[mm-video type=video id=01f51xaettq6j3za2z3f playlist_id=01eqbz0qtnjg5x7tc8 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f51xaettq6j3za2z3f/01f51xaettq6j3za2z3f-6372fe4a3ae0d1291643d854418cab4d.jpg]
It’s no secret that the Ohio State defense was the Achilles heel of the team last year, a reason the Buckeyes got sunburned near South Beach in the College Football Playoff national championship game vs. Alabama.
Afterward, head coach Ryan Day said the coaching staff would be emphasizing improvement on that side of the ball, and rightfully so. The porous and charitable defense was simply not up to Buckeye standards.
So, what about that future? Believe it or not, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has been rolling out projections of programs’ expected production over the next three years, and the latest is a top 25 ranking of defenses (subscription required) over that time in college football. It takes things into account like recruiting, returning production, historical numbers, etc.
So where does Ohio State land? Well, we can tell you it made the top 25, and it isn’t nearly as bad as what we saw last season, but OSU did drop from the same projections last season according to ESPN.