The Ohio State defense has continued to improve every week since the Oregon game. Last week against Penn State, they proved that they could hold up on a day where the offense struggled. Then against Nebraska, the offense struggled just as much against a more explosive offense. Could they hold up again without their best linebacker for the first half of the game?

Here is the Play-by-Play Analysis:

The Buckeyes’ run defense has quietly become an exquisite unit. I have mentioned this stat before, but College Football Nerds (Youtube Channel) has a stat that tracks what percentage of your opponents’ averages you are giving up on a per play basis. For example, Ohio State gives up 94% of their opponents’ passing YPA, which is roughly average. So, for example, let’s say Purdue gets 10.0 YPA. That means that when they play Ohio State, they are expected to throw for 9.4 YPA. Teams who pass against Ohio State will get just slightly less than what they normally get, so their passing defense is pretty average.

The run defense, however, is giving up 76% of opponents’ YPC, which is very good. Anything below 70% is elite, and Ohio State is closing in on that number. It’s especially remarkable when you consider where they started; after the Minnesota and Oregon games, OSU was giving up over 120% of their opponents’ YPC. Since then, they’ve given up about 56% of their opponents YPC (though that was calculated before the Nebraska game). That number is exceptional. How has generationally good Georgia done this year? 56% of their opponents’ YPC this year. Since changing the defense, Ohio State has had a comparatively similar rush defense to Georgia, adjusted for competition. That might be the biggest mid-season turn-around I have ever seen a team make, which is staggering to think about.

While the defense did give up two big plays that led to touchdowns, the busts occurred when Ransom was in the game in place of Williamson. I don’t expect this to be the case moving forward when the game is close. In the fourth quarter, when it was a one score game, Steele Chambers was at Will, Eichenberg was at Mike, and Williamson was at cover safety. They didn’t mess around with rotations when the game needed to be won, which was good to see. When Williamson was on the field, I don’t believe Nebraska scored a single point. The difference between him and Ransom is significant at this point.

Here is the defensive chart, to further illustrate this:

The players that earned a champion grade from me are Zach Harrison, Tyreke Smith, Antwuan Jackson, Taron Vincent, Tommy Eichenberg, Denzel Burke, Sevyn Banks, and Ronnie Hickman. Ohio State also gave champion grades to Marcus Williamson, Cody Simon, and Steele Chambers.

The defensive line was about as dominant as it gets, which is why all of the starters got champion grades. Five sacks is excellent, and they were all spread out. Ohio State didn’t pressure nearly as much as they did last week, and they still got pressure, especially with Smith and Harrison. Harrison is beating double teams and Smith is regularly causing pressure on the QB. I think he had a total of 4 pressures in this game. Those two are great players, and they have helped this defense take the next step. Vincent and Jackson are constantly causing disruption in the middle of the offensive line, even without Haskell Garrett. Penn State and Nebraska aren’t known for their offensive lines, so they will still need to keep this up against better offensive lines later in the season. For now though, they are playing well.

The secondary as a whole was pretty up and down, with some of the best performances, and some of the worst. Denzel Burke is Derek Singley Jr. in terms of production, but without the hype. Also, they don’t run as much man coverage as LSU did, so his impact his somewhat subdued. Still, I can’t believe how well he is playing. The ball he broke up downfield (2Q 10:18) was perfect coverage. He’s had quite a few of those down the field where he is the only one who can prevent the big play, and he does it every time. He’s exceptional.

Banks and Hickman were also flawless. Hickman’s sack after Young failed to spy on the QB (1Q 2:24) was executed to perfection. He’s been good all year, so his inclusion as a champion isn’t a surprise. Banks wasn’t thrown at much in this game, which is good news for a cornerback. It is good to see him start to play up to his potential.

I thought Marcus Williamson was steady, but it wasn’t his usual excellence. I think considering him a champion is totally appropriate. He locked down the cover safety spot and didn’t give up huge plays. They definitely needed him to play well with Ransom giving up some big plays. Also, he’s been so good all season, I will never complain if Williamson is awarded champion status. He’s earned it. His big hit on the shallow cross late in the game was an important play (4Q 5:32). He plays zone very well, and always knows where he needs to be.

The linebackers really stepped up in this game when they had to. Outside of Chambers, the play of the linebackers has been a bit spotty this year. Eichenberg had a great game with 2 TFLs. He also was consistent against the run. Currently, PFF rates him as the highest rated linebacker on OSU after a good performance against Nebraska. I still think Chambers is the better linebacker, but Eichenberg has become a solid linebacker in his own right.

I don’t have an issue considering Simon or Chambers a champion in this game either. Chambers is clearly the guy they trust most. When he came back from the targeting suspension, he didn’t come off the field. They couldn’t afford to take him off. He’s the best linebacker on the team, and even though I don’t think he had his best game, he still played well enough where it doesn’t stick out as a bad selection. Cody Simon may not have gotten a champion grade from me, but he just missed it. I thought that this was his best game as a Buckeye. He didn’t miss tackles today, and it led to his excellent performance. I am glad to see him have a great game, because he is a guy who seems to have the talent and mentality to be a starter on this defense for a long time.

What should we be worried about? The pass defense is still just okay. This is fine for the Big Ten, as they won’t really be pushed by any conference team. A team with a dynamic passing attack can exploit this defense, which is a worry for the playoffs, should Ohio State get there. This was one of their best performances of the season, especially when the starters were in. The zones are a little soft, but the diversity of overages that the defense runs might mitigate this in the future. It is tough to say, but it is probably the biggest concern for the defense right now.

What should we not be worried about? The defensive rotation losing the Buckeyes a game. It now only seems to be used when the game is early or not in doubt. Clemson used to do this when they were winning championships regularly, and they likely still do. Rotating has a few benefits. The obvious one is that it gets guys some more experience who otherwise wouldn’t be playing. It also keeps the snap counts low for starters, which of course limits injuries and keeps them fresher deeper into seasons. This is why Clemson would seem to sleepwalk through a bad ACC, and then show up to the playoff with few injuries. I would assume that this is what Ohio State is attempting to do through a better Big Ten.

Now rotation has some downsides too. Of course, the overall quality of defense is going to be lower throughout a game and throughout the year. It also takes longer for starters to get acclimated to their role, and early season scares will occur. This can really only be done if you are leaps and bounds ahead of your competition, or if you don’t know who your starters are going to be. I think they’ve figured out how they want to rotate, and who they want playing in the big games. Now, their priority is keeping their best players healthy.

What should we get excited about? The run defense. The Buckeyes have been as good as anyone against the run since the Oregon game, where they were one of the worst teams in the country against the run. This is a turnaround the likes of which I don’t know if I will ever see again. Their game against Nebraska was one of their worst in their recent stretch, and they still effectively shut down Nebraska’s run offense.

We should also be excited about the ceiling of this defense when the starters are out there. If Steele Chambers and Marcus Williamson on the field, this defense doesn’t give up a ton of points, and routinely makes big plays. Now that we’ve seen an example of the rotation tightening in a close game, we can bet that this will happen in the biggest games down the stretch. I do worry about rotation even in those games early on, but I imagine that they will continue to tighten things up. This should lead to better defensive performances as the season goes on.

Archive

Offense vs. Oregon / Defense vs. Oregon

Offense vs. Tulsa / Defense vs. Tulsa

Offense vs. Akron / Defense vs. Akron

Offense vs. Rutgers / Defense vs. Rutgers

Offense vs. Maryland / Defense vs. Maryland

Mid-Season Review

Offense vs. Indiana / Defense vs. Indiana

Offense vs. Penn State/ Defense vs. Penn State

Offense vs. Nebraska