For most of us who watch every Ohio State game, the defensive improvements under Jim Knowles are obvious. But I've heard a lot of people make the argument that the improvements are due to not playing any good offenses yet. So, I decided to compare defensive statistics for the first seven games of the 2021 season with the first seven games of the 2022 season.
First, I wanted to challenge the notion that Ohio State has played worse offenses in 2022 than 2021. Here's offensive SP+ and offensive FEI efficiency numbers for each of Ohio State's opponents through the first seven games of each season (I'm using final numbers for 2021 and current numbers for 2022):
| 2021 Schedule | Off. SP+ | Off. FEI |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 29.3 | .45 |
| Oregon | 35.0 | .96 |
| Tulsa | 28.7 | -.23 |
| Akron | 20.3 | -1.01 |
| Rutgers | 20.8 | -.80 |
| Maryland | 34.8 | .47 |
| Indiana | 20.4 | -.65 |
| Average | 27.0 | -.12 |
| 2022 Schedule | Off. SP+ | Off. FEI |
|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 28.2 | .41 |
| Arkansas St. | 25.9 | -.48 |
| Toledo | 27.3 | .25 |
| Wisconsin | 30.8 | .45 |
| Rutgers | 19.3 | -.84 |
| Michigan St. | 32.1 | .12 |
| Iowa | 21.0 | -.63 |
| Average | 26.4 | -.10 |
Ohio State played two better offenses in 2021 (Oregon and Maryland) than any of the offenses they've played in 2022, but on average the offenses they've faced through seven games are about the same each season. Knowing this, we can compare defensive statistics from each year to see if there has been improvement.
Here are some defensive statistics from 2021 and 2022:
| 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| PPG | 18.6 | 14.9 |
| YPG | 350.3 | 239.9 |
| Rush YPG | 119.4 | 90.9 |
| Yards per Rush | 3.2 | 2.9 |
| Pass YPG | 230.9 | 149.0 |
| Yards per Pass Attempt | 6.6 | 5.9 |
| Third Down % | 40.4 | 24.3 |
| Red Zone % | 85.7 | 90.9 |
| Sacks per Game | 3.9 | 2.7 |
| Takeaways per Game | 1.6 | 1.7 |
Basically, you can statistically see some major improvements to the Ohio State defense since the offenses they faced through seven games in the 2021 season are comparable (on average) to the ones they've faced in 2022.
A couple things that might cause concern looking those statistics are Red Zone % and Sacks per Game. The good news about Red Zone % is that the Buckeyes' defense have only allowed 11 trips to the Red Zone and only 5 of those trips resulted in a touchdown. So, they are allowing points on every red zone trip, but holding opponents to 3 points just as often as 6 points. Also, the sack numbers in 2021 were inflated due to 9 sacks in the Akron game. If you take away that game, the average is 2.5.
So, all that to say, the argument that Ohio State's defensive improvements are due to playing bad offenses is untrue. I think we all knew this just from watching, but it's interesting to see it in numbers. Hopefully, the defense will keep improving and will lead us to victory against a strong TTUN at the end of November.
