I must apologize once again. My schedule has not been conducive to getting these out early recently. Unfortunately, like last week, I have to resort to an abbreviated write up.

Here is the play-by-play chart:

There were a lot of good stories on this side of the ball. Zach Harrison and Steele Chambers are the positive ones. Denzel Burke was the negative. I also think Taron Vincent is worth talking about more.

Here is the defensive chart:

I will start with Denzel Burke. For those of you who watched the game, you might be surprised to see him score so well. I do not blame you. However, a pattern is starting to emerge when it comes to the completions he gives up. He is always in the right spot, but when he turns his head, he gets lost. This is a new technique that he did not do last year, which explains the drop in performance.

He got some points because he was always in the right position, and honestly, if he stopped worrying about getting his head turned, he would probably give up a lot fewer completions. I see so many people complain when corners don’t get their heads around, but Burke’s performance is exactly the reason why so many players don’t turn their heads. It is high-risk, high reward. The reward part almost came to fruition in the game when Burke nearly snagged a pick, though JT was offsides.

When you are trying to stay on a receiver man-to-man, it is nearly impossible to have your head turned toward the quarterback unless you have outside and over-the-top leverage, much like a corner would if they were just dropping into Cover-3. Other than that, you must turn your head very early, but not so early that a receiver could get loose, as you will likely lose your receiver as soon as you turn you head. You also can’t be too late, as you will miss the ball being caught by the receiver. Maybe there is a way to do it well. Still, this is a different technique, and I imagine it can be learned. He does the hard part of covering the receiver. He just has to finish the play. I don’t think that these issues are necessarily permanent. In fact, they are such that they could be fixed seemingly overnight. Until we see it, however, this is going to be a problem going forward.

Steele Chambers played to his potential as a linebacker in this system. Ohio State plays to spill in this defense, which means that the defensive line essentially plugs all of the interior gaps in the opposing offensive line, which forces the runner to try and bounce the play outside, which is hopefully covered by your linebackers. A textbook example of this type of run defense can be found in the third quarter with 12:00 left on the clock. The issue with this type of run defense is that it can’t work at all unless you have especially athletic linebackers. For Chambers, this is a match made in heaven. Based on his play last year, I was a little surprised his breakout game didn’t happen until now, though I was also surprised to see him split reps with Cody Simon. I think he has firmly established himself as the starter now. He has been great this season and has improved his tackling the last couple of games which has made a huge difference.

Finally, I want to talk about a couple of defensive linemen. First, the other star of the game, Zach Harrison. Those who have read these for a while know that I always grade Zach Harrison very well, and this game was a lot like those games with a little extra. He looks like a guy who would be insanely good at rushing the passer but is instead a defensive end who does everything very well. He provides consistent pressure on the quarterback while being able to shut down entire sides of the line against the run at times. He can absorb double teams. I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but he reminds me a bit like Jaylen Holmes a couple of years ago. They both have these incredible frames that look like they’d be natural pass-rushers, but they are kind of just solid all-around defensive ends. Like Miyan Williams, he is another guy that has a different playstyle than his body would suggest.

I am thankful that many fans are starting to relax about not seeing him with the huge sack numbers. I think their new dispositions are due to a couple of different factors. First, JT and Sawyer haven’t really been racking up the sacks either, so it isn’t as if there is a superstar waiting in the wings. Second, I think many fans just wanted to see more pressure, which the defense has continuously brought this year. Even when the rushers don’t get the sack, they clearly affect the throw. Now that the defense is playing better, there really isn’t a need to find a scapegoat anymore. He has been playing well for the last couple of years, and I am glad to see him have a game that validates that production.

Also, as a final note on Zach Harrison, it seems like a lot of people are thinking that this game was the first time where Ohio State used him as a defensive tackle, and Mike Hall as a defensive end in a three-down front with a Jack. This is not the case. They have been using that set since the Notre Dame game, and the results have been promising, though previously Mike Hall had shined in that formation. Regardless, I do think that it fits Harrison’s skillset on passing downs, and I am glad it led to a turnover.

Taron Vincent is, for me at least, the most underappreciated player on the team. He eats up double-teams on almost every snap, yet he rarely leaves the game. In this game, I kept a better eye on him, and he wrecked the Rutgers offensive line on multiple occasions. Even though he is nominally the 3-tech, he takes on a lot more of the 1-tech responsibilities than 3-techs of Ohio State’s past. I am going to continue to watch his play closely, as this was a spectacular game for him. I think he might be one of the best players on the team without the fanfare. I will let you know in the coming weeks.

What should we worry about?

Burke’s play is still a trouble spot, though as I said, I think it can be fixed. I am assuming he will maintain the starting role, but I do need to see him play better. Notre Dame, Arkansas State, Toledo, and Rutgers don’t exactly have a slew of dynamic skill position players. Jayden Reed might have a field day against him. Might be the most interesting matchup going into that game.

What should we not worry about?

Harrison and the line. These guys are quite good. I don’t know if anyone was worried about them, but they are still great. I want to see this performance continue against better lines, but realistically they won’t play a better line than Wisconsin and Notre Dame until Michigan.

What should we get excited about?

The secondary continues to show improvement outside of Burke, though even he is almost always in the right spot. After a couple games, I thought the pass defense could be a huge issue for this team. It feels like they are getting better and better every week as they get more comfortable with the defense. Jim Knowles has exceeded my wildest expectations so far in year one. Hopefully he can continue this trajectory.

Programming Note: An unforeseen family emergency may mean that the Michigan State game recap might come out later, potentially even after the BYE week. I will try to keep updates going on the @salty_buck account on Twitter, though I am notoriously awful with posting on social media.