When it comes to media coverage of the Ohio State Buckeyes, most stories are aimed at the offense and those two incredible receivers in Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith. And for good reason. It’s one of the top offenses in the country.
But on the other side of the ball is a defense that might be just as good as any defense in the nation and sometimes that’s forgotten in all of the noise.
Ohio State is great in all three levels, the line, the linebackers and the secondary. There are no weaknesses and it’s the Ducks’ job to poke a hole in that defense, if possible.
“They limit explosive plays. They do a great job keeping the ball in front,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said before the first game with the Buckeyes. “They play really physical in the front. They’re able to stop the run. They’re really sound and aggressive at times in coverage, but they pitch a lot of different looks at you as well. But it starts with they eliminate explosive plays.
“They play really sound football. They have good overlap in their defense. They’re able to change the picture up. They have really good D linemen, good edges, and then they’re able to cover outside, so they create a lot of challenges there.”
In the first game with the Ducks, the Buckeyes had a tough time with Oregon’s balanced attack and they also had trouble with Oregon going deep down the field in one-on-one matchups on the outside. The Ducks had three plays of over 40 yards. Before that game, Ohio State had just allowed just one explosion play of that type.
Before that game, Lanning said the Buckeyes have a good defensive line, but the Ducks were excellent in protecting Dillon Gabriel. Ohio State didn’t sack him once.
But that line is still really good and is led by defensive end JT Tuimoloau and his eight sacks to go with his 46 tackles and 14 for loss. He demands a double-team a lot of the time, which opens up holes for the other D-linemen or linebackers, such as Lathan Ransom, to run through and get to the quarterback.
The secondary is led by one of, if not, the best safety in the country in Caleb Downs. He transferred to Ohio State after leaving Alabama. Downs has 69 tackles, but the opponent tries to throw away from his area a lot of the time. He’s also a dangerous kick returner. Downs averages 16 yards per punt return and a touchdown.
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