5.5 & 3.9
What are these figures? The number of points allowed per game (5.5) and the yards allowed per play (3.9) by the stingy Ohio State defense, 1/3 of the way through the 2025 regular season, are good enough for first and eighth, respectively, among all defenses nationally. And the national media has taken notice.
In a contest that few circled before the season began, Matt Patricia's troops once again stymied a high-profile offense, this time holding a Washington squad that had scored 167 points in its first three games to just six. It wasn't easy, however. Jedd Fisch's game plan identified some tendencies in the Buckeye defense, moving the ball with relative ease until they reached the red zone.
On the other side of the ball, though, some have grumbled about the lack of a downfield passing attack, leading some to question just how far along Julian Sayin actually is in his development at this point.
Here's what we go over in this week's video breakdown:
- Washington attacked OSU's Cover 3 both through the air and on the ground
- The Buckeyes like to create 5-man fronts from 4-down looks
- The Husky defense failed to match personnel, leading to advantageous looks for OSU (sometimes)
- Want Sayin to throw downfield? Then the OL must protect him
Click the header photo above to watch the video, or head straight to YouTube.
