The Ohio State defense intercepted four Maryland passes on Saturday. That’s a quarter of the team’s entire season total of 16 in 2013.
Urban Meyer’s defense was underwhelming through his first two seasons and to hear many fans talk, you’d think things hadn’t gotten any better in 2014. But things are turning around in Columbus with the addition of Co-Defensive Coordinator Chris Ash.
In 14 games last season, the Buckeyes picked off 16 passes, with nine different players getting at least one theft. In just five contests in 2014, eight Buckeyes have already intercepted a pass, with Eli Apple taking away two—that’s nine for the year with seven regular season games remaining. And let’s not forget the team opened against throwing-averse Navy.
The Buckeyes scored on two interceptions all of last year. They were a Lee fumble away from doing it twice against Maryland.
Apple has two of Ohio State's nine picks in 2014.
The best part of the increase in interceptions this season is that most of them have come from young players. Freshmen Apple, Darron Lee, Raekwon McMillan and Erick Smith have accounted for five picks, with sophomores Tyvis Powell and Vonn Bell also grabbing one each. The other two belong to senior Doran Grant and junior Joshua Perry.
Ohio State’s tendency toward more press coverage and challenging throws is a big reason why interception numbers are rising in 2014. Another reason is the pressure the Buckeye front four is putting on quarterbacks. Both came into play on Lee’s pick of C.J. Brown on Saturday, as Kyle broke down for you in detail yesterday.
Joey Bosa, Michael Bennett, Adolphus Washington and Steve Miller have been more and more active as the season has progressed, forcing quarterbacks to rush their throws and make mistakes. For example, Bennett ran a twist with Tyquan Lewis and pressured Caleb Rowe into throwing high on McMillan’s pick six on Saturday.
The defense is quietly getting better, although they’ll see better offenses in the coming weeks than what they’ve faced so far. Three busted plays against Cincinnati became one busted play against Maryland. Defensive adjustments are being made. Ash is getting his kids to play hard and within the aggressive system he’s brought to the team.
Apple’s interception Saturday came because his coverage was so good the receiver basically gave up on the play. Eli actually looked like the intended receiver.
That improvement is paying off with takeaways and new wrinkles—such as the “Cover 3 Buzz” scheme Kyle talked about on Lee’s game changer. As the team moves deeper into conference play, more of these “secret weapons” should be deployed, as the young Buckeye defenders learn their trade and Ash pulls out some things he’s been saving for when he really needs them.
If the run defense continues to do a good job limiting yards on the ground and forcing medium to long third downs, the chances are good more passes will end up going the other way.
