Ohio State’s defense has been dominant in Matt Patricia’s first three games as defensive coordinator, but the Buckeyes’ next opponent could give them their toughest defensive test of the season so far.
Two games into its season, Washington is tied for third in the FBS with 54 points scored per game and ranks seventh nationally with 568.5 yards of offense per game. Granted, those numbers came against a Mountain West opponent (Colorado State) and an FCS opponent (UC Davis), but the Huskies have the weapons to test any defense both through the air and on the ground.
That all starts with Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., a dynamic dual-threat who’s completed 34 of 49 passing attempts for 480 yards and two touchdowns while running for 132 yards and another score through two games. Patricia had high praise for Williams on Tuesday, comparing him to Kyler Murray, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma, who is now in his seventh year as the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, who selected Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
“That first-step quickness that he has and his ability to get to top speed, it's explosive. It's fast. He's quick. He gets out of the pocket. And he's got a really strong live arm,” Patricia said. “They've got good players to get the ball to, so that's going to be a huge challenge for us. Even when you think, you watch the tape, you think you've kind of got him bottled up, he can get out. And that reminds me a lot of Kyler Murray.
“It's so fast to that first-step speed. When you can get to your top speed in one step, that makes it very difficult for defensive players, especially guys in the front. A lot of times they're bigger, longer, slower. You're trying to rush, or you're trying to play the run game, because he can obviously run with the ball too a certain way; you think you have him leveraged, and then all of a sudden he sidesteps it, and then he's out the gate.”
Ohio State got some experience going up against a mobile quarterback this past week as it faced Ohio’s Parker Navarro, who had just three net rushing yards against the Buckeyes after running for 180 yards in the Bobcats’ first two games. The Buckeye defense will look to build off that success against Williams, who measures in at just 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds but has been timed running a 4.4-second 40-yard dash.
“Getting a look at that last week was good for us. Live, in-game, those reps will be valuable. And then it's got to really be next level as we go forward to Washington,” Patricia said.
“That first-step quickness that he has and his ability to get to top speed, it's explosive. It's fast. He's quick. He gets out of the pocket. And he's got a really strong live arm.”– Matt Patricia on Washington QB Demond Williams Jr.
Washington’s offense also features one of the Big Ten’s best wide receivers outside of Ohio State, Denzel Boston, who’s caught 10 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown through two games. Huskies running back Jonah Coleman has been the best RB in the Big Ten so far, leading the conference with 144 rushing yards per game and seven touchdowns, including a five-score game against UC Davis.
Patricia has high respect for Washington head coach Jedd Fisch – who, like Patricia, has experience as an NFL coordinator – and he expects Fisch and Huskies offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty to dial up a game plan that challenges the Buckeyes. He also knows playing in Husky Stadium – known for being one of the loudest stadiums in college football – will present a challenge as Ohio State goes on the road for the first time this season.
“That'll be a little bit different than what we're used to, communication-wise, and then certainly, Washington being in their home stadium and having that advantage for their offense, that gives us some different challenges,” Patricia said. “And certainly, just teams get better each week, and Washington will be the next best team that we face and their offense. And Coach Fisch does a great job, Jedd does a great job with that unit. And their quarterback and their skill players and the running game, and all the things that they present from a problem standpoint. I think they're tops in college football in a lot of offensive stats. So he's a great coach. They've got really good players. This is a huge challenge for us.”
Ohio State has the advantage of an extra week to prepare for Washington, which has an in-state rivalry game against Washington State this Saturday (7:30 p.m., CBS) after having a bye week of its own last week. Ryan Day said Monday that this week will be “more about us than it is them,” as the Buckeyes will spend much of their bye week focusing on self-improvement and fundamentals before their game-week preparation for Washington begins Sunday.
But it’s clear from Patricia’s comments that he’s already thinking about what the Buckeyes’ defense will need to do to slow down the Huskies’ offense. And Day knows things are about to ramp up for Ohio State as they enter Big Ten play and play on the road after playing all three of their non-conference games at home.
“We're going to work hard on fundamentals, on the areas that we need to get better at. We know the next four games are going to be a challenge. This will be our first conference game here. This will be our first road game. And three of the next four will be conference road games (Washington, Illinois and Wisconsin),” Day said Tuesday. “So we have to prepare to go on the road and play really, really good football. So we're going to look at the first three games, figure out the areas that we've done things well, where we need to get better at. Take a look at our self-scout, tendencies that the opponents will be looking at on our end. And then I do think it's good for these guys to get their legs back underneath them. August was a pretty physical month for us, because we had to get ready in Week 1. So it's really a combination of all those things.”
