day said, "There are NFL players on that defense. They don't give you a lot of freebies. Not a lot of missed assignments. They tackle well, they're physical — it's exactly what we expect." 

Irish coach Marcus Freeman's unit ranks third in yards allowed per play (3.8) and fourth in yards allowed per game (234.3) through four games, which is nicely supplemented by sixth-year quarterback Sam Hartman, who transferred from Wake Forest in the offseason for his final year of eligibility. Hartman has been around and "he's played a lot of football," Day said. While his experience, compared to McCord's lack of it, will certainly be a factor, there have been plenty of untested quarterbacks who have overachieved on the big stage.

"Kyle has been around," Day said of the junior who backed up Stroud during last year's College Football Playoff run. "He hasn't played a whole bunch of football, but he has been around, he's seen it. So he's older, more mature than maybe a freshman who is coming into the same situation.

"But I think experience does play a part of it. That's not the No. 1 thing overall, there's a lot of other things that come with it, but I do think it's significant."

McCord was the No. 8 quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class — Texas' Quinn Ewers (who started out at Ohio State with McCord), USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy were all ranked ahead of him.

McCord played in 12 games and started one (as a true freshman) while backing up Stroud the past two seasons. But one thing that plays to his advantage as this season gets going is that he already has plenty of reps with Ohio State's top weapon. Marvin Harrison Jr. — overwhelmingly considered to be the best receiver in the country — and McCord went to high school together at St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia and won three straight Pennsylvania 6A state championships.

After catching just two passes for 18 yards in Week 1 against Indiana, Harrison reeled in 12 catches for 286 yards and three touchdowns over the last two games. He connected with McCord for two key explosive plays — a 71-yard score against Youngstown State and a 75-yard touchdown against Western Kentucky.

If these two can continue building up chemistry, Ohio State's offense shouldn't have too many problems clicking even against the most durable defenses. But those kinds of long pass attempts might not be as free-flowing against the Irish. Their secondary, ranked fourth in the country, is allowing opponents just 126.8 yards per game and has only given up two passing touchdowns. A year ago, the Buckeyes had to lean on a revamped defense and a gritty running game to win a tight game.

"We have to do whatever we can to win the game, that's the bottom line, whatever it looks like," Day said. "We're always looking for balance. There's certain times like last year when we ran the ball a ton down the stretch, and we were good for 5-6 yards per carry. But then there are times where you've gotta throw it more depending on what they are doing and how the game is playing out. So we've gotta be able to pivot either way, whatever it takes to win the game."

Is McCord ready for his big moment in a hostile environment on the road at night? He knows what's at stake. After his career day against Western Kentucky last weekend, he was asked about Notre Dame and called the opportunity "a big one."

It is. And one that could vault Ohio State into the national title conversation and further boost McCord's growing confidence.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.