Ohio State does not give up much yardage through the air.
The past three seasons, the Buckeyes have ranked in the top-15 nationally in pass defense, including the sixth-best pass defense just last season. So what happened Saturday is not something Buckeye fans are used to seeing.
The Indiana passing attack, led by quarterback Richard Legow and star receiver Simmie Cobbs, carved up the Buckeye secondary to the tune of 420 yards – more than double Ohio State's opponents' average over the last three seasons.
During the first half in particular, the Hoosiers picked on Ohio State's cornerbacks, two of which were making their Buckeye debuts with the first-team secondary after the departures of first-round picks Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley.
"I think to beat a team 70-0 right now is not what we need."– Urban Meyer
“We got off to a slow start in the secondary and they made some plays on us," defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said. "When you look at it, it was a group of guys that have played some, but haven’t started and haven’t been in that role.
Indiana tested the corners in one-on-one battles, winning many of them thanks to a combination of precision, quick-release passes and great catches by the receivers.
“We gave up three plays of plus 25 yards or more and we can’t do that," Schiano said. “This is Ohio State, that’s unacceptable."
It was a baptism by fire for the inexperienced corners, but head coach Urban Meyer said that's exactly what his team needed from a season opener – not the typical drubbing of an overmatched team.
"[It] gives our corners some humbling and obviously, get out and go," Meyer said. "I think to beat a team 70-0 right now is not what we need."
Instead of a vastly inferior, overmatched opponent, the Buckeyes faced a great passing attack with an excellent game plan that tested inexperienced players early and forced the team to make in-game adjustments.
“Look, you have to give credit to Indiana, they made some tremendous throws and catches," Schiano said. "Again, this is Ohio State and catches are unacceptable, but you have to give your opponent some credit too. They have some really good skill guys and they made plays at times."
And despite the obvious struggles in the secondary, there were plenty of silver linings.
“I think when you play corner, it’s not the five you made that sticks out, it’s the two you missed."– Greg Schiano
Denzel Ward had five pass deflections and an interception in one game alone after having nine deflections and no interceptions all of last season, Kendall Sheffield made an incredibly athletic play to save a touchdown and force an interception, and the defense held Indiana to just seven second-half points after haltime adjustments.
But the focus is not on those silver linings. There's a standard in the cornerbacks room at Ohio State, and nearly everyone agrees it was not upheld on Thursday night.
“I think when you play corner, it’s not the five you made that sticks out, it’s the two you missed," Schiano said. "That’s the position. If you don’t like it, you can go somewhere else.
“Around here, the standard is you don’t allow catches," Schiano said. "We’ve had guys who’ve allowed eight catches in a whole season, so that’s the standard at Ohio State and that’s the way it should be. We need to rise to that standard. We aren’t ever going to lower that standard."
Thursday night was not pretty, but at the end of the day it resulted in a 28-point win on the road against a Big Ten opponent in the first game of the season.
"Hopefully they’ve got some experience under their belt now and we can move forward,” Schiano said.
For Ohio State, moving forward means facing a quarterback that just went 19-for-20 for 329 yards and three touchdowns in his season opener. That's obviously a tall task for an inexperienced secondary, but the Buckeyes are a little more prepared now, thanks to Lagow and co.
